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

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Simon Parsons Headteacher Sawtry Village Academy Fen Lane Sawtry Huntingdon Cambridgeshire PE28 5TQ

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Ofsted visit to Sawtry Village Academy

Following my visit with Christine Dick, 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 Sawtry Village 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 Sawtry Village 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 Sawtry Village Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you, the senior leadership team and the senior leader responsible for safeguarding pupils. 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 from 3 September 2020. You expect all pupils to attend full time. You are reassuring families that your COVID-19 safety arrangements are secure. You have produced videos to help pupils to familiarise themselves with the changes you have made to school routines.  Since opening the school to all pupils, attendance is broadly in line with the normal attendance for this time of year. You are working with families and external agencies to support pupils’ attendance.  All subjects in the Year 7 and 8 curriculums are being taught. You are making adaptations to the teaching of aspects such as science practical work, physical education and music. You have altered the order of subject content in some subjects to allow pupils to know and remember key concepts.  Pupils in Year 9, 10 and 11 are studying the full range of subjects they opted for at GCSE. In the sixth form, students are continuing with their chosen

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

courses.  Leaders are starting to check what important knowledge and skills pupils now need to learn. You are using a range of different types of assessment to understand what pupils can remember.  Prior to March 2020, you had already started delivering some of the curriculum remotely. This was because the school was closed for two days due to hurricane damage. You consider that you are well prepared for resuming remote learning if the need arises. You told inspectors that the model is based on the curriculum that pupils experience in school. 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 Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Cambridgeshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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