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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Miss S Fenn Headteacher Ethelbert Road Primary School Ethelbert Road Faversham Kent ME13 8SQ

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – Creative Learning

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff and pupils, during my visit on 20 November 2008 to look at creative learning.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – Creative Learning

As outlined in our initial letter, the visit had a particular focus on the ways in which you develop creative learning and the impact this is having on achievement and standards and on pupils’ personal development.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – Creative Learning

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 – Creative Learning

The evidence used to inform the judgements made included interviews with staff and learners, scrutiny of relevant documentation, analysis of pupils’ work and observation of four lessons, an assembly and a lunchtime activity.

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Ofsted survey inspection programme – Creative Learning

The overall effectiveness of your school’s development of creative learning was judged to be good.

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Achievement and standards and personal development

The school sees creative learning as a route to raising attainment by developing skills that children can use throughout their learning, and seizes opportunities for group work and discussion between pupils. Cross-curricular projects are designed to promote the development of social and technical skills and contribute substantially to the outstanding personal development of pupils. They also contribute to rising standards and improved achievement, especially in foundation subjects, but as yet the contribution to improved standards in core subjects is good rather than outstanding. The school monitors the effect of creative learning well and uses its findings to inform further development.

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Quality of teaching and learning in relation to the survey

Teaching is good overall, and sometimes outstanding. Questioning and discussion feature in all lessons, and pupils understand that their opinions are highly valued. They are rightly proud when their contributions are celebrated, both informally and in the many high quality displays around the school. Opportunities for pupils to be creative are at the heart of this good teaching and contribute greatly to both personal development and achievement.

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Quality of the curriculum

The curriculum is good overall. It has some outstanding features. Cross curricular-activities, links with the community and activities outside the normal school day all provide excellent opportunities for creative learning. Pupils greatly enjoy the chance to work together, to express themselves and to use learning from one part of the curriculum to help them succeed in another. These opportunities, which originated in foundation subjects, are now being extended into the core subjects, where they contribute to rising standards.

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Leadership and management of the aspect

Leadership and management of creative learning are good, and the school has evaluated its own progress towards integration of creative learning across the whole curriculum accurately. Target-setting is good and points the way to further improvement.

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Equality and diversity

Throughout the school, every child does indeed matter, and the school rightly celebrates the diversity of cultures represented amongst its pupils and in the community.

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An area for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 the extension of creative learning to contribute fully to raising standards in the core subjects.

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An area for improvement, which we discussed, included:

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop creative styles of learning in your school.

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An area for improvement, which we discussed, included:

As explained in our 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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