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

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Angela Huthart Headteacher Hollingwood Primary School Lilac Street Hollingwood Chesterfield Derbyshire S43 2JG

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Ofsted visit to Hollingwood Primary School

Following my visit with Chris Davies, 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 Hollingwood 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 Hollingwood 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 Hollingwood Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, as headteacher and leader responsible for safeguarding, and the deputy 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:

 The school opened fully to all pupils on 2 September 2020. Pupils are expected to attend full time.  Attendance is in line with that seen normally at this time of year.  Currently, pupils are studying all subjects, except music and computing. In physical education, swimming and contact sports are not being taught. Educational visits take the form of ‘walking visits’ around the local area, while after-school activities are suspended. Before- and after-school care remains in place.  Leaders plan to resume the full range of subjects before summer 2021.  Staff have carried out assessments in reading, writing and mathematics, to check pupils’ new starting points. These checks show that more pupils fell behind in reading and writing than in mathematics during the period when schools were not fully open.  In Years 1 to 3, staff are providing extra sessions in phonics, to catch up on what was missed during the summer term. In Years 4 to 6, staff are aiming to

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

increase pupils’ stamina for reading by providing a broader range of books. Staff are providing increased opportunities for pupils in all year groups to practise writing skills.  In mathematics, staff are prioritising the revision of basic calculation methods and multiplication tables, to address some pupils’ knowledge gaps in these areas.  Leaders and staff are in the process of analysing what has been missed across all other subjects. They aim to expand this year’s topics to include the most important areas of missed content.  Leaders and staff have a range of strategies to deliver the curriculum remotely, if the need arises, for any individuals or class ‘bubbles’ that may need to isolate.

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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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