Setting

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

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Andrea Garcha Headteacher Hateley Heath Primary School Huntingdon Road West Bromwich West Midlands B71 2RP

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Ofsted visit to Hateley Heath Primary School

Following my visit with Heather Simpson, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 8 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 Hateley Heath 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 Hateley Heath 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 Hateley Heath Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, members of your senior leadership team, the senior leader responsible for safeguarding and the attendance officer. 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:

 The school opened to all pupils from 2 September 2020. Children joining Nursery and Reception attended school part time for the first three weeks of term. This arrangement is different to previous years. All other pupils are expected to attend full time.  Pupils’ current attendance is slightly lower than it normally is at this time of year. No ‘bubbles’ were self-isolating at the time of our visit.  Pupils are studying the full range of subjects. Staff have made minor adaptations to the curriculum content and the order in which it is delivered. For example, staff have moved swimming to later in the term. You expect pupils to return to their usual planned curriculum before summer term 2021.  You told us that staff have begun to check pupils’ learning and how much they know and have remembered. Plans are in place to carry out more formal checks later in the autumn term.  You said that reading continues to be a whole-school priority. You told us that

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

you have made checks on pupils’ phonics knowledge so that staff can adapt the curriculum accordingly and plan pupils’ next steps in learning. Additional phonics sessions have been put in place to try to support pupils to catch up.  In mathematics, leaders have identified recalling facts, such as number bonds and times tables, as an area that needs more practise.  Leaders are developing plans to deliver the curriculum remotely if needed in the future. They are using information gained from staff to decide what approach to take, for example sending work out via email daily or weekly.

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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 regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Sandwell. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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