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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Mr D Ashley Headteacher St Edmund’s Catholic Primary School Windrows New Church Farm Skelmersdale Lancashire WN8 8NP

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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 31 March 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 five lessons.

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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 in ICT are good.

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Achievement and standards in ICT

 Pupils join the school with below average skills in ICT. By the end of Year 6 their standard of attainment is average. This represents good achievement.  By the time pupils reach Key Stage 2, they use a range of applications with confidence, including internet usage, data handling, modelling and communication and presentation software.  Pupils achievement is boosted through interest and enjoyment fostered by the good teaching they receive.  Pupils have limited opportunity to use computers for measurement and control; hence, the standards reached are lower in this strand of the subject.

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Quality of teaching and learning of ICT

The quality of teaching and learning of ICT is good.

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Quality of teaching and learning of ICT

 Lessons are characterised by super relationships, meaningful activities and brisk pace.  Teachers plan thoroughly and use clear, challenging learning objectives to focus lessons.  Teachers exude confidence, bring lessons to life using the interactive whiteboards and teach with energy and enthusiasm. For example, nursery children use the interactive whiteboard as an attendance register using their finger to drag their name from one side of the board to the other.  Because ICT is taught as part of pupils’ normal classroom work, it has greater value to them as they can see its relevance and purpose.

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Quality of the curriculum for ICT

The quality of the curriculum for ICT is satisfactory.

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Quality of the curriculum for ICT

 The curriculum, developed from government schemes of work enables pupils to develop their ICT skills across most strands of the ICT programmes of study (POS).  Planned extension and support activities ensure that learners of all abilities can achieve.  An after school ICT club for older pupils provides additional time for them to develop their skills.  There is insufficient monitoring of the ICT curriculum.

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Leadership and management of ICT

Leadership and management are satisfactory.

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Leadership and management of ICT

 There is clear co-ordination of ICT across the school.  There is a development plan for ICT, which recognises the need to develop key aspects of the provision.  Careful management of ICT resources, within the constraints of a small budget, have enabled pupils to make good progress.  Whilst the ICT curriculum is planned effectively throughout the school, there is no monitoring of its delivery or evaluation of its impact. As a result, some strands of the POS receive limited attention.  There is no process for internally verifying ICT assessments.

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Impact of ICT on whole school improvement

The impact of ICT on whole school improvement is good.  The investment in classroom resources, especially interactive whiteboards has helped to make lessons more interesting and engaging for pupils.  ICT has enabled more effective monitoring and tracking of pupils.  The development of two designated ICT resource areas has improved the delivery of the curriculum.  The introduction of email, the development of the school’s website and the use of the local authority’s web portal has improved communication with all stakeholders.

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Inclusion

The subject’s contribution to the inclusion of pupils is outstanding.

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Inclusion

 Staff work hard to ensure that all pupils are provided with ICT experiences that will prepare them well for their future education or employment.  The school goes the extra mile to ensure that the significant numbers of children from disadvantaged backgrounds are fully included.  Lesson plans provide extension and support activities for pupils.  Additional ICT facilities such as the after school club ensure that all pupils have good access to ICT.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 monitoring the curriculum for ICT to ensure that the full extent of the ICT programmes of study are delivered in all years  developing an effective procedure for evaluating the impact of ICT on teaching and learning  creating an ICT assessment portfolio to support internal verification of standards.

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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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