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

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Nicola Hyde-Boughey Headteacher Claremont High School Claremont Avenue Kenton Harrow HA3 0UH

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Ofsted visit to Claremont High School

Following my visit with Mark Smith, 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 Claremont High 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 Claremont High 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 Claremont High School

During the visit, we spoke to you, members of the senior leadership team including the leader with responsibility for safeguarding, and two subject leaders. 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, full time, on 8 September 2020. The start of the school term was staggered from 3 September 2020 onwards for different year groups. Most pupils are attending, including students in the sixth form.  Attendance is slightly lower than it was at this time last year. Leaders have created an additional role, in the school’s attendance management team, to work with targeted pupils and families.  In Years 7 to 9, all pupils are studying all the subjects in the school’s full curriculum. Teachers have made decisions about what to teach based on their analysis of the content covered when education was delivered remotely.  All pupils in Years 10 and 11 have returned to their usual timetable. They are studying the full range of subjects they opted for at GCSE level and those that the school requires all pupils to study.  All students in the sixth form have started their planned courses. This term,

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

teachers have based the curriculum on content that was not fully covered at GCSE level.  Assessment is ongoing and provides leaders with the information they need to decide the order in which topics are taught. Leaders have planned what pupils will learn in each subject, to fill any gaps identified in pupils’ knowledge and skills. This is the basis of the school’s ‘recovery curriculum’ being taught in all subjects this term.  Remote learning is already in place for pupils that are unable to attend school. It follows the school’s existing curriculum and is supported by regular quizzes and online assessments. Leaders have put in place a wider plan to deliver all the curriculum remotely, should it be needed. Leaders have closely aligned remote learning to the school’s existing curriculum in each subject.

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

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