Setting

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

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Fay Hartland Headteacher Kielder Primary School Kielder Hexham Northumberland NE48 1HQ

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Ofsted visit to Kielder Primary School

Following my visit with Graham Findlay, 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 Kielder 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 Kielder 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 Kielder Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you. 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 fully to all pupils on 2 September 2020. Pupils are expected to attend full time.  You told us that attendance is broadly similar to the school’s normal attendance for this time of year.  You said that you had introduced a few days of settling-in for pupils at the beginning of the term. This was to ease pupils back into the routines of school. During this period, you focused on promoting pupils’ well-being, safety and happiness.  You said that staff have checked pupils’ phonics knowledge since their return to school. Children in Reception and pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 practise phonics and reading daily. Any pupils falling behind have extra sessions with an adult.  Pupils do mathematics every day. You said that you are checking to see what pupils in each year group know and remember. Pupils are re-visiting important mathematical knowledge, including times tables and number fluency. You

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

explained that teachers are planning to cover any content that pupils may have missed when schools were only open to some pupils due to COVID-19 restrictions.  You explained that teachers use topics to deliver subjects such as history, geography and science. You said that you are using observation and discussions with pupils to identify what pupils have learned and understood about each subject and whether there are any gaps in their knowledge.  You told us that you are reflecting on your approach to delivering the curriculum remotely. During the school’s closure due to COVID-19 restrictions, you delivered live online lessons twice weekly and used social media to engage with pupils and families. Teachers also created paper packs of work for each pupil across subjects. Parents collected these resources from the school premises. You may use these approaches in future if needed.

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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 Northumberland. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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