Setting

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

p.1

Mrs J Evans Headteacher Kenn Church of England Primary School Kennford Exeter Devon EX6 7TX

p.1

economic well-being in primary schools

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff and pupils, during my visit on 25 May 2010 to look at work in developing children’s economic well-being.

p.1

economic well-being in primary schools

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 settings will not be identified in the main text without their consent.

p.1

economic well-being in primary schools

The evidence used to inform the judgements included interviews with staff and pupils, scrutiny of relevant documentation, analysis of pupils’ work and observation of two lessons.

p.1

economic well-being in primary schools

The overall effectiveness of the provision to develop pupils’ economic well- being is good.

p.1

Features of good practice

 Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They are polite, supportive of each other and work cooperatively. As a result, they develop self-confidence and valuable team-working and problem-solving skills.  Pupils gain a good understanding, relative to their age, of the value of money and a sound understanding of money management. Good work takes place on costing and budgeting.  Pupils have a good awareness of the moral issues surrounding global economic concepts, such as poverty and fair trade. Older pupils also appreciate their relative advantage in terms of wealth and lifestyle compared with other people, both in this country and abroad. Partnerships with Goa and Moldova have contributed positively to this.  Pupils have a very good understanding of the importance of maximizing sustainability of resources, including, for example, ways of achieving this by reducing energy costs, recycling and growing one’s own food.

p.1

Features of good practice

 Teachers encourage pupils to use information and communication technology (ICT) as a research tool and this contributes positively to their overall awareness of economic issues. Pupils are encouraged to produce high quality presentations, which are fit for purpose and their intended audience.  Every attempt is made to differentiate learning activities, while enabling the small number of pupils with complex learning needs to participate fully in these, whenever possible.  The well-planned curriculum provides many opportunities for pupils to take on responsibility and develop their decision-making skills. This is the case both within formal lessons and through the many extra-curricular and enrichment activities on offer. As a result, most pupils develop well as independent learners as they move through the school.  Links with businesses provide pupils with good opportunities to learn about different occupations. There is, however, scope for developing these

p.2

Features of good practice

further; pupils currently have detailed knowledge of a few jobs, but only covering quite a narrow range.  Pupils have good opportunities to engage in enterprise activities, often linked to community events and fundraising for charities. Year 5 and 6 pupils have an above average understanding of individual enterprise capabilities.

p.2

Areas for development that we discussed, included:

 undertaking planned audit of the school’s work to promote economic well- being, with a view to embedding the key concepts more effectively across the curriculum  considering how to develop methods of assessing pupils’ progress in acquiring the knowledge, skills and understanding linked to economic well- being, as they move through the school.

p.2

Areas for development that we discussed, included:

I hope these observations are useful for the future development of work in this area.

p.2

Areas for development that we discussed, included:

As I explained previously, a copy of this letter will be sent to your local authority and will be published on Ofsted’s website under the URN for your school. It will also be available to the team for your next institutional inspection.

p.2