Setting

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404040 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Mr D Burr Headteacher Minety Church of England Primary School Minety Malmesbury Wiltshire SN16 9QL

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Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff, during my visit on 18 October 2007 to look at work in ICT.

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Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

As outlined in my initial letter, as well as looking at key areas of ICT, the visit had a particular focus on the impact of ICT on whole-school improvement.

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Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

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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Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

The evidence used to inform the judgements made included: interviews with you and your joint ICT subject leader and with Year 2 and Year 6 pupils, scrutiny of relevant documentation, analysis of pupils’ work and observation of a Year 2 and a Year 5/6 lesson in the computer suite.

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Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

The overall effectiveness of ICT was judged to be good.

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Achievement and standards

Achievement and standards in ICT are good. The contribution to pupils’ personal development and well-being is very good.

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Achievement and standards

 By Year 6, standards are above expectations and the achievement of pupils is good.  Throughout the school, pupils have good basic skills and they use ICT with confidence.  ICT has a good impact on raising standards in other subjects, especially literacy and numeracy.  From a very early age, pupils enjoy using computers, interactive whiteboards, digital cameras and digital video recorders. They are not afraid to experiment should things go wrong and they support each other well to overcome problems or to share their knowledge.

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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

 Teachers have good subject knowledge and teaching assistants support pupils well.  Pupils are effectively managed and consequently work very well together, in a calm and purposeful atmosphere.  Good use is made of interactive whiteboards to add impact to and promote interest in lessons. Older pupils confidently use interactive whiteboards but the height of the boards, especially in the ICT suite, restricts the use by younger pupils who are not always able to reach the menu and icons on the screen.  Assessment is good. Teachers track pupils’ progress well using a “traffic light” system. This effectively highlights those who are achieving well against the learning objectives and those who are not succeeding. Assessment also supports future planning well.  Pupils are given good opportunities to self-evaluate. A good example of this was seen in the Year 5/6 lesson where pupils used evaluation sheets from a previous lesson to inform the next stage in their

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Quality of teaching and learning

learning.  Good quality portfolios of work are being developed. These are beginning to providing good evidence of the developing links between ICT and other subjects and the standards achieved.

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Quality of the curriculum

The quality of the ICT curriculum is good.

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Quality of the curriculum

 The programmes of study are being taught well. There are good links with other subjects, particularly literacy and numeracy. However, some foundation subject leaders are not yet fully monitoring the impact of ICT on their subject.  Provision for traveller children and for those pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is good and they make good progress in ICT.  Good use is made of ICT to support English, mathematics, art, history and religious education.  The new computer suite is well equipped and spacious. It is having a good impact on raising standards in many subjects.  The subject is well resourced. All classes have interactive whiteboards.  Digital recorders are used well to support a number of subjects and make positive contributions to the development of pupils’ speaking, listening and creative skills. A good example was seen of pupils in the Foundation Stage using a digital recorder to record their observations

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Quality of the curriculum

during a ‘Welly Walk’ around the grounds.

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Leadership and management of the subject

Leadership and management of ICT are good and have resulted in a rapid improvement in ICT provision and the standards achieved.

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Leadership and management of the subject

 The joint leadership of ICT by you and a senior leader has resulted in a very clear vision for ICT which is shared by all staff and governors.  The strategic leadership for ICT, particularly your role, is very effective and has led to significant improvement in ICT.  There is a well developed action plan, with clear and measurable success criteria, which has impacted well on raising standards in ICT, literacy, numeracy, art, history and physical education.  Good use is being made of the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) self review framework. This is providing a good base for the planned development of the subject.  The policy for safe use of the internet is well understood by parents, carers and pupils.

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Subject issue - the impact of ICT on whole school improvement

The impact of ICT on whole school improvement is good

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Subject issue - the impact of ICT on whole school improvement

 The good links between ICT and other subjects is resulting in standards rising in ICT, English, mathematics and a number of foundation subjects.  There has been a good priority for all staff to develop their ICT skills, especially with the recent improvements in the provision for ICT within the school. This has had a good impact on teaching and learning.

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Inclusion

 Good use is made of ICT to support specific groups of pupils.  Provision for pupils with learning difficulties, traveller pupils and gifted and talented pupils is good and ensures that they make good progress in lessons.  Pupils who do not have access to home computers are able to use computer club time for homework and research.  Pupils support each another very well in lessons.

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

 develop the role of all foundation subject leaders in the monitoring of ICT within their subjects  continue to develop the portfolio of evidence to support planning, assessment and coverage  ensure that when pupils use the interactive whiteboard they can do so comfortably and safely. I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop ICT in the school.

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

As I explained in my previous letter, a copy of this letter will be sent to your Local Authority and will be published on the Ofsted website. It will also be available to the team for your next institutional inspection.

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