Hmci Report 2002-2003 Extracts

HMCI REPORT 2002-2003 SECONDARYEDUCATION
EXTRACTS PERTAINING TO ABLE, GIFTED & TALENTED PUPILS

The following statements are taken from the annual report from David Bell, HM Chief Inspector and the accompanying annual OFSTED subject reports, available from the publications section of the OFSTED website
The full documents offer an overview of findings from the last year’s inspection reports and the extracts below illustrate the increasing emphasis on provision for able, gifted and talented pupils and suggest key areas in which schools might focus improvement.

HMCI COMMENTARY

Consistently high-quality provision for gifted and talented pupils, for example in secondary schools, remains the exception rather than the rule. In Excellence Clusters, enrichment activities have raised aspirations and involvement. Butthey have not yet had a marked effect on improving standards.

LEAs

Seven in ten LEAs give at least satisfactory support for gifted and talented pupils, but it is good in only a small proportion. Where support is unsatisfactory, it is often because of the lack of a clear strategy.

SCHOOLS

The provision for gifted and talented pupils has improved but remains inadequate in too many schools.

Standards achieved

Many schools do too little to stretch their gifted and talented pupils enough. Despite some improvement, their progress is good or better in just under half of schools inspected and unsatisfactory in almost one school in twelve. Common weaknesses are in identifying gifted and talented pupils and the assessment of their progress.

Quality of teaching and learning

Consistently high-quality provision across subjects for gifted and talented pupils remains the exception. Many schools need to do more to make sure that schemes of work set out what is meant by a high level of challenge and to provide guidance on ways of enriching and extending work for higher attainers. While activities outside normal lessons are often stimulating and extend the experience of the pupils involved, they do not generally link well with mainstream work.

SUBJECT REPORTS

SCIENCE

In spite of the improvements at Key Stage 3 there is still a tendency for work to be repeated at Key Stage 4. The upper limits of what is covered are often determined by the likely tier of entry for the examination. For some pupils this results in expectations which are too low; although they are high in six schools in ten, this is a lower figure than for most other subjects.

RE

Pupils with special educational needs and gifted and talented pupils make good progress in half of schools; however, in one school in eight and one in six respectively, their progress is unsatisfactory.

PE

Overall, pupils’ achievements have improved since last year and are at least good in over two thirds of schools. The majority of pupils with a range of special educational needs make satisfactory progress. However, the progress of gifted and talented pupils remains weak in one school in five. Although provision for pupils with special educational needs is generally satisfactory, teachers’ planning does not always indicate sufficiently clearly how the lesson content will provide for these pupils. This includes those who exhibit high levels of ability, as well as those who perform well below the level expected.

MUSIC

Pupils’ achievement in relation to their capabilities is good or better in just over half of schools in Key Stage 3, but is unsatisfactory in almost one school in eight. In Key Stage 4 it is good or better in six schools in ten and in post-16 classes it is very good in three schools in ten. Good schools make a range of provision available for pupils who have been identified as gifted across the curriculum or talented in music in particular. As well as differentiated materials and tasks, provision often includes a range of opportunities to develop their skills through extended curriculum activities. Schools that are alert to this need but are unable to provide the specialist support themselves consult local education authority (LEA) music services in order to make appropriate provision.

MODERN LANGUAGES

Pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and gifted and talented pupils make insufficient progress in both Key Stages 3 and 4. Pupils with SEN make good progress in just under half of schools, while gifted and talented pupils’ progress is good in only four schools in ten. This is often linked to a lack of differentiation in planning and teaching, as well as reflecting in some cases the unevenness in local education authority (LEA) provision to support these pupils.

MATHEMATICS

The progress made by pupils with special educational needs is good or better in over half of schools, but that made by gifted and talented pupils is less strong, particularly in Key Stage 4 where it remains unsatisfactory in almost one school in ten. Teachers do not always identify learners’ precise learning needs as they embark on their GCSE course and some pupils are insufficiently challenged at this point. In particular, the provision for the most able mathematicians is not always coherent or well planned. Too many pupils begin a course aimed at the foundation tier of entry for GCSE, which is limited in nature and ambition, rather than continuing with a broader teaching programme until a later decision about GCSE entry can be made.

