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

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Joanne Carroll Headteacher Thorngumbald Primary School Plumtree Road Thorngumbald HU12 9QQ

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Ofsted visit to Thorngumbald Primary School

Following my visit with Tim Scargill-Knight, Her Majesty's Inspector (HMI), to your school on 13 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 Thorngumbald 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 Thorngumbald 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 Thorngumbald Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and the staff responsible for attendance and well- being. 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:

 You opened the school to pupils in Years 1 to 6 on 9 September 2020. Children in the Reception Year started on 14 September 2020 and had the option to attend part time for their first week. All children in the Reception Year were expected to attend full time from 21 September 2020.  Pupils’ attendance is above your school’s normal attendance for this time of year.  From the beginning of this term, teachers assessed pupils’ phonics knowledge. You explained how teachers are delivering extra phonics lessons in Years 1 to 3, to address the gaps in pupils’ phonics knowledge identified by your assessments.  You said that teachers assessed pupils’ mathematics knowledge in September. Teachers identified that pupils had difficulty using and applying their mathematical skills to problem solving. The curriculum has been adjusted to give pupils more time to practise this.  You told us that the usual range of subjects is being taught and that teachers

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

are delivering the usual content in these subjects.  Subject leaders are planning how teachers can deliver a remote curriculum matched to the school’s usual curriculum, if ‘bubbles’ need to self-isolate. You plan to use a combination of online and paper-based learning.

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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. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for East Riding. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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