Setting

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

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Mrs Katy Wilson Headteacher Green Lea First School Mill Lane Milwich Stafford Staffordshire ST18 0EU

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Ofsted visit to Green Lea First School

Following my visit with Heather Phillips, 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 Green Lea First 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 Green Lea First 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 Green Lea First School

During the visit, we spoke to you. 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:

 You opened the school to all pupils on 2 September 2020. All pupils were able to attend full time from that date.  Pupils’ current attendance is slightly above what it normally is at this time of year. No ‘bubbles’ were self-isolating at the time of our visit.  Pupils are following the full range of subjects on their return to school. Staff have made minor adaptations to the usual curriculum in order to follow government guidance. For example, singing is being taught in small groups, with social distancing in place. You expect pupils to return to their usual curriculum before the summer term in 2021.  You told us that staff have checked pupils’ learning and how much they know and have remembered. Plans are in place to carry out more-formal checks later in the autumn term. You said your main priority was to ensure that children were safe, settled and happy.  You said that reading continues to be a whole-school priority. You told us that

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

you have carried out checks on pupils’ phonic knowledge so that staff can adapt the curriculum accordingly and plan pupils’ next steps in learning.  In mathematics, leaders have identified that pupils’ speed and fluency in mental mathematics are areas that need more practice. Staff are using this information to plan what they are going to teach pupils next.  All the subjects within the wider curriculum are being taught. You told us that staff are making use of the school’s outdoor space when teaching forest school and science, for example.  You explained that you have provided remote learning by sending emails and paper copies of work to families. You said that you plan to work in this way in the future when needed. You stated that this work is in line with the school’s current curriculum.

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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 governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Staffordshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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