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

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Steve Tague Headteacher Repton Primary School Springfield Road Repton Derby Derbyshire DE65 6GN

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Ofsted visit to Repton Primary School

Following my visit with Shaheen Hussain, Seconded Inspector of Schools, to your school on 6 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 Repton 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 Repton 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 Repton Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you in person, and the deputy headteacher by telephone. 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 to all pupils on 3 September 2020. Children in the Reception class started school on a part-time basis for the first two weeks.  Attendance is currently in line with the school’s normal attendance for this time of year. At the time of our visit, the Year 6 class ‘bubble’ was not in school. These pupils are self-isolating, having been sent home on 1 October 2020.  During the first two weeks of term, you prioritised subjects such as personal, social and health education, and art. Since that time, pupils have been studying all subjects. Teachers are planning learning around a book, incorporating a range of subjects.  Physical education and religious education continue to be taught separately. The new approach to the curriculum that you had planned for this term will now be implemented from the spring term 2021.  Pupils in Year 1 have been assessed to check if there are any gaps in their

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

phonic knowledge. Phonics and reading are a priority in school.  Teachers have undertaken informal assessments to check pupils’ starting points. Some formal assessments have taken place in mathematics. Teachers are using this information, and their ongoing assessments in class, to provide additional support for pupils who are having difficulty grasping an idea. Teachers are still in the process of completing assessments.  You are currently providing remote learning for all Year 6 pupils. This includes all the subjects that these pupils would have been studying if they were in school. You plan to train all teachers in this approach so that all pupils can have access to this remote learning, should they need it in the future.

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

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