Setting

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

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Johanna Thompson Headteacher Oasis Academy Silvertown Rymill Street London E16 2TX

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Ofsted visit to Oasis Academy Silvertown

Following my visit with Ruth Dollner, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 6 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 Oasis Academy Silvertown

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 Oasis Academy Silvertown

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 Oasis Academy Silvertown

During the visit, we spoke to you and members of the 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 to all pupils on 8 September 2020. All are expected to attend full time.  Attendance is lower than is normally the case at this time of year. Leaders have met most families to discuss the importance of full attendance. Absentees are contacted every day. Home visits take place to the most vulnerable pupils. No ‘bubbles’ have been sent home.  Small changes have been made to the curriculum. Pupils in Years 7 to 9 leave the school site to go home earlier on Monday afternoons. This means that the computer science and enrichment activities normally available have been suspended. These will resume after half term.  You told us that pupils’ acquisition of knowledge was tracked regularly during lockdown by their subject teachers. You have decided to focus on developing pupils’ confidence and love of learning before formal assessments resume in November. In class, teachers are using a range of strategies to assess where

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

knowledge gaps exist.  In mathematics, teachers have identified that pupils need to revisit their number skills. In French, key grammar concepts are being revisited before new knowledge is taught. Leaders have also decided to give priority to personal, social, health, relationships and sex education (PSHRSE) as a ‘recovery curriculum’.  In Years 10 and 11, no changes have been made to the number of examinations. Some curriculum sequencing has been altered to reflect changes to GCSE specifications or the limitations presented by lockdown. For example, in music, practical composition was postponed until the autumn term as the necessary resources were only available in school.  Teachers are making lessons available online to pupils who are self-isolating. In the event of full or partial closure, a mixture of live and pre-recorded lessons will be available to pupils. These will mirror the taught 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 regional director and chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust, the regional school’s commissioner and the director of children’s services for Newham. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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