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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Ms C Gillespie Headteacher Stewart Headlam Primary School Tapp Street London E1 5RE

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Education (PSHE)

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff, during my visit on 23 June 2009 to look at work in PSHE.

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Education (PSHE)

As outlined in my initial letter, as well as looking at key areas of the subject, the visit had a particular focus on economic well-being.

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Education (PSHE)

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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Education (PSHE)

The evidence used to inform the judgements made included: interviews with you and staff involved in PSHE, scrutiny of relevant documentation, discussion with a group of Year 6 pupils, and observation of three lessons.

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Education (PSHE)

The overall effectiveness of PSHE was judged to be good.

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Achievement in PSHE

 Pupils understand the importance of keeping fit and healthy. They enjoy taking part in a wide range of sporting activities. Take-up is high and pupils make very good use of the outdoor play equipment.  Pupils have a good knowledge of healthy eating and a balanced diet.  They are aware of the dangers of drugs, alcohol and tobacco.  Pupils have good levels of knowledge and understanding of staying safe. They fully understand about the different types of bullying, including cyber and racist bullying.  Pupils know how to manage stress and the ‘stress busters’ workshops have been very popular.  Currently, they have less knowledge of sex and relationships education because this is taught towards the end of the Year 6 curriculum.  Personal development is outstanding. The school has a very caring ethos where all are valued and respected.  Pupils develop good social skills and are able to express their ideas and

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Achievement in PSHE

opinions. They are polite, interact well with adults and develop in confidence during their time at the school.

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Quality of teaching and learning of PSHE

The quality of teaching and learning is good.

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Quality of teaching and learning of PSHE

 Teachers plan for a good range of activities in lessons.  The introduction of lessons is very effective in setting up tasks and activities with teachers often modelling answers.  Good teacher/pupil relationships are established in lessons. As a result, pupils are confident in expressing ideas and sharing personal thoughts.  Group activities are planned well, where pupils listen carefully to each other, cooperate and work collaboratively to get tasks completed.  In lessons, there is a tendency for teachers to talk too long and thus pupils are very passive.  The use of questioning techniques to sufficiently challenge pupils or encourage more to contribute is inconsistent across the school.  Arrangements for assessing and recording pupils’ progress in PSHE are developing but practice is too variable across the school.

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Quality of the curriculum

 There are effective schemes of work in place, especially in the Foundation Stage.  The work on gaining the Healthy Schools award has had a positive impact on healthy eating and increasing the amount of physical activity undertaken by pupils.  The PSHE curriculum is good with a range of well-developed cross- curricular themes.  Very effective use is made of visits and local partnerships so pupils have opportunities to work with pupils from other schools and members of the local community.  There are good examples of Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) materials being used well but they are not yet fully effective across the school.  Vulnerable pupils are exceptionally well supported with social and emotional needs. A great deal of work has been undertaken to involve families in the work of the school. The outcomes of this work are reflected in the positive outcomes for pupils receiving support.

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Quality of the curriculum

 There is no clear overview of economic well-being across the curriculum.

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Leadership and management of PSHE

Leadership and management of PSHE are good.

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Leadership and management of PSHE

 PSHE is given a very high priority in the school by senior managers.  There are examples of very good practice in the Foundation Stage.  Resources are used effectively, including training and preparation for SEAL.  Not all schemes of work in PSHE are detailed with clear links to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority criteria.  Monitoring and evaluation of aspects of PSHE such as circle time and assessment have not taken place on a regular basis.

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Subject issue: economic well-being

The development of pupils’ economic well-being is good.

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Subject issue: economic well-being

 There are some good examples of work on finance with visits to a bank, work on fair trade and activities on budgeting.  There are good links with a local secondary school with a specialism in business and enterprise in developing the curriculum.  Older pupils have many opportunities to take responsibility across the school as playground leaders, recycling monitors and school council members.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to work with others and are confident to talk to visitors.  Pupils show some weakness in their understanding of economic concepts and enterprise.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

 develop a coherent overview of economic well-being so activities are mapped across the different age groups with clear levels of progression  ensure there is a consistent approach to the recording and assessing of pupils’ progress in PSHE.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop PSHE in the school.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

As I 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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