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 J Payton Headteacher St John’s Catholic Primary School Innage Gardens Bridgnorth Shropshire WV16 4HW

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education in primary schools

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff and pupils, during my visit on 28 June 2012 to look at work in enterprise education.

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education in primary schools

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 in primary schools

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: interviews with staff and pupils; scrutiny of relevant documentation; analysis of pupils’ work; a learning walk through the school which incorporated the observation of learning activities in each class, and observation of the school assembly.

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education in primary schools

The overall effectiveness of enterprise education in promoting pupils’ economic and business understanding and enterprise and financial capability is outstanding.

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Achievement in enterprise education

Achievement in enterprise education is outstanding.

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Achievement in enterprise education

 In the learning activities observed, pupils demonstrated very positive attitudes to learning. They are developing very strong knowledge and understanding, appropriate to their age, of economic, environmental and global issues. Pupils show very good awareness of the moral and ethical issues surrounding global economic concepts, such as poverty and fair trade, in line with the school’s Christian values.  Pupils are developing important employability and enterprise skills, including team-working, problem-solving, planning and decision-making skills. They showed a particularly good grasp of the advantages of team- working and the skills and strategies required to make it successful.  Pupils’ work shows very good use of reflection and self-assessment in improving the quality of their work. Pupils talk about their learning experiences confidently and with considerable insight and maturity; for example, how they have learned from their mistakes.

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Quality of teaching in enterprise education

The quality of teaching in enterprise education is outstanding.

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Quality of teaching in enterprise education

 Problem-solving, the promotion of independence and enquiry are at the heart of the school’s approach to learning. Teachers are highly skilled in planning imaginative and well-structured learning activities which focus sharply on what pupils will be learning by completing them. In the lessons observed, these activities engaged and enthused pupils very successfully, promoting their confidence and their development of enterprise skills.  Teachers have appropriately high expectations of all pupils. Lesson activities consistently provided additional challenge to the higher- performing pupils, based on their prior attainment. In the lessons observed, teachers made consistently excellent use of questioning to check and extend pupils’ learning.

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Quality of the curriculum in enterprise education

The quality of the curriculum in enterprise education is outstanding.

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Quality of the curriculum in enterprise education

 Planning for the development of pupils’ enterprise skills and economic and business understanding, enterprise and personal financial capability, as they progress through the school, is very clear and precise. The provision is structured and coordinated exceptionally well into a rich, diverse and coherent programme. Real-life contexts and excellent linking to previous learning and other subjects enhance pupils’ learning.  ‘Fairtrade School’ status, sustainability, and the school’s extensive fundraising work are at the core of informing pupils’ awareness of the ethical issues surrounding trade and the global economy.  The curriculum includes a particular, and highly successful, emphasis on developing pupils’ numeracy skills in an enterprise education context. This is demonstrated in pupils’ development of number skills in a context that makes consistently strong reference to prices and costs.  The school rightly values opportunities for pupils to acquire and apply

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Quality of the curriculum in enterprise education

appropriate life skills, such as confidence, resilience, problem-solving and team-working in the stimulating outdoor environment of the school’s grounds.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in enterprise education

The effectiveness of leadership and management in enterprise education is outstanding.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in enterprise education

 All staff are committed to, and recognise the importance of, promoting enterprise education within their lessons and in developing pupils’ related knowledge, understanding and skills. This provision has a high profile in the school and its coordination and management are highly effective. The provision contributes very well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Excellent planning ensures that learning outcomes and assessment arrangements for enterprise education are clear and explicit. As a result, the school’s evaluation of the quality of the provision and its impact on outcomes for pupils is highly accurate.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 maintaining the existing very sharp focus on the continuing improvement of the provision to sustain the very high impact on outcomes for pupils.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

I hope that these observations are useful as you continue to develop enterprise education 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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