Setting

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

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Denise Fannin Headteacher St Pius X RC Primary School Gatehouse Avenue Withywood Bristol BS13 9AB

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Ofsted visit to St Pius X RC Primary School

Following my visit with Stewart Gale, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 1 October 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 Pius X 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 Pius X 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 Pius X RC Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the deputy headteacher and the senior leader responsible for safeguarding. 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 to all pupils on 3 September 2020.  At the time of this visit, school attendance is broadly in line with the normal attendance for this time of year. Leaders are working each week with families of those pupils who have not returned to school.  Not all of the subjects in the national curriculum are currently being taught. Music, design technology and modern foreign languages are on hold. You will reintroduce these subjects and deliver the full curriculum at the start of the spring term 2021.  Pupils have completed assessments in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers are using this information to restructure the curriculum and determine the order in which key concepts and knowledge are taught.  You have undertaken checks to establish where pupils are up to in learning to read. From this information, you are placing a greater focus on reading across the curriculum. In Year 1, many pupils have forgotten their phonics

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

knowledge. You are providing additional support to help all pupils catch up in phonics and reading.  In mathematics, teachers have identified gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Teachers have used this information to adapt the curriculum to help pupils catch up.  Teachers are beginning to check important knowledge from the wider curriculum that pupils may have missed during the spring and summer term. They are checking for subjects such as in history and geography. You are looking to see how these gaps can be covered in future topics. You have plans in place to reintroduce educational visits to help pupils further with their learning.  The school has provided remote learning for all pupils. Leaders have plans in place to deliver further training for staff and pupils on how to use online resources should they be required in the future.

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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.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

I am copying this letter to the chair of the executive board, the director of education for the diocese of Clifton, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Bristol local authority. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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