Setting

Mr Philip Irvine Headteacher Sedgefield Primary School Rectory Row Sedgefield Stockton-on-Tees TS21 2BJ

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on children and young people and their families

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff, during my visit on 24 January 2007, with Usha Sahni HMI, to look at the impact of extended services on children and young people and their families.

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on children and young people and their families

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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on children and young people and their families

The evidence used to inform the judgements made included: interviews with staff, pupils, parents and the school’s partners, and scrutiny of relevant documentation.

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on children and young people and their families

The overall effectiveness of the extended provision was judged to be satisfactory.

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on children and young people and their families

The provision has been developed by the school, over the years, primarily to meet perceived needs, such as for childcare.

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Achievement and standards

Standards are above average. Pupils make good progress and achieve well. This is confirmed by data and the Section 10 inspection report from January 2005.

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Achievement and standards

 The impact of some aspects of the good extended provision for sports has been measured and found to have a positive impact on pupils’ Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404045 F 020 7421 6855 www.ofsted.gov.uk fitness and skills. The baseline assessment is used effectively to identify pupils with sporting talents. They are enabled to access facilities and coaching support to perform at an advanced level.  For other aspects of the extended provision, systematic evaluation of impact is not undertaken. For example, the school does not know whether pupils’ academic progress improves as a result of attending the homework club. Consequently, it is not possible to identify the specific impact of the provision on pupils’ achievement.  For the most part pupils enjoy the additional activities on offer. They confirmed that they enhance their skills through participation in the sporting activities provided. They are clearly proud of successes in

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Achievement and standards

competitions and value the way the opportunities to take up new interests. Staff believe that pupils gain in confidence and self esteem, particularly as a result of participating in sports.  The before-and-after-school club is enjoyed by younger pupils who say it is fun, but some older ones tire of it, saying there is little variety and stimulation. Parents value this aspect of the extended provision, partly because it meets their need for childcare but also because it improves their children’s social skills.  The school attendance rate is high.

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Quality of provision

Taken overall, the range and quality of the extended provision is satisfactory.

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Quality of provision

 The ‘wraparound’ childcare provided on the school site and the menu of activities beyond the school day meet the national expectation for core extended services. A good range of sporting activities is provided in partnership with the secondary school, a specialist sports college. The rate of participation in these activities has improved dramatically in the last two years, as has the proportion of pupils taking part in competitive sports events within the school and with other schools.  The school’s arrangements ensure efficient referrals to specialist support but parents would like the next steps to be speedier.  The school has used the local authority’s family learning service to provide courses for parents on literacy and numeracy and ways in which to support their children’s learning in English and mathematics. These courses have improved a number of parents’ basic skills and, for a few, provided the key to further training which will enhance their

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Quality of provision

chances of gaining employment.  The school has good plans to consult pupils about the development of provision but parents and the local community are not consulted or involved significantly in the design or delivery of extended services. Community access to the school’s facilities is limited.

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Leadership and management of extended services

The services are soundly led and managed.  The school is a key player in the local arrangements for developing schools’ extended services. A cluster group of schools jointly employs an Extended Schools Development Officer and has secured funding from a range of sources to support the development of extended provision.  The school’s offer has evolved over several years but further development is not yet underpinned by clear planning for progress towards a coherent package of integrated services to meet the needs of pupils, parents and the community.  The school sees the benefits of its extended services but, for many of them, it does not systematically measure the impact on pupils’ learning and personal development.

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Inclusion

 The school is keen to meet the core offer. Pupils’ high levels of participation in the activities on offer show that all groups benefit from them. Those with sporting talent are supported well and, where a specific need is identified, such as some pupils’ poor motor skills, the school ensures that appropriate provision is offered.  Support from family services has been mobilised rapidly when needed. Limited consultation means the school cannot be sure that its provision meets the needs and wants of users.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 consulting parents and the wider community more fully and involving them in the design and delivery of extended services  extending the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of extended services on pupils’ achievement, both academically and in their personal development, so the school can better measure their effectiveness and have a sound basis for planning the development of its services.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop extended services 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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