Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Potts Executive Headteacher St Chad’s RC Primary School Balmfield Street Cheetham Manchester M8 0SP

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Ofsted visit to St Chad’s RC Primary School

Following my visit with John Tomlinson, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 29 September 2020, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the visit’s findings. Thank you for the time you made available to discuss your actions since September 2020, when the government expected all schools to open fully to all pupils.

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Ofsted visit to St Chad’s RC Primary School

This visit was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 (as amended) and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for visiting schools while routine inspections are temporarily suspended.

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Ofsted visit to St Chad’s RC Primary School

Ofsted’s visits to schools during the autumn term are not inspections. We are not giving graded judgements. We did not undertake the usual range of inspection activities and were unable to check other sources of evidence, such as visits to lessons or looking at pupils’ work. The content of this letter gives an overview of our discussions about what has happened in your school this term.

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Ofsted visit to St Chad’s RC Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and your senior leadership team. We did not speak to pupils because of the protective measures in place.

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Context

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s education system is managing the return to full education for pupils following an extended break in formal schooling due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. In undertaking this focused work, HMI are visiting a broad range of schools. HMI will visit a sample of:

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Context

 approximately 1,200 schools across all Ofsted grades (outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate)  maintained schools, academies and free schools, special schools and centres of alternative provision, including those in cities, and coastal, town or rural communities.

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Context

The information from this visit will feed into Ofsted’s national reporting so that the insights can be shared with the government and the education sector. We did not find any significant concerns during the visit. In such a case, an inspection report would be published on our website and available to parents and carers.

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Context

We did not consider your response to COVID-19 during the spring and summer terms 2020, when the school was not open to all pupils.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 The school opened on 3 September for all pupils from Nursery to Year 6. All pupils are attending full time.  Attendance at the time of our visit was higher than the attendance rates at this point last year.  You have prioritised the teaching of reading across all year groups. Leaders have checked the sounds that pupils know and remember. You have adapted the way that phonics is taught to help pupils to catch up quickly. You have also identified that many pupils have gaps in their vocabulary knowledge, grammar and punctuation in Years 3 to 6.  Mathematics plans have been adapted to make sure that any topics not taught during the period of COVID-19 restrictions are a high priority for teachers. Teachers have begun to check what pupils know and remember in this subject.  Pupils are following the school’s planned curriculum. You explained that teachers have adapted their planning so that any knowledge not taught during

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

the summer term is included.  The school’s website has a selection of online learning links for a range of subjects. You have also developed a range of online resources for English and mathematics, in case remote learning is required in the future. You are in the process of sharing these resources with staff and parents.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

Thank you again for contributing to this important national work. The views and experiences you have shared will help to inform future policy. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the diocese of Salford, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Manchester. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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