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

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Josephine Dibb Executive Headteacher Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School Donegal Street Islington London N1 9QG

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Ofsted visit to Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School

Following my visit with Sophie Welch, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on Thursday 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 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson 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 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson 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 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School

During the visit, we spoke to you and the senior leadership team, including the senior leader 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 to all pupils on 11 September 2020. All pupils are expected to attend full time.  Attendance is slightly below the normal attendance for this time of year. Leaders state that they are working with parents to encourage pupils back to school.  The school continues to provide a full range of subjects. Leaders have reorganised some subject content so that pupils can cover gaps in their knowledge and reinforce previous learning. In drama, for example, teachers are using larger teaching rooms and outside space so that pupils can work in groups. Leaders are confident that pupils will be able to return to their usual curriculum by summer 2021.  Teachers have used regular classroom assessments to check pupils’ new starting points. Teachers have identified what pupils have remembered from their previous learning, and what needs to be taught again, in order for pupils to access new curriculum content in the future.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 Teachers have identified an overall fall in the average reading age of pupils in Years 7 to 9. They have begun an intervention programme to support pupils to move forward in their reading.  In Years 10 and 11, each pupil will drop one of the GCSE option subjects that were due to be assessed in 2021. The time gained from this is being allocated to teaching mathematics, English and science, and in particular to teaching any topics in these subjects that have not been well learned and remembered.  The school uses a digital learning platform that all pupils can access in school and from home. If individual pupils, ‘bubbles’ or the whole school need to learn remotely, you expect that they will use the digital learning platform. You are planning that teachers will deliver their lessons via this platform, and all pupils should attend all their lessons online. The remote curriculum is fully aligned with the planned curriculum.

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

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