Setting

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

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Heather Adams Headteacher Pallister Park Primary School Gribdale Road Pallister Park Middlesbrough TS3 8PW

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Ofsted visit to Pallister Park Primary School

Following my visit with Timothy Jenner, 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 Pallister Park 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 Pallister Park 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 Pallister Park Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the senior leadership team and deputy designated safeguarding lead. 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 2 September 2020. All pupils are expected to attend full time.  Attendance figures are similar to those in February 2020 and broadly in line with attendance for this time of year.  All pupils attending the school are following the usual curriculum. Leaders explained they are going to amend curriculum plans to include content that some pupils may have missed during the spring and summer terms.  In phonics, daily assessments have highlighted that some pupils require additional support to help them recall previously learned letter–sound correspondence. Pupils who need additional support, because of the gaps that have opened up in their early reading knowledge and skills, are working in small groups with teaching assistants to catch up and consolidate their prior learning.  In mathematics, teachers are assessing pupils’ understanding at the beginning of each lesson. Teachers are adapting learning activities when they identify

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

common misconceptions among pupils due to gaps in their knowledge and skills.  In the foundation subjects, such as history and geography, you are identifying the content that some pupils may have missed or not understood during COVID-19 restrictions. You plan to include this content in future learning activities and curriculum plans.  You have developed learning activities and resources that pupils are able to access remotely via the school’s website. You have invested in written work packs for pupils to use in addition to, or instead of, resources uploaded to the school’s website. You intend to use some of the COVID-19 catch-up premium funding to purchase laptops for pupils 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 board of trustees and the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Middlesbrough. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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