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 A Manfredi Headteacher Holy Family Catholic Primary School Lytham Road Warton Preston Lancashire PR4 1AH

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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 on 24 June 2008 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 assessing the PE contribution to the outcomes of Every Child Matters particularly being healthy.

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

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – Physical Education

The overall effectiveness of physical education was judged to be good.

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Achievement and standards

 Most pupils make good progress in PE and achieve well. Almost all children reach the expected level in physical development by the end of the Foundation Stage. Teachers’ assessments show that pupils reach average standards in Year 2, but by the time they reach Year 6 many are achieving above average standards. Most pupils manage to reach the National Curriculum swimming standard before they leave. Achievement in games is generally better than in other aspects of PE.  Older pupils’ involvement in a number of extra-curricular activities and competitions is helping them to make better progress and extend their physical skills. Pupils have good opportunities to acquire, apply and develop their physical skills in lessons. The school recognises that more emphasis could be placed on pupils evaluating their performances and looking for improvements.  Those who are talented at sport are encouraged to extend their skills in

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Achievement and standards

community sports clubs and some able pupils have been involved in multi- skills challenges organised by the local sports partnership.

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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

 Two satisfactory lessons and one good lesson were observed during the inspection. However, pupils’ good progress suggests that teaching and learning are good overall. There were a number of strengths in the lessons observed. Each session was planned carefully and followed a suitable structure. Resources were selected to match the activities. Teaching assistants give good support to pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, which helps them to participate fully in PE lessons. Teachers used demonstrations periodically to illustrate their teaching points and involved pupils in discussing their learning. We discussed how the lessons might be improved by providing more challenge for able pupils, by increasing the pace of learning and keeping pupils active, by adapting the published scheme plans to match pupils’ levels of ability and by giving pupils the chance to be more creative and independent in their responses.

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Quality of teaching and learning

 Teachers assess pupils in lessons through observation and pertinent questioning. Planning documents indicate that lesson assessments and evaluations are used to inform future planning. Brief reports are written for parents on pupils’ attitudes in PE but little information is provided on the range of pupils’ achievements. Reports for children in Reception are more detailed. Teachers have begun to assess pupils’ attainment against the National Curriculum level descriptors and this is to be extended by completing some formal assessments at the end of units of work. Information and communication technology (ICT) is used well in the Reception class to capture children’s achievements in physical development but it is not used in any other classes.

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Quality of the curriculum

 An overall plan shows when each area of learning is taught and most pupils have two hours of PE on the timetable. Swimming and an adventure activity week are provided for pupils in Years 5 and 6. A published scheme of work is used to guide lesson planning and support teachers’ subject knowledge.  Accommodation and resources are good. Some very good improvements are underway in developing outdoor play facilities. Pupils have plenty of outdoor space and can select play equipment to help them engage in purposeful play activities at break times. The school acknowledges that improvements are required in providing spontaneous outdoor learning opportunities for children in Reception.  A very good range of extra-curricular activities is offered to pupils. The school sport partnership link has been useful in providing coaches to lead many sports activities after school. Pupils take part in a number of inter-

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Quality of the curriculum

school tournaments and competitions and a school sports day. We discussed how more intra-school competitions might be organised to extend physical activity time and give older pupils more leadership responsibilities.  Participation rates in extra-curricular sports activities are high and the school ensures that pupils with additional needs are included in clubs and teams.

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Leadership and management

Leadership and management of PE are satisfactory

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Leadership and management

 Primary link training has been used to audit provision and identify improvement priorities for the PE action plan. Staff have attended two training courses in the last two years for dance and purposeful play. We discussed how an audit of professional development needs might usefully identify any gaps in teachers’ subject knowledge.  A manual system for recording pupils’ attainment has been set up and this is to be supplemented with more formal assessments of pupils’ work in PE. Good improvements are underway in developing facilities for outdoor play activities. PE and sport have a prominent profile in photographs and displays around the school. We discussed how an allocation of primary link teacher time might be devoted to monitoring and evaluating provision through observing lessons and through auditing pupils’ and parents’ views.

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being healthy

 Pupils’ involvement in PE and sport contributes well to their personal development. Pupils interviewed said that almost everyone in their classes enjoys taking part in PE. Most pupils participate enthusiastically in lessons and show good attitudes, although some younger pupils become restless when listening to the teacher.  In lessons, pupils discuss the effects of exercise on their bodies and most know what happens when they warm up. Older pupils are able to explain why taking regular exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. They also know about other factors such as eating a balanced diet and hydration. Pupils appreciate that taking part in sport helps them develop their team skills and cooperation.  Year 6 pupils have some leadership responsibilities when acting as playground buddies for Reception children. Pupils on the school grounds committee are involved in planning and developing the outdoor play

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 continue to develop a suitable system for assessing and tracking pupils’ attainment and progress in PE  explore ways in which ICT can be used to support teaching and learning, including assessment  continue to the work on developing the external learning environment, including establishing opportunities for Reception children to engage in spontaneous outdoor play  use a proportion of primary link teacher time to undertake more monitoring and evaluation of provision in PE.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop physical education 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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