Setting

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

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Mrs D West Headteacher Lincoln Gardens Primary School Lincoln Gardens Scunthorpe North Lincolnshire DN16 2ED

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – ICT

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff, during my visit on 27 March 2008, to look at work in ICT.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – ICT

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

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – 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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Ofsted survey inspection programme – ICT

The evidence used to inform the judgements made included interviews with staff and pupils, scrutiny of relevant documentation, analysis of pupils’ work and observation of two lessons involving ICT.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – ICT

The overall effectiveness of ICT was judged to be good.

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Achievement and standards in ICT

Achievement and standards are good overall.

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Achievement and standards in ICT

 At Key Stage 1, standards are broadly average. Standards reached by the end of Key Stage 2 are above average and achievement is good.  Work that pupils are doing in lessons is at a good standard in the majority of aspects of ICT.  ICT is being well used towards engaging and motivating pupils to improve their work in other subjects. Girls and boys make similar progress and pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well supported, so that they make good progress from their starting points.  Pupils are clear about how they can stay safe online and say that they feel safe using the internet for research at school. Personal development within ICT is good.

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Quality of teaching and learning in ICT

 Teaching and learning in the lessons observed were good and monitoring suggests this is the case across the school. This is because of good planning and confident delivery which enables all pupils to make good progress in developing their skills.  Tasks were well differentiated to provide good challenge for all abilities and groups of pupils.  Pupils are learning to work more independently. The school are beginning to encourage pupils to choose when to use ICT for themselves. Pupils are enthusiastic and confident users of the technology available to them.  The school has rigorous assessment and tracking in place, which is carefully moderated; assessment is good and data analysis leads to improvements in provision.  The tracking and assessment system needs to be refined further to give an overall level achieved by individual pupils, particularly at the end of each Key Stage, to give a clearer view of progress.

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Quality of the curriculum for ICT

 There is careful planning to ensure all aspects of the ICT programme of study are covered.  There are good links with other subjects which help enthuse and motivate pupils.  ICT plays a key role in the diagnosis of particular needs of pupils and in supporting the fulfilment of those needs. It is also used to give pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities improved access to the curriculum. Specialist software and equipment is provided where it is beneficial.  The strong focus on covering the statutory requirements means there is less emphasis on developing the skills which can be used within the wider curriculum.

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Leadership and management of ICT

The leadership and management of ICT are good.

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Leadership and management of ICT

 A clear vision of ICT provision has been developed and communicated to all involved. There is a strong sense of teamwork to achieve the goals from all involved.  Although the vision and good provision is relatively recent, it is an important part of the strategy towards whole school improvement.  Staff are particularly well supported and given appropriate training and guidance about how to ensure ICT has a good impact.  You and the ICT subject leader have accurately identified areas for further development and are already putting strategies in place to tackle these, such as the introduction of online learning.

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Impact of ICT on whole school improvement

ICT is having a good impact on whole school improvement.

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Impact of ICT on whole school improvement

 Implementing the vision for ICT has improved the pace of lessons, increased engagement and improved use of assessment data and analysis to improve teaching and learning.  This has helped raise standards at Key Stage 2 in particular.  ICT is helping teachers to more easily provide stimulation for a range of learning styles and provide more specific lesson objectives for different groups.  Sharing of data and analysis is leading to lesson planning which more accurately provides for the learning needs of all pupils.

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Inclusion

 Work is well matched to ability in lessons providing appropriate challenge and differentiated tasks.  Well trained teaching assistants provide good support for those who need it. There is good provision for specific learning needs. As a result, groups of pupils who might be at risk of achieving less well than expected do well and make good progress.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 refining the assessment and tracking system to show the current overall level of pupils’ work, to give a clearer view of progress  developing tasks and projects which emphasise the development of skills which can be used more widely in improving learning in other subjects

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

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:

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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