Setting

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

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Kirsty Laing Headteacher Carcroft Primary School Owston Road Carcroft Doncaster South Yorkshire DN6 8DR

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Ofsted visit to Carcroft Primary School

Following my visit with Jo Sharpe, 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 Carcroft 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 Carcroft 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 Carcroft Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the deputy headteacher and the assistant headteacher. 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:

 You opened the school to all pupils on 2 September 2020. All year groups are expected to attend full time.  Pupils’ attendance is broadly in line with where it usually is for this time of year.  Pupils are studying the full range of curriculum subjects. You told us that you have prioritised pupils’ social and emotional well-being at the start of the year. You explained that teachers are providing more opportunities for children to talk about their well-being.  You put plans in place for teachers to check pupils’ phonic knowledge. They reported that there are some gaps and so you are providing additional phonic teaching time to help pupils catch up.  You explained that teachers have used time in lessons to find out what the pupils have remembered. They are using this information to plan future work. Where pupils are identified as needing more help, you will provide additional mathematics support for them.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 Teachers have started to check pupils’ knowledge and understanding in other curriculum areas, such as history and geography. You have plans to use this information to adjust the curriculum and address the gaps pupils may have from the period when not all pupils were in school.  Should it be required again, you have systems in place for remote learning to take place. This includes a blend of online teaching and resources that follow your existing curriculum.

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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, and the director of children’s services for Doncaster local authority. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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