Setting

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

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Debbie Mulcock Acting Headteacher St Anne’s and St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School Sandy Lane Accrington Lancashire BB5 2AN

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Ofsted visit to St Anne’s and St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School

Following my visit with John Donald, 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 St Anne’s and St Joseph’s Roman Catholic 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 Anne’s and St Joseph’s Roman Catholic 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 Anne’s and St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School

During the visit, we spoke with you and your acting deputy headteacher. You are both the designated safeguarding leads. 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. Children in the Reception class attended for three half-days in the first week. They are now attending full time. You expect all pupils to attend full time.  Pupils’ attendance has been broadly similar to this time last year.  You told us that all pupils are studying the full range of curriculum subjects, except for computing. You aim to return to the full curriculum by summer 2021.  You have identified some of the learning that pupils have not remembered from the summer term 2020. Teachers are adapting the curriculum to meet pupils’ new starting points. For example, teachers are rebuilding pupils’ vocabulary, right across the curriculum.  You have checked pupils’ new starting points in phonics in the Reception Year, Year 1 and Year 2. Many pupils are behind where you would like them to be in their reading. This has been particularly noticeable in Year 1. Extra

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

sessions and support are in place so that pupils can catch up as soon as possible.  In mathematics, you know that many pupils have become slower at recalling mathematical facts and less confident at explaining their reasoning. Again, you have put catch-up sessions in place for all year groups.  You have chosen not to formally assess pupils’ new starting points in subjects such as history and geography. Across the wider curriculum, teachers are checking what pupils know and can do, in subjects such as history and geography, so that they can adapt their planning to take account of any gaps.  During the period of local restrictions, you found some remote learning options were easier for parents to use and more helpful in supporting pupils’ learning. You have invested in more of these resources, in the event you need to use them 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 governing body, the director of education for the diocese of Salford and the director of children’s services for Lancashire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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