Setting

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

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Mrs Lynsey Ankers Headteacher St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School St George’s Avenue Thornton-Cleveleys Lancashire FY5 3JW

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Ofsted visit to St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School

Following my visit with Amanda Stringer, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 8 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 St Teresa’s Catholic 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 St Teresa’s Catholic 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 St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and members of the senior leadership team. We spoke to 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:

 You opened the school to all pupils on 7 September 2020.  Pupils’ attendance is similar to where it was at the same time last year.  You have prioritised the teaching of mathematics, reading and physical education. You have also focused on personal, social and health education to aid pupils’ return to school. Plans are in place to enable pupils to return to the usual curriculum by the summer term 2021.  With the exception of modern foreign languages, pupils are studying all subjects from the primary curriculum. Teachers made checks on what pupils remembered and what they had forgotten to establish new starting points. Teachers amended plans and incorporated key subject content that was not taught in the summer term, so that pupils can move forward with their learning.  Teachers’ checks show that pupils did not have a broad range of reading experiences during the period when schools were only open to some children

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

due to COVID-19 restrictions. Staff have increased the amount of time devoted to reading across the curriculum to promote pupils’ reading fluency.  Assessments in mathematics showed where pupils had forgotten prior learning. This has led to a focus on fractions in Years 3 to 6. Other year groups are revising their basic number facts before they move on to new curriculum content.  Staff are using a range of systems and resources to deliver the curriculum to pupils who are not in school. Plans are in place to link the resources with the school’s usual curriculum and to improve staff expertise in the delivery of remote learning. 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 director of education for the diocese of Lancaster, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Blackpool. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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