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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Mrs J Jones Headteacher Barnabas Oley Church of England Primary School Great Gransden Sandy Bedfordshire SG19 3AE

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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 with Julie Winyard HMI on 11 October 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 the subject, the visit had a particular focus on the continuity of learning between key stages.

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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, a governor and learners, scrutiny of relevant documentation, analysis of pupils’ reports, and observation of three lessons and other activities.

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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

 Standards on entry to the Foundation Stage are typically at or above expected levels. Children make satisfactory progress in their first year at school and a majority reach the Early Learning Goal for physical development. Pupils continue to make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1 and then good progress in Key Stage 2. The school’s assessments indicate that by the time they leave in Year 6, all pupils attain the expected Level 4 with some pupils reaching the higher Level 5.  Pupils acquire, develop and evaluate their skills in lessons. Older pupils have a good understanding of the significance of physical activity for keeping fit and leading healthy lives.  Pupils clearly enjoy PE and sport. Their participation in lessons is enthusiastic and they appreciate the importance of exercising safely. They show positive attitudes and behave very well. Older pupils believe they could be challenged more in gymnastics lessons. There are plans to

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Achievement and standards

introduce a junior play-leader scheme to extend pupils’ opportunities for leadership and responsibility.

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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 appropriate lesson structure is in place and suitable emphasis is given to teaching all four strands of the PE programme. This was particularly evident in the two games lessons observed, in which teachers encouraged pupils to evaluate each other’s performances and look for improvements. Teachers manage pupils well and make good use of resources. Teaching assistants give good support in the lessons in which they are deployed. There are too few opportunities for more able pupils to extend their skills.  In lessons, teachers use their observations well to assess pupils’ responses and make specific comments on aspects of learning to encourage further improvement. Each year teachers write informative reports on pupils’ progress but they do not keep detailed records of achievement, except in the Foundation Stage. The school recognises that there is more potential for using ICT to support teaching and learning, including assessment.

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Quality of the curriculum

 The curriculum includes the full range of activities, although the subject leader acknowledges that the programmes for gymnastics and outdoor and adventure activities can be strengthened further. PE is timetabled for two hours each week and good use is made of the on-site pool to enable all pupils to learn to swim before they leave the school. Indoor and outdoor accommodation is good, as is the quality and range of PE equipment. Teachers look for ways to link learning in PE to other subjects.  A good range of extra-curricular activities are attended by a sizeable proportion of pupils. Good links are established with outside providers who help run the programme of enrichment activities. All Year 6 pupils attend a residential visit which engages them in a number of adventurous outdoor activities. Older pupils also compete in some local sports partnership tournaments and competitions but the school recognises that this could be

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Quality of the curriculum

extended further. The school is currently working towards achieving ‘healthy school status’ and this is linked well to increasing pupils’ participation in physical activities.

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Leadership and management

The quality of leadership and management is good.

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Leadership and management

 The subject leader is well organised and strongly committed to improving provision further. She has benefited from the training undertaken in her role as primary link teacher to strengthen her subject knowledge. She has a developing and accurate view of the aspects for PE which require further improvement. Staff have welcomed the opportunity to attend training programmes to improve their teaching of some aspects of PE, for example in gymnastics and dance.  The subject leader has undertaken some useful monitoring and evaluation work such as collecting the views of pupils, parents and staff to identify improvements. Currently insufficient time is devoted to observing lessons to evaluate the quality of teaching and learning. Other improvements introduced by the subject leader include a wider range of extra-curricular activities and a more focused and competitive sports day.

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stages

 Continuity of learning between the Foundation Stage and Year 1 is good. Teachers ensure that learning experiences are matched appropriately so that children successfully develop their physical skills across the two year groups. Although teachers in other year groups discuss pupils’ progress with their colleagues, no records are passed on at the end of the year.  Transition from Year 6 to Year 7 focuses mainly on induction and pupils’ pastoral needs. There are no records of pupils’ achievements in PE passed to partner secondary schools. The family structure of the local sports partnership provides pupils with the chance to visit the neighbouring secondary school and meet pupils from other primary schools. However, very few pupils from Barnabas Oley attend the sports partnership secondary school.

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Inclusion

 All children are included in PE lessons and equal proportions of boys and girls attend after school clubs. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are supported well and specific programmes have been introduced to enable individual pupils to improve their coordination and make suitable progress. Pupils who have sporting talents are identified and the school supports their involvement in challenging activities outside of school, at regional level and in local clubs.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 establish a suitable and consistent system of assessing, recording and reporting pupils’ achievements in PE, and pass a summary profile of information to partner secondary schools  strengthen monitoring and evaluation by the subject leader through regular observations of teaching and learning, making good use of the allocation of primary link teacher non-contact time. 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 the Ofsted website. It will also be available to the team for your next institutional inspection.

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