Setting

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

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Rachel Dare Interim Executive Headteacher Bream Church of England Primary School High Street Bream Gloucestershire GL15 6JW

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Ofsted visit to Bream Church of England Primary School

Following my visit with Elizabeth Farr, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 15 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 Bream Church of England 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 Bream Church of England 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 Bream Church of England Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and the senior leader responsible for safeguarding and the curriculum. 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 fully to all pupils on 3 September 2020. Children in the Reception class attended part time for the first two weeks. All pupils are now attending full time.  Attendance is above the normal level for this time of year.  All pupils are studying the school’s full range of subjects. You have adjusted the timetable to allow more time for reading and mathematics. Leaders plan for pupils to return to their usual curriculum by the summer term 2021.  Teachers have checked pupils’ new starting points in phonics, reading and mathematics. They found that some younger pupils have forgotten some of the sounds they need to read words. Teachers are devoting extra time to the teaching of phonics.  The assessments have also shown that some pupils do not understand what they have read. Teachers are prioritising reading and giving extra time for this.  In mathematics, teachers have noticed that pupils are out of practise at

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

recalling number facts and times tables. Teachers are providing extra mathematics sessions to help pupils practise and catch up.  During lessons in subjects such as history and geography, teachers check pupils’ understanding of important learning themes. They then adapt lessons to help pupils catch up with learning that they have missed. In other subjects, including music and design and technology, teachers have changed the order of what they teach.  You have organised learning packs for pupils who are not able to attend school because of COVID-19. Your plans for future remote learning include delivering videoconference lessons for reading, writing and mathematics.

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

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