Setting

Mrs Bringan Headteacher Whitehall Infant School Cowley Road Uxbridge Middlesex UB8 2LX

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – history

Thank you for making my visit on the 23 November so enjoyable and informative. As outlined in my initial letter, as well as looking at work in history, the visit had a particular focus on literacy 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 documentation, analysis of pupils’ work and observation of four parts of lessons.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – history

The overall effectiveness of history in your school was judged to be good.

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Achievement and standards

 Standards in history are broadly average and pupils make good progress. Pupils are confident learners who enjoy their history lessons.  Written work is well presented, with older pupils beginning to write at length and in different forms. The school is aware, however, that girls are more confident writers than boys. There are good opportunities for pupils to Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404045 F 020 7421 6855 www.ofsted.gov.uk develop their writing skills, for example the Year 2 little booklets on Florence Nightingale. There is a good focus on investigation skills.  By Year 2, pupils show a growing understanding of change over time and about how to study history. All pupils show a good recall of earlier work and Year 2 learners are well prepared for work at Key Stage 2.

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Quality of teaching and learning

The quality of teaching and learning is good.

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Quality of teaching and learning

 Pupils enjoy learning because they have a lot of fun and practical activities in lessons. Pupils are positive about their history lessons. This is evident, for example, in the comments they make about events such as Victorian Day. As one pupil said, ‘I like history because there’s loads of interesting things that you can find out’. Teachers make particularly good use of artefacts to prompt questions and investigative work. Marking is regular and helpful and the school has just begun to develop detailed assessment of pupils’ work in history.

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Quality of curriculum

 The scheme of work is clear and the curriculum meets statutory requirements. Displays of pupils’ work and other materials, such as historical artefacts, are used to enhance the quality of learning. There is a good focus on developing pupils’ writing skills and this is beginning to have a positive impact on standards in history.  Good use is made of role play, history assemblies and other creative work to support the children in the learning of history.  We discussed ideas about how the curriculum might change to ensure that it remains relevant to pupils as citizens in 2006 and beyond. We talked about the possibility of establishing a unit of work on a significant male figure in history in order to engage the interest of boys. We also talked about the diverse communities who now live in Uxbridge, and looked at the possibility of a unit of work on local history that introduced pupils to some of these

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Quality of curriculum

communities and the individuals who live in them.

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Leadership and management

Leadership and management are good.  The recently-appointed subject leader has made a good start to her job. The focus for this year has been assessment in history and lesson observations are planned to start next term. Training for the subject leader to help with this is desirable.  Resources have been very well developed and displays and the use of artefacts are enhancing learning well. The school has identified both the strengths and areas for development well.

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Focus: Literacy in history

 This is good. There are good opportunities for pupils to write at different lengths and for different purposes. The school is working hard to tackle the issue of boys’ writing.  Pupils clearly enjoy writing and are proud of their efforts.

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Inclusion

 Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, as well as those with English as an additional language, are well supported and the school has a warm and welcoming atmosphere. It encourages pupils to grow as individuals by ensuring that they take part in an exciting range of activities. The rich cultural diversity within the school is celebrated effectively in history lessons.

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Areas for improvement

Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include the need to:

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Areas for improvement

 further develop the already good curriculum through exploring the possibility of including more local history and the study of a significant male figure  review the strategies used to improve boys’ writing skills  provide further training for the subject leader, particularly in monitoring and evaluation.

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Areas for improvement

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