ICT

There is little effective continuity from Key Stage 2 to 3 and many schools fail to meet the very different needs of pupils as they progress through the Key Stage. On entry to secondary school, pupils often range widely in prior attainment, and by the end of Key Stage 3 the difference can be as much as six National Curriculum levels. Although many teachers give well-judged guidance to individual pupils, sometimes helped by learning support assistants who are confident with ICT, generally teachers’ planning pays too little attention to these disparities. Consequently, neither the materials nor the tasks set meet the range of needs of pupils in the class. Often tasks are too challenging for lower-attaining pupils and those with special needs, while higher-attaining pupils have to mark time and are not required to apply their skills, knowledge and understanding to more demanding contexts.

HISTORY

Many lessons, including some that are good in other respects, fail to demand enough of pupils, particularly high attainers. In one school in ten, the provision in history for gifted and talented pupils is unsatisfactory and, more generally, numbers of school reports identify provision for higher attainers as an issue to be addressed. Good history teaching should make history challenging for all pupils at appropriate levels. In a few schools, there is insufficient challenge because the teaching is over-directive, or too much of the work set has too little time allocated and is closed down by the resources or the task. Homework has an important part to play in developing independent study skills. In a small number of schools, the use of homework is unsatisfactory. In rather more it is mundane, deriving from, but not adding to, what has been learned in the lesson. The key is in getting the balance right between providing a structure for learning and allowing the development of independent thinking. Work that demonstrates high achievement often arises where pupils are given opportunities, including formally assessed assignments, for detailed in-depth or outline studies.

GEOGRAPHY

In a minority of schools, teachers focus on the acquisition of knowledge but not on the broader development and application of skills and understanding. Where this occurs, lessons are sometimes over-directed by teachers, reducing opportunities for pupils to develop their independence. In particular, higher-attaining pupils are insufficiently challenged, lacking open-ended or extension activities. The most successful lessons challenge pupils and provide a range of different learning opportunities. Field studies can make an important contribution to pupils’ learning and enable them to develop their collaborative, independent and higher-order learning skills.

ENGLISH

The English curriculum is well planned to meet the needs of pupils in the vast majority of schools, although the more able are sometimes insufficiently challenged. More able pupils make good progress in over half of secondary schools, while in very few schools is their progress less than satisfactory. In general, less attention is given to the progress of gifted and talented pupils than to that of other groups of pupils. Where common texts and tasks are set to the whole class, whether mixed ability or grouped by ability, these pupils are sometimes not challenged and opportunities are sometimes missed to develop their independent reading.

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

In the vast majority of lessons, provision for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) is satisfactory and it is good in over half of schools. Provision for gifted and talented pupils is less strong and their progress is unsatisfactory in over a tenth of schools in Key Stages 3 and 4. Carefully organised Key Stage 3 projects enable pupils to make progress in researching, planning and testing, as well as in making. Teachers manage the projects well to control pace and productivity. Tightly structured projects are especially effective in supporting average pupils and those with SEN, although, when adhered to rigidly, they can discourage abler pupils from being innovative or exploring areas of interest in depth. Effective departments overcome this tendency.

BUSINESS STUDIES

Pupils’ and students’ achievement in relation to their capabilities is in line with other subjects at Key Stage 4 and in school sixth forms. Underachievement is often linked to poor literacy and, in the case of higher attainers, to insufficient challenge. A common cause of underachievement is the lack of sufficient challenge to higher-attaining students. The most effective departments ensure that extension exercises are set which require students to analyse and evaluate issues and investigate topics in greater depth.

ART & DESIGN

Compared with other subjects, art and design is particularly successful at meeting the needs of pupils with special educational needs, pupils with English as an additional language, as well as gifted and talented pupils. Around six out of ten schools are ensuring that the needs of the most able are met effectively, with post-16 provision for this group excellent in nearly four out of ten schools. The provision for talented pupils includes after-school art clubs, summer schools and workshops in galleries.