Setting

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

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Mrs Ann Adair Headteacher Meadow View JMI School Frampton Way Great Barr Birmingham West Midlands B43 7UJ

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Ofsted visit to Meadow View JMI School

Following my visit with Alun Williams, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 15 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 Meadow View JMI 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 Meadow View JMI 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 Meadow View JMI School

During the visit, we spoke to you, members of the senior leadership team, the learning mentor, attendance officer and officer manager. 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 all pupils in Years 1 to 6 on 3 September. Reception children joined shortly afterwards. All pupils are expected to attend full time.  Attendance is currently in line with what you would expect at this time of year. On the day of our visit, children in the Reception classes were not in school because they were self-isolating.  All pupils are studying their usual range of subjects, with minor adaptations in some subjects. For example, physical education (PE) lessons take place outdoors whenever possible and in music pupils are singing less often than they would do ordinarily. You have increased lesson time for personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education to provide more support for pupils’ mental health and well-being.  Teachers have assessed pupils’ learning to establish their starting points and identify any gaps. You explained how teachers are adapting lessons to address

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

these gaps, alongside teaching new content. For example, in reading, they are using a new approach to strengthen pupils’ comprehension skills.  In mathematics, teachers now start their lessons with ‘6 a day’ revision activities, to help pupils remember what they have learned previously.  In early years, teachers are using the outdoor area to focus on improving children’s communication, language and physical development, as teachers say that these are the areas children need to develop further.  You told us that teachers routinely upload resources that are closely linked to the usual curriculum to the school network. If any pupil is absent or any year- group ‘bubbles’ need to isolate, they can access these resources from home and get feedback on their work from teachers. Staff have received additional training to use technology to support remote learning. If any child cannot access lessons online, staff deliver paper resources, pens, pencils and other

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

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