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 Clensy Headteacher Malmesbury Primary School Coborn Street Bow London E3 2AB

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education (PE)

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of the staff and pupils, during my visit on 27 May 2010 to look at work in PE.

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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 extra-curricular activities.

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education (PE)

The overall effectiveness of PE is outstanding.

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Achievement in PE

 Standards seen in lessons and extra-curricular activities were well above those expected, especially in gymnastics, football and tennis. All pupils make outstanding progress from their starting points as a result of the excellent start they receive to their physical development in the Early Years Foundation Stage and the quality of teaching overall. Pupils set and achieve challenging targets because they are taught to be ambitious. They can describe in detail the progress they have made in a broad range of activities.  Pupils have highly developed knowledge and understanding of leading a healthy active lifestyle because of the focus placed on this over the last two years. They understand the importance of hydration, a balanced diet and how much exercise they need to take each week to be healthy. They have good skills in observing and evaluating each other’s work.  All pupils spoken to were very positive about PE and this is reflected in the

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Achievement in PE

high levels of enthusiasm and commitment in lessons and extra-curricular activities. Older pupils have good opportunities to train as sports leaders and work with younger pupils at lunchtimes. Pupils cooperate extremely well, in lessons and in the playground, and understand how teamwork enables them to achieve success. The school council is influential in bringing about changes for PE. For example, they had extensive input into decision-making for the new playground markings and equipment.

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Quality of teaching in PE

The quality of teaching in PE is outstanding.

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Quality of teaching in PE

 The very high quality of teaching results from the subject leader teaching half of all lessons, opportunities for pupils to work with specialist coaches and an intensive programme of PE professional development for all staff. Staff have improved in their confidence and competence to teach PE as a result of the opportunities to attend external courses and in team-teaching activities with the subject leader, who is an excellent role-model.  Lessons are conducted at a brisk pace, transition between activities is swift and work is planned carefully to ensure pupils make the correct steps in learning new skills. Demonstrations by teachers and pupils are used very effectively to set clear expectations. Consequently, pupils make rapid progress in acquiring and developing skills and are continuously improving the quality of their performances.  The subject leader and Early Years Foundation Stage teachers have

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Quality of teaching in PE

excellent subject knowledge and know pupils’ needs thoroughly. As a result, information is used very well to support teachers’ planning and guide pupils’ development and attainment. Lessons include excellent question and answer sessions and assessment for learning strategies that enable lessons to be rapidly adapted to meet the needs of pupils with different abilities.  Teachers complete whole-class assessments at the end of every lesson and highlight gifted and/or underachieving pupils. However, the quality of the comments made on strengths and/or weaknesses of pupils’ achievements is inconsistent. Leaders acknowledge that assessment is a key priority for further development and have taken positive steps through trialling the use of National Curriculum levels of attainment. Assessment and monitoring procedures in the Early Years Foundation Stage are comprehensive.

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

The quality of the PE curriculum is outstanding.  The curriculum is broad, balanced and offers extensive experiences across a rich and varied programme of activities. The curriculum meets and exceeds National Curriculum requirements and is adapted extremely well to meet the changing needs and interests of cohorts of pupils. The school makes best use of national and international events as additional stimuli for curriculum activities. Examples include activities based around the hockey world cup. Good links are created with other subjects based on health and food, dance, and class themes and, in the case of science with work on pulse rates and blood circulation. The curriculum has been recognised within the borough sports partnership as an example of good practice.  The extra-curricular and enrichment programmes are extensive, exciting and make best use of local facilities. Pupils have outstanding opportunities

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Quality of the curriculum in PE

to participate in outdoor and adventurous activities such as sailing, dragon boat racing and climbing. Pupils of all ages have a multitude of opportunities to work with professional athletes and coaches, including those at the Josh Lewsey rugby academy and the West Ham football coaching programme. Pupils are particularly enthusiastic about sports day, opportunities to watch first-class sport at Lord’s and Twickenham and being selected to represent the borough at the London Youth Games.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

The effectiveness of leadership and management in PE is outstanding.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

 The subject leader knows the strengths and priorities for development in depth because of the wealth of thorough monitoring and development activities. Priorities are translated into a comprehensive development plan, although evaluations are not sufficiently focused on evidencing the impact on pupils’ outcomes.  The subject leader has significantly raised the profile and status of the subject over the last two years and PE now has a high profile in and around the school. Pupils’ participation rates and achievements have improved alongside staff confidence. Close working relationships have been forged with governors and the local school sports partnership, which have helped to make more information available to parents on PE and have further enhanced provision.  The school has an outstanding range of indoor and outdoor resources and equipment for PE. Displays in all PE working areas promote the subject

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Effectiveness of leadership and management in PE

fully and celebrate pupils’ achievements in a broad range of activities.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 ensuring evaluation activities focus on the impact on pupils’ achievements.

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

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