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 D Speed Headteacher Heatherley Primary School Forest Town Mansfield Nottinghamshire NG19 0PY

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Ofsted 2012–13 subject survey inspection programme: citizenship

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff and pupils during my visit on 25 April 2012 to look at work in citizenship.

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Ofsted 2012–13 subject survey inspection programme: citizenship

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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Ofsted 2012–13 subject survey inspection programme: citizenship

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: interviews with staff and pupils; scrutiny of relevant documentation; analysis of pupils’ work; and observation of an assembly and part of six lessons.

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Ofsted 2012–13 subject survey inspection programme: citizenship

The overall effectiveness of citizenship is good with some significant strengths.

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Achievement in citizenship

 Pupils demonstrate a wide range of citizenship-related skills and good understanding of the subject’s key concepts, particularly as they move through Key Stage 2. Pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong, fairness and justice and the importance of taking care of our environment. Pupils have some understanding of democracy and representation, reinforced through elections for their school council, but their knowledge of local government is weaker.  Pupils are welcoming and confident; they are able to express their views thoughtfully on wide-ranging topics. Their confidence and enjoyment in discussion was evident as they listened respectfully to others’ views and presented balanced perspectives on issues. For example, a group of Year 6 pupils maturely discussed the merits and disadvantages of holding the forthcoming Olympics in London at a time of economic hardship for many in the UK.  Pupils accept responsibility well and are suitably encouraged to make

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Achievement in citizenship

positive contributions within their school community through a range of useful activities such as representing their classes as council members, and taking the roles of school and class helpers and monitors. Impressively, pupils are able to articulate the benefits of these roles and the importance of taking responsibility. The active dimension of citizenship learning is a real strength of the school’s work. Pupils’ achievements are valued and celebrated well; in particular, the significance of pupils leading the school’s assembly and describing the achievements of their fellow pupils for all to celebrate was clearly powerful. This results in a strong sense of cohesion across the school.

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Quality of teaching in citizenship

The quality of teaching in citizenship is good.

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Quality of teaching in citizenship

 Teaching observed was consistently good, typically incorporating a good variety of learning activities, confident class-management skills, excellent relationships with pupils and good questioning skills to prompt pupils’ reflections. Consequently, pupils worked with lively enthusiasm, responding well to the challenges posed.  Teachers encourage independence in pupils from the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) upwards; learning is well organised and structured to allow pupils to take responsibility, make decisions and lead learning when appropriate. Teachers are highly creative and make good use of topical events to provide the stimulus for learning. For example, some excellent work is underway in all year groups on the forthcoming Olympics and Diamond Jubilee events.  Recording and reporting on pupils’ attainment and progress is under review. This is at an early stage of development and requires

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Quality of teaching in citizenship

strengthening to provide a clear overview of how well pupils are doing.

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Quality of the curriculum in citizenship

The quality of the curriculum in citizenship is good.

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Quality of the curriculum in citizenship

 Overall, the citizenship curriculum is balanced and coherent, weaving across much of the whole curriculum and integral to learning in a range of other subjects. It builds progressively from the EYFS, covering most of the non-statutory content throughout Key Stages 1 and 2. Citizenship elements covered in the school’s creative themes capture pupils’ interest and inspire their engagement; further, aspects covered within the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) programme enhances provision and builds pupils’ confidence and self-esteem.  Some aspects are comprehensively covered across the curriculum, including rights and responsibilities, justice and fairness, care for the environment and diversity and difference. A few aspects are given less attention, for example, the different layers of government, the role of voluntary and pressure groups and economic understanding.  Good use is made of external visitors to enrich and extend pupils’

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Quality of the curriculum in citizenship

understanding and add interest to particular topics, such as roles and responsibilities in the community.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in citizenship

The effectiveness of leadership and management in citizenship is good.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in citizenship

 A strong commitment to citizenship learning as a key aspect of school life is evident from you and your whole staff team. Citizenship is regarded as a central and important strand of learning within the whole curriculum.  Subject leadership is strong and effective; curriculum policy documents and mapping of citizenship themes across the curriculum are clear and detailed. In response to this, teachers’ planning is good.  The quality of lesson planning is monitored well; less routine attention is paid to monitoring the outcomes, which is an area for improvement.  Several whole-school events, such as charity events, pupils’ work on anti- bullying and celebrations of national events support citizenship learning effectively.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 strengthening those aspects of the curriculum that are given lighter attention at present  developing assessment procedures and using these to monitor outcomes robustly to identify any gaps evident in pupils’ progress. I hope that these observations are useful as you continue to develop citizenship in the school.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

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. A copy of this letter is also being sent to your local authority.

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