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

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Mr Richard Westley Head of School Brooke Hill Academy Brooke Road Oakham Rutland LE15 6HQ

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Ofsted visit to Brooke Hill Academy

Following my visit with Damien Turrell, 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 Brooke Hill Academy

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 Brooke Hill Academy

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 Brooke Hill Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you, the executive headteacher, the leader responsible for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and the school business manager. 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.

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Context

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 to all pupils on 1 September 2020. Pupils attend this school on a full-time basis.  From the beginning of September, attendance has been similar to what is typical for this time of the year. In some year groups, attendance has been higher than in previous years.  Pupils are learning all the subjects in the school’s usual curriculum.  Teachers have checked what pupils have remembered in English and mathematics. Teachers have identified the gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Pupils are receiving support to help them to catch up.  You have identified that some pupils are not as far on with their phonics as they might typically be. When reading, pupils’ use of inference and deduction is not as developed as in previous years. Teachers are covering these gaps in English lessons and by encouraging pupils to read widely.  In mathematics, pupils’ problem-solving is not as well developed as it might

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

usually be. Teachers are giving pupils more opportunities to practise this in lessons.  This term you are focusing on developing pupils’ knowledge in religious education and personal, social, health and economic education.  Should pupils or year groups need to be sent home, lessons will take place online, via a video link. It is the plan that pupils at home will do the same work as pupils in school. Thank you again for contributing to this important national work. The views and experiences you have shared will help to inform future policy.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Rutland County Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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