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 J Page Acting Headteacher Ashby Fields Primary School Wimborne Place Ashby Fields Daventry NN11 0YP

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education (PE)

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of the staff and pupils, during my visit on 9 February 2010 to look at work in PE.

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education (PE)

As outlined in my initial letter, as well as looking at key areas of the subject, the visit had a particular focus on the identification of an area of best practice in PE and its impact for pupils.

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education (PE)

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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education (PE)

The evidence used to inform the judgements included: interviews with staff and pupils; scrutiny of relevant documentation; analysis of pupils’ reports; and observation of three lessons and other activities.

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education (PE)

The overall effectiveness of PE is good.

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Achievement in PE

 Pupils make good progress in PE. They receive an excellent start in the Early Years Foundation Stage enjoying a wide range of well-planned, high- quality indoor and outdoor physical activities. Almost all children leave the Reception classes reaching the expected level in physical development, with several children reaching higher levels. In Key Stages 1 and 2, pupils continue to make good progress and attain average or above average standards. Achievement in games activities is particularly good and nearly all pupils leaving the school in Year 6 are able to swim 25 metres.  Pupils’ personal development and well-being are enhanced by their involvement in PE and sport. They clearly enjoy PE and most show excellent attitudes and behaviour in lessons. Older pupils appreciate why keeping fit is important and they take responsibility for helping younger ones to play games at lunchtimes. Special provision is made for pupils with

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Achievement in PE

special educational needs and/or disabilities in the school’s sensory room and a small number of pupils are recognised for their sporting talents.

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Quality of teaching in PE

 Three lessons were observed; two were good and one was outstanding. Teachers’ planning is detailed and clearly focused on learning objectives. Learning is good for all pupils because they are given good opportunities to develop and apply their skills. Teachers model techniques well, showing pupils what they are aiming for in their performances. Teaching assistants provide effective support for individual pupils and help teachers with assessing pupils’ learning.  Teachers observe and assess pupils’ responses making useful coaching points to help them improve. They also summarise learning at key points in lessons and encourage pupils to evaluate and comment on their own progress. There are good systems in place for teachers to evaluate and record pupils’ learning. Teachers write informative reports for parents on their children’s achievements in PE, although these vary in length and detail. Little use is currently made of information and communication

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Quality of teaching in PE

technology (ICT) to support modelling and assessment in PE.

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

The quality of the PE curriculum is good.

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

 All areas of learning are included in the curriculum and teachers are linking learning in PE with work in other subjects. There is a strong focus on developing healthy lifestyles and swimming lessons are provided for pupils in Years 3 to 6. Pupils have two PE lessons on their timetable each week, although there is some slippage in the time allocated for PE in Year 6 and athletics is not included in the summer-term programme. Pupils engage in a good range of outdoor and adventurous activities during the residential visits organised for Key Stage 2 pupils, and there are plans to increase pupils’ participation in orienteering.  Involvement in the school sports partnership has increased the variety of sports activities available to pupils. There is also a good range of sports clubs led by staff and visiting coaches, and pupils take part in inter-school tournaments. Indoor and outdoor accommodation is good with an

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

excellent, well-equipped dance studio and multi-skills playground markings for outdoor games activities.

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Features of best practice

 Provision for children’s physical development in the Early Years Foundation Stage is excellent. Teachers plan many fine and gross motor challenges which enable children to develop a full range of physical skills. Learning is linked extremely well across all areas of learning and children enjoy many stimulating and enjoyable experiences in the classrooms and outdoors.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

The effectiveness of leadership and management in PE is good.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

 Subject management is currently organised across areas of learning, although this system is under review. Leaders have a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for development in PE. An action plan for developments in PE identifies the key priorities for improvement. Leaders have an accurate picture of the quality of teaching and learning and further work is planned on moderating teachers’ assessments. Good support is provided for newly qualified teachers through the provision of training courses and feedback on the quality of their lessons.  Pupils’ views are collected and contribute to the improvements made in the provision. Leaders undertake learning walks to check the quality of teachers’ planning and their lesson evaluations. Currently, too little primary link teacher time (PLT) is allocated to analysing progress data and identifying pupils who may be especially talented in PE and sport. There is

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

also scope for raising the profile of physical activities in displays around the school.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 developing teachers’ use of ICT in lessons for modelling and assessment  devoting more PLT time to analysing teachers’ assessments and subject progress data, and identifying pupils who are talented at sport  raising the profile of PE and sport in displays around the school.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop PE 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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