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

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Gillian Ball Headteacher Christ Church (Erith) Church of England Primary School Lesney Park Road Erith London DA8 3DG

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Ofsted visit to Christ Church (Erith) Church of England Primary School

Following my visit with Bryony Freeman, 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 Christ Church (Erith) Church of England 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 Christ Church (Erith) Church of England 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 Christ Church (Erith) Church of England Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and the senior leadership team, including the senior leaders responsible for safeguarding. 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 on 7 September 2020 and there was a phased return of all year groups during that week. Most year groups are attending full time. Children in the Reception classes are having a staged approach to attending full time. This is the school’s normal procedure for welcoming children when they start school.  Pupils’ attendance is slightly above what is typical at this time of year. A small number of pupils across the school are isolating at home. You are working with families to make sure that these pupils return to school safely when they are able to do so.  All pupils, including those who are isolating, are studying their usual curriculum.  You assessed pupils’ starting points in writing, mathematics and reading when they returned to school. You also evaluated their well-being. These checks have led you to focus on writing across all year groups, including early writing in the Reception classes.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 In reading, you have organised your phonics sessions across year-group ‘bubbles’ to make sure that your usual phonics curriculum can be taught. You have planned small-group sessions to close gaps in reading skills in specific year groups.  Your checks into pupils’ mathematical skills showed that most pupils were achieving broadly in line with age-related expectations. However, in Year 6, you found gaps in pupils’ skills in arithmetic. You have organised for pupils in Year 6 to be taught in smaller groups to help them catch up.  You continue to deliver your usual curriculum, which ensures that the full range of subjects is taught. You are delivering your personal, emotional, social, health and relationships curriculum within all topics and subjects.  You and your leadership team are confident that you are well equipped to deliver the curriculum remotely, should that become necessary. You have reflected on lessons learned during the COVID-19 restrictions and have

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

identified many positive aspects of online learning. For example, you are adapting the way you set homework by posting it online.

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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 board of trustees, the chief executive officer of the Trinitas multi-academy trust, the director of education for the diocese of Rochester, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Bexley. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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