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 Daniel Craft Headteacher St Peter’s Catholic Primary School Goresbrook Road Dagenham Essex RM9 6UU

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – citizenship

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff, during my visit on 09 July 2008 to look at work in citizenship.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – citizenship

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 – citizenship

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 parts of five lessons.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – citizenship

The overall effectiveness of citizenship was judged to be good.

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Achievement and standards

 The enjoyable, annual International Week ensures that pupils are aware of cultural and religious similarities and differences between countries.  Pupils take on positions of responsibility seriously. They contribute to the school and the community by being, for example, junior road safety officers, lunch time buddies and altar servers.  Pupils have a good understanding of the need for rules and know right from wrong.  Pupils are generous raising funds for charity, often collecting for CAFOD. The display about this charity is stimulating and its work is promoted regularly in assemblies.  Pupils apply to be elected to the school council and realise that it is an example of democracy. The council is active and puts forward sensible ideas, many of which are accepted. Recently, two Year 5 pupils attended a local authority primary school forum. They articulated what was needed in the local community convincingly.

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Achievement and standards

 Pupils have a sound awareness of how to lead healthy lives. The school promotes cycling proficiency and provides a good range of sporting activities.  The school has made a good start developing pupils’ awareness of sustainable issues; they have a basic awareness of global warming issues. The school participates in the local authority Big Green Borough day.  Supported by parents and grandparents, pupils have organised a gardening club.

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Quality of teaching and learning of citizenship

The quality of teaching and learning is good.

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Quality of teaching and learning of citizenship

 A Years 3/4 lesson on bullying, using computers, was most effective in showing pupils how they can respond and can have a voice in something to which they are opposed.  Years 5/6 were deeply involved in a lesson on local playgrounds. Pupils enthusiastically suggested ways to improve the local community. The same year group, studying Madagascar for International Week, considered why passports are important and designed their own versions.  In a Year 2 lesson linking care for butterflies with care for the environment, the importance of behaving responsibly and with consideration for others was reinforced most effectively.  In all the lessons seen during this visit pupils concentrated very well and worked sensibly in pairs and groups.

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Quality of the curriculum

 The personal, social and health education programme is rich in topics related to conflict resolution and social skills development.  Fund-raising for CAFOD is followed up by older pupils carrying out research on the charity’s website.  In religious education pupils are taught about Britain’s religious diversity.  International Week, promotion of refugee week and Black history month, and projects on India in Year 3 and Kenya in Year 2, successfully raise pupils’ awareness of many other countries’ cultures, foods and ways of life.  Year 5 pupils discuss and write about topics in the news. This is good practice that could be spread to all years. Several older classes use a children’s news website for research.  In assemblies, often organised by pupils, many songs have a strong focus on celebrating diversity, for example ‘Black or white, rich or poor, bind us together’. Pupils remember the words and understand the messages.

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Leadership and management of citizenship

 You keenly support the development of citizenship and appreciate its importance to pupils’ preparation for their future lives and understanding of community issues.  You actively develop strong links with the community, especially through the church, a local Children’s centre and an old people’s care home. Parents attend supportive workshops at the school and secondary school students on work experience help in classes.  The subject co-ordinator for religious education, and personal, social, citizenship and health education has achieved a great deal in her first year in post, particularly in devising an imaginative approach to religious education and promoting CAFOD. In preparation for new schemes of work in September 2008, she is completing an audit to highlight citizenship topics which need greater emphasis.  A learning support assistant devises imaginative ways to develop literacy skills through citizenship topics.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 spread the good practice of pupils regularly discussing topical issues  complete the audit of citizenship through the curriculum to ensure that the revised programme is ready for September 2008.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop citizenship 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 inspection.

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