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 N Bickley Headteacher St Paul’s C of E Primary School Friars Road Stafford Staffordshire ST16 2HE

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Education (PSHE)

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff, during my visit on Monday 21 January 2008 to look at work in PSHE.

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Education (PSHE)

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

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Education (PSHE)

 how the PSHE curriculum meets the specific needs of pupils in your local area, and how progress is tracked and assessed; and  the contribution made by PSHE to the future economic well-being of your pupils.

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Education (PSHE)

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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Education (PSHE)

The evidence used to inform the judgements made included interviews with you and your PSHE co-ordinator, scrutiny of relevant documentation, analysis of pupils’ work, observation of three lessons, discussions with three groups of pupils, a walkabout with you on the playground, observations in the dining hall and a whole school assembly.

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Education (PSHE)

The overall effectiveness of PSHE was judged to be inadequate.

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Achievement

Overall achievement in PSHE is satisfactory.

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Achievement

 Older pupils have a satisfactory knowledge of issues relating to sex and drugs through the successful use of external agencies such as the school nurse and members of the local community for a few sessions each year.  A minority of children had underdeveloped personal and social skills in this area.  Pupils are aware of key political figures and the election process through the election of their peers to their own school council.  They understand the basic concepts of personal hygiene and what constitutes a healthy diet, although some choose not to adopt it.

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Quality of teaching and learning in PSHE

The overall quality of teaching and learning observed is inadequate.

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Quality of teaching and learning in PSHE

 There are some good features of teaching. For example, careful planning for a range of challenging activities with the older pupils enables them to progress in PSHE recognising their own talents and those of others.  Too often however, the teaching is inadequate. Here the teacher talks too much at the expense of pupils learning and the learning objectives planned for the lesson are not sufficiently focused on outcomes for all pupils. Pupils are not involved enough in lessons.  The pace of learning in the less successful lessons is slow.  The teaching of sex and drugs education by external agencies has a positive impact on the learning of older pupils.

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Quality of the curriculum

The overall quality of the curriculum is inadequate.

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Quality of the curriculum

 The scheme of work covers statutory requirements. In its present form however, it is over-reliant on the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) materials and does not place enough emphasis on other aspects of the PSHE curriculum.  The curriculum does not make enough provision to improve the personal and social skills of all pupils who require additional support.  Older pupils report that they enjoy the sex and drugs education by external agencies.  There is no formal method of recording achievement in PSHE as part of the curriculum. Annual reporting to parents is too generic and not sufficiently related to individual pupils’ progress.

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Leadership and management of PSHE

The quality of leadership and management of PSHE is inadequate.

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Leadership and management of PSHE

 The committed PSHE co-ordinator has created a clear structure for the scheme of work, but the lack of opportunity to monitor its delivery has led to an over-reliance on SEAL materials being used by staff at the expense of other aspects of the PSHE curriculum.  There have been insufficient opportunities for training in PSHE for the whole staff apart from training in the delivery of the SEAL materials.  A minority of pupils do not receive enough support in developing their social skills.

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Subject issue: The contribution made by PSHE to the future

The economic well-being of pupils is satisfactory overall.

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Subject issue: The contribution made by PSHE to the future

 Some pupils develop leadership skills though being part of the school council and supporting younger pupils around the school.  Good transition links are made with the local secondary schools.  There are currently no enterprise education initiatives in the school.  Pupils have a satisfactory range of opportunities to develop team working skills both within the classroom and on residential visits.

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Inclusion

 All after school clubs are open to all pupils.  Specific anger management and social skills programmes are organised for a few vulnerable pupils with specific needs. This has started to have an impact on their self-confidence across the curriculum. There are however, more pupils in need of similar support.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 revisit the PSHE scheme of work to ensure a more appropriate balance of the various elements of the programme of study  ensure that all lessons have clear and measurable learning objectives that are understood by all pupils  ensure that the annual reporting to parents has a clearer statement on the individual progress made by pupils in PSHE  create more opportunities for the co-ordinator to monitor and support PSHE teaching across the school. I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop PSHE 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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