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

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Mr David O’Neill Headteacher The Coppice Spring Academy Pack Lane Basingstoke Hampshire RG22 5TH

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Ofsted visit to The Coppice Spring Academy

Following my visit with Janet Pearce, 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 The Coppice Spring 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 The Coppice Spring 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 The Coppice Spring Academy

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.

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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:

 You opened the school to pupils on 4 September. Pupils attended part time to begin with. Pupils are now attending full time.  Pupils’ attendance is similar to what is typical for your school at this time of year. Leaders are giving extra help to the small number of pupils who are still anxious about coming into school.  Teachers have checked pupils’ knowledge in all subjects to see what pupils have remembered. Teachers are using this information to decide what pupils need to learn next. All pupils get individualised support to help them to be ready to learn. Some pupils are receiving extra help with their communication and language skills.  Pupils are studying all their usual curriculum subjects. In addition, you now teach life skills to pupils in Years 7 to 9. Pupils in Years 10 and 11 are studying all of the GCSE and BTEC national diploma qualifications they have opted for. You are adapting what is taught, in line with any changes required by the

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

exam boards.  You have identified the need for all pupils to gain more experiences in the community. This year, you plan for pupils to take part in more visits outside of the school, including to the gym and to the beach, as local safety guidelines allow.  You have temporarily added extra tutor sessions throughout the day to help pupils rebuild positive relationships with each other and with staff. You are reviewing this at the start of October and plan to reduce these sessions as the term progresses.  You have plans in place to deliver the curriculum remotely, should this be needed as a result of COVID-19. You intend to prioritise English, mathematics, science and personal, social, health and economic education. You told us that teaching practical subjects like horticulture and catering remotely will be more challenging.

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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 board of trustees, the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hampshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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