Setting

Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0300 123 1231 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Mrs B Greatorex Headteacher Wallington High School for Girls Woodcote Road Wallington Surrey SM6 0PH

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education (PE)

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of the staff and students, during my visit on 7 and 8 February 2012 to look at work in PE.

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education (PE)

The visit provided valuable information which will contribute to our national evaluation and reporting. Published reports are likely to list the names of the contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified in the main text without their consent.

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education (PE)

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: interviews with staff and students; scrutiny of relevant documentation; analysis of students’ work; and observation of nine lessons.

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education (PE)

The overall effectiveness of PE is satisfactory.

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Achievement in PE

 Attainment in examination courses in PE and dance in Key Stages 4 and 5 is consistently high. Based on students’ above average starting points this represents good achievement. However, these results mask some underachievement by a small minority of students because their progress is not closely monitored. In Key Stage 4, the school is unable to illustrate how well students achieve in core PE lessons because no formal assessments are made.  In lessons in Key Stage 3, students achieve well in gymnastics and in dance because they are given ample time to work together in pairs independently of the teacher to create their own routines and dance motifs. This good practice continues in some, but not all lessons in Key Stage 4. Students’ progress slows when teachers talk for too long or when expectations are too low and all complete the same tasks regardless of their ability.  The proportions of sixth form students pursuing advanced level PE and

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Achievement in PE

dance are small and results fluctuate from year to year. Most students predicted to attain A* and A grades do so but over the past two years a small minority have not met the expectations. Over the past two years, a significant proportion of students have attained an award in sports leadership.

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Quality of teaching in PE

 Joint observations of lessons confirmed the school’s view that the quality of teaching is mostly good. Teachers are good role models. Excellent relationships with students help to motivate and engage them in a range of enjoyable activities. Expectations of students are high. All students wear their first-class kit with pride and behave outstandingly well. In the best lessons, teachers facilitate learning in groups, encouraging students to think for themselves and work hard. For example, in a GCSE theory lesson, Year 10 students compiled their own detailed notes about the individual differences that affect participation in sport during short group presentations using video and other resources.  Progress slows when teachers’ expectations are too low and students are not fully challenged. Regular assessments are made but this information is not used effectively to plan tasks matched to students’ different abilities

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Quality of teaching in PE

and in particular, extend the most able. These routine assessments of students throughout Key Stage 3 do not extend into Key Stage 4.

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

The quality of the curriculum in PE is good.

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

 Students in Key Stages 3 and 4 receive two hours of PE each week. Sixth form students have one hour each week. Examination courses in PE and dance are well established. A recently opened, superb sports centre has enhanced the range of activities and increased students’ enjoyment. Outdoor games are now complemented by indoor basketball and badminton lessons. A new dance studio enables staff to build on the high profile enjoyed by dance and also to provide further opportunities such as health and fitness training, Yoga and Pilates.  Students enthuse about the extensive range of after-school clubs and regular, competitive fixtures against other schools. Sixth form students use their awards in sports leadership to organise inter-house games and annual dance and gymnastics displays for a significant proportion of younger students. The core PE programme in Key Stage 4 gives students a positive experience of sport and a break from academic study, but it

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

does not ensure that all students build on their good achievements in the earlier key stage. There are no opportunities to acquire leadership or coaching awards in Key Stages 3 and 4.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

The effectiveness of leadership and management in PE is satisfactory.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

 The subject leader ensures that the department operates effectively on a daily basis. She has generated wider opportunities for students and raised the profile of PE and sport. A good curriculum complemented by an extensive enrichment programme is in place, examination courses are established, participation rates are high and students value the subject highly. PE is inclusive; all students are actively engaged in learning.  Self-evaluation is too generous in places. Improvement plans do not prioritise how some significant weaknesses will be fully addressed and plans to develop the subject further using the new facilities are unclear. Achievement in examination classes is too variable because monitoring procedures lack rigour, and formative assessment procedures are underdeveloped. The quality of schemes of work varies across each key stage. Some include detailed lesson plans but others lack sufficient

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

guidance on what should be taught and assessed, or how this information should be translated into units of work or individual lessons.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 improving the leadership and management of PE by:  rigorously monitoring the progress of all individual students on GCSE and advanced level courses and intervening early to support those at risk of underachieving so that they all meet or exceed their expected grades  reviewing all schemes of work to provide clear guidance for staff on what should be taught, and illustrating how and when assessments should be made in all key stages  checking that assessment information is used to plan tasks suited to students’ different abilities, so they are fully challenged and have ample opportunities for independent learning  moving all satisfactory teaching to good and sharing best practice in the department to generate outstanding teaching.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

I hope that these observations are useful as you continue to develop PE in the school. As explained previously, a copy of this letter will be published on the Ofsted website. It may be used to inform decisions about any future inspection.

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