Setting

Ms K Allan Headteacher Whitecote Primary School Wellington Grove Bramley Leeds LS13 2LQ

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – modern languages

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff and pupils, during my visit on 10 November to look at work in modern languages (ML).

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – modern languages

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

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – modern languages

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 – modern languages

The evidence used to inform the judgements made included: interviews with staff and pupils, scrutiny of relevant documentation, analysis of a small sample of pupils’/ work and observation of two lessons and the lunchtime Spanish club.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – modern languages

The overall effectiveness of ML was judged to be good.

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Achievement and standards

 Spanish has only been timetabled formally this year for all pupils in Year 3. Additionally a lunchtime Spanish club is well established for pupils in Years 5 and 6 and take up is very high. At the time of the visit pupils had had only four hours of Spanish lessons.  The standards they have reached in that time are satisfactory. All pupils seen, many of whom have low levels of literacy in English, were Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404045 F 020 7421 6855 www.ofsted.gov.uk making good progress in relation to their starting points, especially in listening and speaking. They can also tackle simple reading with confidence, but are less confident in the early writing they have done.  They respond very enthusiastically in Spanish lessons and their behaviour and commitment to learning the language and its culture is excellent.

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Quality of teaching and learning in ML

 Spanish is taught by class teachers, most of whom are not Spanish specialists. They have a generally accurate command of Spanish which is firmly integrated into primary pedagogy.  They are very positive about the benefits for their pupils of learning Spanish and are highly committed to extending their own knowledge of it. Their use of Spanish is not yet always sustained enough throughout the lesson. Teachers enjoy very good opportunities for continuing professional development within school and through local and national networks.  Lessons are characterised by an enormous sense of fun and partnership in learning. Activities are very well chosen, varied and very high quality resources are employed, including information communication technology (ICT), to engage pupils. There is some particularly creative use of ICT which is worth sharing more fully across the staff.  Teachers know their pupils well and are quick to reward good work.

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Quality of teaching and learning in ML

However, formal assessment of Spanish is at an early stage. There is good preparation to establish the formal monitoring of Spanish teaching.

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Quality of curriculum

 All Year 3 pupils have a daily 15 minute lesson and this is supplemented by the use of Spanish for classroom routines at other times. The Spanish club for Year 5 and 6 pupils provides one half-hour lesson per week at lunchtimes.  There are firm plans to phase in Spanish across all year groups year on year. Planning for Spanish is detailed and schemes of work are adapted from the Key stage 2 Framework and QCA units of work. The school’s local partnerships are allowing effective preparation for progress in pupils’ language learning into Key Stage 3.

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Leadership and management of ML

 Spanish is firmly integrated into the school improvement plan and the headteacher has a very clear rationale for its introduction. This takes account of the existing capacity of the staff and plans very carefully for its further development. This gradual process has ensured the commitment and enthusiasm of the whole staff.  The subject leader is very knowledgeable about the Spanish culture and she shows great personal commitment to increasing her own subject knowledge. You and your local authority have supported her well, and she is a very ready source of support and guidance for her colleagues.  Planning is very detailed and thorough and the dedicated budget has been well used to provide a good range of resources, including ICT.

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Implementing languages entitlement

The school has made a good start to the implementation of Spanish. The school has a very clear and manageable plan for further developing the capacity of its teachers to teach Spanish.

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Inclusion

The school has a very inclusive ethos. Spanish is offered to all Year 3 pupils. Teaching assistants are very well managed and their support for pupils in Spanish is excellent. This means that pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities progress as well as their peers. The progress of gifted and talented pupils is accelerated through the early use of some of the more challenging Framework objectives.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 establishing a clear policy for the planned use of the target language and English in Spanish lessons  ensuring that existing creative practice in the use of ICT is shared across the staff  developing assessment in all four skills so that pupils know how well they are doing and how to improve their work in Spanish.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop Spanish in the school. As I explained in my previous letter, a copy of this letter will be sent to your local authority. It will also be available to the team for your next institutional inspection.

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