Setting

Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0300 123 1231 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Mrs R Cooper Headteacher Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery Merryhill Road Bushey Hertfordshire WD23 1SU

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Ofsted 2009-10 subject survey inspection programme: citizenship

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of the staff and pupils, during my visit on 4 March 2010 to look at work in citizenship.

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Ofsted 2009-10 subject 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.

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Ofsted 2009-10 subject survey inspection programme: citizenship

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: interviews with you, key staff, the school council and pupils; scrutiny of relevant documentation; analysis of pupils’ work; and observation of four lessons and an assembly.

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Ofsted 2009-10 subject survey inspection programme: citizenship

The overall effectiveness of citizenship is good.

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Achievement and enjoyment of learning in citizenship

Achievement and enjoyment of learning in citizenship are good.

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Achievement and enjoyment of learning in citizenship

 Pupils display a good understanding of many of the key aspects of citizenship. In particular, they have a strong sense of fairness and understand that their actions have consequences. They demonstrate a good understanding of their responsibilities within the school and wider community.  Pupils have a good knowledge and understanding of how to care for the environment in the school, the wider community and globally. They demonstrate growing awareness of conserving natural resources through activities such as recycling, classroom compost bins and the walking bus.  The pupils’ voice is effective through the work of the school and eco- councils. They confidently participate in decision-making about real issues affecting the school community, such as the suggestions they made in the recent Respect project.  Pupils’ personal development through active participation is strong. Their behaviour is exemplary. They readily assume responsibility, make

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Achievement and enjoyment of learning in citizenship

decisions and organise their own activities. They grow in confidence and enthusiastically take responsible action, for example by acting as peer mediators and raising money for the Rwanda project during Lent.  Pupils’ knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity are satisfactory. They have a growing awareness of global diversity through the well- developed links with a village community in Rwanda. The opportunities for links with culturally diverse communities within Britain are less well developed.  Pupils demonstrate a satisfactory understanding of democracy through the elections for the school council. They have a limited understanding of how local and national democracy affects their lives.

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Quality of teaching in citizenship

The quality of teaching in citizenship is good.

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Quality of teaching in citizenship

 Lesson planning for citizenship within personal, social, health and citizenship education (PSHCE) focuses well on developing pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills in the subject. The lessons observed were characterised by good relationships and opportunities for pupils to debate issues and contribute their own views on being a global citizen.  Teachers use a range of approaches including whole-class discussion, pair and group work effectively. There are good opportunities for developing team-working and debating skills. Consequently, pupils enjoy the lessons and engage very well with the teaching. For example, Year 2 pupils confidently expressed their views on environmental issues in the local area.  Teachers use information and communication technology well in lessons, although opportunities for pupils to use digital and media resources to enhance their learning in the subject are limited at present.

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Quality of teaching in citizenship

 Lessons are planned effectively to meet the range of abilities and needs. Staff are skilled in including and supporting all pupils in their learning.  Teachers assess pupils’ achievement in citizenship effectively in lessons. Feedback to pupils in lessons successfully reinforces the personal skills that are developed through the subject.

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Quality of the curriculum in citizenship

The quality of the citizenship curriculum is good.

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Quality of the curriculum in citizenship

 Citizenship themes are planned effectively within the PSHCE curriculum as part of the school’s successful approach to pupils’ personal development. Learning across a range of subjects, such as religious education, literacy, geography and history, is planned sensibly. Work on the social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL) is well established and contributes to pupils’ excellent behaviour and positive attitudes to their learning.  The school’s extra-curricular and residential programmes support pupils’ learning and personal development very effectively.  All pupils have opportunities to play an active role as citizens and make decisions that affect the lives of others. The strong links with a village community in Rwanda provide excellent opportunities for pupils to develop a deep understanding of how their actions contribute to improving long- term economic prosperity.  Good attention is given to developing pupils’ understanding of

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Quality of the curriculum in citizenship

environmental sustainability through well-planned lessons and the eco- council.  The good work of the school council is further developed through strong transition links with a local secondary school.  Currently, too few opportunities are planned for pupils to develop a wider perspective across some strands of citizenship such as cultural diversity and the wider aspects of democracy.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in citizenship

The leadership and management of citizenship are good.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in citizenship

 You and other key staff have established a strong whole-school commitment to active and responsible citizenship in the school. There is a strong positive ethos that reflects the Catholic values that underpin the work of the school. There is a shared vision to develop the knowledge, understanding and decision-making skills required to make a positive contribution to the school and wider community.  Resources to support learning in citizenship are good. The learning environment is used very effectively to display work in the subject, such as the work of Fair Trade and the rules for being a good citizen.  The school has recently carried out an audit of community cohesion and produced an action plan that clearly identifies the appropriate areas for improvement. These include the development of cultural diversity in Britain within the curriculum.  The school has begun to link the assessment of pupils’ progress in

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in citizenship

citizenship to the whole-school monitoring system. The evaluation of its work in citizenship is largely accurate and leaders have correctly highlighted the need to improve the monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning in the subject.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 monitoring and evaluating the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning and achievement in the subject. 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, include:

As I explained previously, 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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