Setting

Mrs Breeze Headteacher North Crawley Church of England First School Church Walk North Crawley Newport Pagnell Buckinghamshire MK16 9LL

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Education (PSHE)

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff, during my visit on 18 September 2006 to look at work in PSHE.

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Education (PSHE)

As outlined in my initial letter, as well as looking at key areas of the subject, the visit had a particular focus on healthy eating.

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Education (PSHE)

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 should we wish to cite specific aspects of practice we will contact the school first. All feedback letters will be published on the Ofsted website at the end of each half-term.

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Education (PSHE)

The evidence used to inform the judgements made included: interviews with the headteacher, coordinator of PSHE and the leader of the Foundation Stage and children, scrutiny of relevant documentation, analysis of children’s work and observation of two lessons, playtime, lunchtime and an assembly.

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Education (PSHE)

The overall effectiveness of Personal, Social and Health Education was judged to be outstanding.

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Achievement and standards

Children have good knowledge and understanding about PSHE.

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Achievement and standards

 Children know about healthy eating. Even the four year olds know they should eat five fruit and vegetables a day and most make healthy choices in their lunch boxes. Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404045 F 020 7421 6644 www.ofsted.gov.uk  They understand why it is important to take regular exercise and put this into practice at break and lunchtime, running around the field and playing on the climbing frame.  The personal development of the children is excellent. They are highly articulate and confident, able to express their feelings and supportive of others in their group.  They are well behaved and attentive, keen to learn and participate in lessons, with extended concentration spans.

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Quality of Teaching and Learning of PSHE

The quality of teaching and learning is good.

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Quality of Teaching and Learning of PSHE

 Lessons are very well planned with clear objectives and outcomes.  Effective use is made of ICT resources.  Teaching assistants support children well.  Teachers act as excellent role-models and use a variety of active methods to meet the needs of the children. For example, circle time is used very well to encourage children to express their own views.  The children could, sometimes, be moved on a little more quickly to deeper levels of understanding.  Assessment is good across the school. Teachers record the progress that is being made by each child and often adapt their teaching as a result.

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Quality of Support and Guidance

 This is a school which practices what it preaches and where every child really does matter. It is helped by its very small size.  An outstanding feature is the excellent induction arrangements both for children and parents. These have a positive effect on learning because children quickly settle into the routines of the school.  Links with parents are strong and the school gives advice on healthy packed lunches.

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Quality of curriculum

The quality of the curriculum is excellent.

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Quality of curriculum

 Planning is meticulous but flexible and responsive to the needs of the children.  PSHE and citizenship are truly embedded across the curriculum but are also given discrete time.  Assemblies are linked to the PSHE curriculum and provide excellent opportunities for the children to participate and reflect on their learning.  There is a wealth of enrichment activities which enhance the PSHE curriculum, such as gardening, sports club, links to a more culturally diverse school in Balham, trips, speakers, and strong links with the community and the church.  The work the school has done with the National Healthy Schools Programme has had a positive impact on health education.

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Leadership and management of subject

The quality of leadership and management of PSHE is outstanding at all levels.

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Leadership and management of subject

 A team effort has put PSHE at the heart of the curriculum and has created in this small school a family ethos where everyone can flourish.  The PSHE coordinator has completed an accurate self-evaluation of the area and has identified appropriate targets for future action.  All policies are in place but parents have not been formally consulted about them. The school plans to do this in the future.  Outdoor facilities have been extremely well managed so they extend children’s learning.

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Inclusion

The lessons observed were inclusive and all the children enjoyed answering questions and offering their views in discussion.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 ensuring consistent pace and depth of learning  consulting with parents over the review of key policies.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop PSHE 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 the Ofsted website. It will also be available to the team for your next institutional inspection.

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