Setting

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

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Donna Malcolm Headteacher Alice Ingham Catholic Primary School Halifax Road Rochdale Lancashire OL16 2NU

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Ofsted visit to Alice Ingham Catholic Primary School

Following my visit with Adam Sproston, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 13 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 Alice Ingham 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 Alice Ingham 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 Alice Ingham Catholic Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the senior leadership team and those 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.

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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 reopened the school to pupils on 2 September 2020. Pupils are expected to attend full time.  Attendance is lower than it was this time last year. You are continuing to work with families to encourage more pupils to attend regularly.  Curriculum leaders have changed the school’s usual range of subjects taught. Teachers have reduced the time spent teaching modern foreign languages to give more time to English and mathematics.  Teachers have carried out checks on what pupils remember in English and mathematics. In mathematics, teachers have identified that pupils are less confident with calculations and place value. You have put support in place to help pupils to catch up.  In reading, teachers have identified that pupils are struggling with comprehension and that they have forgotten some previously taught vocabulary. Teachers have made changes to the way that reading is taught to help pupils regain their lost learning. Pupils in Years 1 and 2, and children in

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

the Reception Year, are continuing to follow the usual phonics programme.  Teachers have adapted their plans for subjects other than English and mathematics to include subject content not taught during the period when schools were only open to some children due to COVID-19 restrictions. You have put plans in place to go back to the usual curriculum in the 2021 spring term, once missed learning has been taught.  You are currently providing paper-based remote leaning for pupils. You are also developing systems to deliver remote learning electronically. You have provided training to promote pupils’ and staff’s expertise and confidence with the new systems.

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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 director of education for the diocese of Salford, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Rochdale. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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