Education CommitteeFurther written evidence submitted by Derek Peaple, Headteacher Park House School, Chair Berkshire School Games Local Organising Committee and Chair Youth Sport Trust Headteacher Strategy Group
Further to my attendance at the evidence session held on 14 May and subsequent Twitter dialogue regarding how schools should be held accountable for PE provision, I wish to expand on my online comment regarding an extension of the current assessment of students’ Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development to additionally embrace “Sporting” and/or “Physical” understanding (SMSCSP) within an amended Ofsted Inspection Framework as follows:
1. Current Accountability Issues and Opportunities
1.1 Where sport and its wider values are positively embedded in a school’s culture and ethos it can have a broader and “underpinning” impact on achievement, including positive Ofsted outcomes in relation to students’ Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development.
1.2 For example, the June 2012 Ofsted Report on Park House School commented that:
“The school strongly fosters students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and the Olympic and Paralympic Values are a central theme throughout the curriculum.”
“Students engage enthusiastically in the school’s promotion of the Olympic and Paralympic Values showing respect, friendship and pursuit of excellence. Students display a good understanding of how to stay safe. A recent Values Day based on the Paralympic Value of equality, heightened students’ awareness of bullying and challenged their attitudes to people’s differences.”
“An impressive range of students take advantage of extensive school-based, national and international opportunities. They participate in high profile activities, including Olympic Games Makers and the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms project.’
“Students are directly involved in a range of collaborative projects, including those with local primary schools, schools internationally and local, community-based projects such as Gardening for the Games. These rich and memorable experiences promote students’ good social, moral, spiritual and cultural development.”
“A (Olympic and Paralympic) Values-centred ambition for students inspired by the Headteacher and governing body drives the school’s effective improvement.”
1.3 In many respects, however, I believe these comments were highly specific to the school’s circumstances in 2012. As a “mature” specialist Sports College, Park House consciously chose this emphasis on the VaIues before and during Olympic year to shape a distinctive approach to students’ Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development.
1.4 Many schools do not adopt such an approach as they have no incentive to do so. Approaches of this type are not expressly or explicitly identified or “rewarded” within the current Ofsted Inspection Framework and are therefore less likely to be adopted or emphasised by school leaders.
2. Recommendation
2.1 I would therefore strongly recommend extending the current Ofsted focus on Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development to include an explicit assessment of “Sporting” and/or “Physical” understanding, as expressed through demonstration of sporting values and levels of participation and defined as SMSCSP.
2.2 SMSCSP assessment would be completely separate from the assessment of the quality of Physical Education teaching as covered within the existing Framework and would instead be a qualitative evaluation of the wider impact of a commitment to sporting values and participation—competitive or otherwise—to students’ personal development, formally reported on within an amended Inspection Framework.
2.3 SMSCSP Assessment Criteria would obviously need to be developed, perhaps based on demonstration of the Olympic and Paralympic Values in a wide range of school activities.
2.4 Assessment of this type would potentially have the additional advantage of embedding a legacy commitment into school improvement planning.
June 2013