Setting

Mrs Teale Headteacher Withnell Fold Primary School Withnell Fold Withnell Chorley Lancashire PR6 8BA

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – History

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff, during the visit I made with Christine Inkster AI on 20 September to look at work in history.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – History

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. All feedback letters will be published on the Ofsted website at the end of each half-term.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – History

The evidence used to inform the judgements made included: interviews with staff and pupils, scrutiny of relevant documentation, analysis of pupils’ work and observation of lessons.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – History

The overall effectiveness of history was judged to be satisfactory.

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Achievement and standards

Achievement is satisfactory. Standards in history are broadly average.

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Achievement and standards

 Pupils enjoy history. They bring good general knowledge to their work in school. They are well-informed about the topics they have studied, especially the history of their village.  Pupils’ speaking and listening skills are above average and they use them to listen carefully and to ask pertinent questions in their history lessons.  Pupils’ written work in history is less well-developed in comparison with their oral work and their written work in English. Hence their overall achievement is satisfactory rather than good. Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404045 F 020 7421 6644 www.ofsted.gov.uk  There is limited assessment of pupils’ work in history.  Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. They are eager to learn and work well with other pupils. Their social development is very good.

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Quality of teaching and learning of history

The quality of teaching and learning in history is satisfactory, with several good features.

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Quality of teaching and learning of history

 Teachers enjoy history and this helps to capture pupils’ interest and enthusiasm.  Teachers’ planning is sound. Teachers make good use of a range of resources in lessons.  Teachers have satisfactory subject knowledge of people and events in the past. They are less confident in some historical skills and concepts. As a result, some tasks, particularly commercially-produced tasks, lack sufficient challenge.

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Quality of curriculum

The quality of the curriculum is satisfactory.

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Quality of curriculum

 Pupils’ learning benefits from a wide range of visits to museums and visitors in school. Particularly good use is made of the rich resources of the school itself and the local area. Pupils gain much enjoyment and knowledge from these experiences.  The school currently covers more history studies than are required by the National Curriculum. Some additional studies are undertaken in the spirit of ‘Excellence and Enjoyment’, to enhance the curriculum. Consideration has been given to the best way of developing pupils’ historical knowledge, skills and understanding through the studies, but progression is not yet mapped clearly.  The school links literacy and history through the plans of individual teachers. There is limited use of ICT in history.

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Leadership and management of history

Leadership and management of history are satisfactory with good features.

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Leadership and management of history

 Subject leadership benefits from a clear enthusiasm for history. This is combined with a strong awareness of the contribution of history to pupils’ development, as well as their awareness of the community in which they live.  There is appropriate recognition of how the subject needs to develop, and of recent national guidance.  The strategies used to monitor the subject are appropriate.

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Inclusion

 There is a strong inclusive ethos in the school which is illustrated in pupils’ behaviour towards each other.  There is good support for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities which enables them to participate fully in learning activities.  There is no marked difference in the achievement of different groups in history.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 the quality of assessment of pupils’ work in history  the overall balance of the curriculum and the planning for progression in knowledge, skills and understanding.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop history in the school.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

As I explained in my previous letter, a copy of this letter will be sent to your local authority and will be published on Ofsted’s website. It will also be available to the team for your next institutional inspection.

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