Setting

Ofsted survey inspection programme – Physical Education

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff and the School Sport Co-ordinator, during my visit on 14 March 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 and observation of three 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

 By Year 6 most pupils reach National Curriculum standards. A good proportion achieves above average standards and succeeds in a variety of sports. Almost all pupils reach National Curriculum standards in swimming.  Pupils in Foundation Stage achieve well. They make good progress from a low starting point because they have daily experience of Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404040 F 020 7421 6855 www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Achievement and standards

Mrs Grundy Headteacher St Edward’s RC Primary School Blackburn Road Darwen Lancashire BB3 0AA outdoor play and learning and they have 2 x 30 minute well-planned lessons of PE each week. In 2006 by the end of the Reception year around 80% of the children were working securely within the Early Learning Goals which is below local and National averages. More girls reached the nationally expected levels than boys.  Many pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 achieve well in athletics because there are good opportunities to improve in lessons, during in-school competitions and during activities after school hours.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to work safely in lessons.  Pupils know how to warm up before exercise and they understand how exercise can contribute to a healthy lifestyle. However, they are not as confident in their evaluation of each other’s performance and in using the language of PE.  Pupils enjoy PE lessons and out of school hours activities. Many pupils

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Achievement and standards

give a strong commitment to clubs and teams. A high proportion, around 50% of pupils, is regularly involved in extra-curricular activities. A group of Year 5 pupils enjoy working with younger pupils as play leaders at lunch times.

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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

 Lessons are well planned and structured so that there is a good variety of activities and good levels of physical activity. Planning does not always identify what more is expected of higher attaining pupils. Occasionally, the pace of activity is slower because of the way learning is organised.  Teachers pay good attention to helping pupils understand how to keep themselves healthy and safe.  Relationships are positive, pupils behave very well and enjoy the lessons.  Teachers share lesson objectives with pupils so that they understand what they will learn. These are used well to help pupils review what has been learned. Pupils do not always learn how to improve actions and this means that they are less certain of how to evaluate performances.  Assessment is satisfactory in Key Stages 1 and 2. In Foundation Stage assessment is good because individual pupils’ progress is tracked closely and this information helps to inform where additional support is

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Quality of teaching and learning

needed. In Key Stages 1 and 2, teachers use the Qualification and Curriculum Authority (QCA) core tasks to assess pupils for each unit of work. There are variations in the systems used to record progress and these do not always cover the four strands of the National Curriculum. The school has plans to work with the PESSCL partnership to improve systems of assessment.

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Quality of curriculum

 All pupils experience two hours of PE lessons each week including changing time. Each class holds additional short bursts of exercise such as ‘Wake and Shake’ or ‘Brain gym’. These are not monitored so it is not clear how much exercise every pupil experiences each week.  Statutory requirements are met and there is a good balance and variety of activities. A good amount of time is spent swimming enabling almost all pupils to reach National Curriculum standards.  School staff, with additional support from the partnership, provides a good range of extra-curricular activities. There are many activities for older pupils and around half of pupils in Years 5 and 6 have taken part in inter-school competitions. Following an audit prompted by the PESSCL strategy, the school has increased activities for Years 3 and 4 pupils. An increasing range of activities for younger pupils such as Yoga and multi-skills are helping more pupils in Reception, Years 1 and

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Quality of curriculum

2 to enjoy exercise.  All pupils take part in school sports days. An additional ‘Mini-Olympic’ event helps the school to identify gifted and talented pupils who then benefit from additional activities and links to local clubs offered through the partnership.

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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

 You and your subject leader are highly committed to improving provision in PE. Recognition of the value the school places on PE in supporting pupils’ health and well-being is reflected in the school’s achievement of the Healthy School’s Award in September 2006.  An enthusiastic and well organised subject leader/primary link teacher is driving through improvement with good support from the School Sport Co-ordinator and the Partnership.  The school builds a secure view of its provision through monitoring of planning, discussions with pupils and teachers, shared teaching between class teachers and the subject leader, and a review carried out by staff against the 10 high quality outcomes identified by the DfES. Assessment information is not yet analysed closely to help inform priorities.  A subject improvement plan sets out relevant actions that have arisen from the PESSCL audit and the school’s own monitoring.

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Subject issue – PESSCL Programme

The impact of the PESSCL programme is good.

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Subject issue – PESSCL Programme

 The PESSCL partnership has helped to broaden opportunities within the curriculum and out of school hours. The audit outcomes have led to an increase in the time spent on PE lessons to two hours each week for every pupil and to target additional provision towards pupils receiving fewer experiences than others.  The PESSCL strategy has supported the identification of and additional provision for gifted and talented pupils.  Teachers’ confidence has been built through in-service training and support from specialist coaches in gymnastics, dance, multi-skills games and athletics, particularly in Key Stage 1.  The partnership has supported the development of leadership skills in play for pupils and support staff and has helped to develop systems to ensure secure self evaluation through a survey of staff views against the 10 high quality outcomes.  The partnership is starting to help improve procedures for assessment.

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Inclusion

 All pupils are included in lessons. Class teachers and teaching assistants work effectively to ensure that lower attaining pupils and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well supported and make good progress.  The school identifies pupils with difficulties in developing gross motor skills early. With the support of well planned special exercise programmes pupils make rapid progress in improving their overall motor skill competence. Staff are increasingly aware of the benefits of this work to pupils’ learning and well being. The school has not yet assessed how this work is affecting pupils’ learning, attitudes and behaviour across the school.  Gifted and talented are identified and guided towards additional provision in local sporting clubs.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 improve pupils’ understanding of how to improve their work in gymnastics and dance  improve pupils’ ability to evaluate performance and develop their confidence in using the language of the subject  improve lesson planning to identify what more can be expected of higher attaining pupils  improve systems for assessment to include pupils’ progress across the four strands of the PE National Curriculum, and make more use of assessment information to identify strengths and what needs to be improved  monitor additional time given to exercise and PE to ensure that all pupils experience a full two hours of high quality PE and school sport each week.

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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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