Setting

Mrs Sergeant Headteacher Burscough Village Primary School Colburne Close Burscough Ormskirk Lancashire L40 4LB

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – Physical Education

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff, during my visit on Friday 9 February 2007 to look at work in Physical Education (PE).

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – Physical Education

As outlined in my initial letter, as well as looking at key areas of PE, the visit had a particular focus on the Physical Education School Sport and Club Links (PESSCL) strategy.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – Physical Education

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 – Physical Education

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

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – Physical Education

The overall effectiveness of PE was judged to be good.

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Achievement and standards

Achievement and standards in PE are good.

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Achievement and standards

 Most pupils make good progress in PE and meet the national expectation by the time they reach Year 6. Teachers’ assessments show that many pupils achieve well in games.  In dance lessons observed, pupils planned, performed and remembered complex dances that included a good range of Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404045 F 020 7421 6855 www.ofsted.gov.uk choreographic elements. They showed good ability to evaluate performance and suggest improvements.  Performance in dance sometimes lacks qualities such as poise and extension because these are not always focused on well enough in the teaching.  Most pupils reach the national expectations for swimming, but exact records of achievement in swimming are not kept.  Pupils have a secure understanding of how to keep safe in PE and why it is important to keep fit and healthy.  Children in Foundation Stage reach above the expected levels of development by the end of Reception.

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Achievement and standards

 Pupils thoroughly enjoy PE lessons and the vast range of extra activities.  Pupils are totally absorbed in lessons and especially enjoy those lessons that relate to the class theme for learning.

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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

 An enthusiasm for PE among staff is communicated to pupils. Relationships are positive and pupils develop self confidence.  Lessons are well planned and learning is well structured. Pupils know exactly what they are trying to achieve and frequent reference to progress during lessons helps pupils to know what to do to improve.  Teachers assess and record pupils’ progress, using this information to make sure pupils are challenged in lessons. Pupils track their own progress against learning criteria and set targets for improvement which they find helpful.  Frequent opportunities for evaluation of their own and others’ learning help to develop their knowledge and understanding. Not enough is made of these opportunities to develop pupils’ literacy skills.  Information and communication technology (ICT) is being used to support learning within PE. Older pupils record performances and use these to evaluate performance.

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Quality of teaching and learning

 Teachers’ good knowledge of the subject leads to confidence in most teaching. In dance, opportunities are sometimes missed to develop high quality movement.

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Quality of curriculum

The quality of the curriculum is outstanding.

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Quality of curriculum

 All pupils experience at least two hours of taught PE each week.  Statutory requirements are met and a good balance of activities is taught. In Key Stage 2 all six activities are taught and a good allocation of time to swimming enables almost all pupils to achieve the national expectation.  By the time they leave school all pupils have undertaken an outdoor activity residential experience.  In Foundation Stage there is a balance between learning that is directed by adults and play. Good outdoor play facilities support learning.  The provision of extra curricular activities is outstanding. Around half the pupils from reception through to Year 6 take part. The PESSCL strategy has helped to extend activities. The school has encouraged teaching assistants and parents to contribute to the provision, making sure that they are suitably trained and prepared to take on these responsibilities. Many links with partners in the community enhance

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Quality of curriculum

provision further.  The school has worked on planning links between subjects within the curriculum. Pupils enjoy dances on themes they are studying such as dance related to Indian cultures and dance arising from imaginative writing.

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Leadership and management of PE

The quality of leadership and management in PE is good.

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Leadership and management of PE

 There is a strong commitment to high quality PE at all levels of leadership and this is shared by all staff.  Developments in PE are at the heart of the school’s long term planning. Since the early work on the healthy schools initiative, the school has held a clear strategic view on how PE can be the vehicle for raising pupils’ achievement, self esteem and respect for themselves and each other.  The PESSCL strategy has helped staff to further develop provision and recognise the value of high quality PE in contributing to pupils’ achievement and personal development.  The PE subject leader serves as a positive role model to other staff, stimulating enthusiasm among staff, and providing good guidance and support.  She has co-ordinated the work with the Schools Sports Partnership, identifying professional development needs and implementing programmes to develop staff needs, including training for teaching and

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Leadership and management of PE

welfare assistants.  The school’s self-evaluation is accurate. Pupils’ progress is tracked closely but achievement is not analysed closely to help identify priorities for improvement.  Resources are good and support learning from Foundation Stage through to Year 6. The school is constantly on the look out for ways to improve resources and opportunities for pupils further.

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Subject issue – PESSCL Programme

The impact of the PESSCL programme is good.  The school has improved the amount of taught PE time so that every pupil experiences a minimum of two hours of high quality PE per week and there are plans to increase this further.  The PESSCL programme has led to an increased awareness among staff in realising the benefit of exercise to children. Across the school staff organise ‘Huff and Puff’ breaks or ‘Brain Gym’ activities for pupils during the school day, recognising the benefits of these for pupils’ concentration. There are plans to introduce more frequent short periods of fun exercise for all pupils.  Curricular and extra curricular activities have been enhanced further through the partnership with the provision of coaches from local sporting clubs and the involvement of sports development officers. Teaching assistants and parents have been trained to take a lead role in the organisation of extra-curricular activities. All of these have led to

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Subject issue – PESSCL Programme

pupils’ increased participation in and enjoyment of sport.  The Partnership has enabled the school to make even more use of local secondary school and community facilities, enabling pupils to participate in a wider range of competitive activities.  Opportunities for professional development provided through the partnership have led to improved assessment arrangements, self- evaluation skills and the use of ICT to support learning in PE. There are plans for a number of staff to attend specific activity training in response to their development needs and for welfare assistants and pupils to attend training on supporting and leading play.  Improvements made to playground activities have resulted in improved behaviour and attitudes at playtimes.  Though support from the partnership is good, there has been some lack of continuity in communication between the partnership and the school because there have been three different school sport co-

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Inclusion

 There is a strong commitment to including all children in PE and extra- curricular activities.  Teaching assistants have received training on how best to support pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities during PE lessons.  The school goes to great lengths to ensure that all pupils benefit from activities such as swimming, school clubs and outdoor activity residential experiences.  The school has identified gifted and talented pupils and parents have been encouraged to enable their children to attend local clubs to extend them further. The school keeps records of pupils’ attendance at clubs outside of school. There are a small number of pupils of exceptional talent who are doing well in football and swimming.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 make more use of opportunities to develop pupils’ literacy skills in PE lessons  develop teachers’ skills in teaching dance to ensure that there is suitable emphasis and opportunity to develop high quality of movement  monitor pupils’ achievements more closely to identify areas of the curriculum that need further development.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop PE 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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