Setting

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

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Nick Banwell Headteacher Rydon Primary School Rydon Road Kingsteignton Devon TQ12 3LP

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Ofsted visit to Rydon Primary School

Following my visit with Susan Aykin, 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 Rydon 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 Rydon 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 Rydon Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the deputy headteacher and the director of school improvement. 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 to all pupils on 8 September 2020. All pupils on the school’s roll are attending full time. A small number of pupils are no longer on the school’s roll and are being educated at home.  Pupils’ attendance is broadly in line with that of the same time last year. Leaders noted a slight drop in pupils’ attendance, early in the autumn term, due to an increase in seasonal coughs and colds. Leaders provided extra guidance for parents to help them identify COVID-19 symptoms.  Pupils are studying all the subjects in the school’s curriculum. Leaders have moved some of the music and physical education curriculum to later in the academic year, including gymnastics and teaching pupils to play the recorder. Leaders are aiming to return pupils to the full demands of the school’s curriculum by the summer term.  At the beginning of the autumn term, teachers assessed pupils’ knowledge in reading, mathematics and writing. They used this assessment information to

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

find out whether pupils have gaps in their knowledge. Leaders are using the COVID-19 catch-up funding to provide more lessons for pupils who need extra support.  Leaders are providing additional phonics support for pupils in Years 3 and 4.  Teachers are prioritising number, place value and pupils’ use of the four operations in mathematics.  Teachers are continuing to teach foundation subjects as they normally would. However, they are also providing extra opportunities for pupils to learn content they may have missed when the school was not open to all pupils.  Leaders are currently providing remote learning for a small number of pupils. Remote learning consists of the school’s curriculum, and commercial and national resources. Teachers are signposting pupils to activities they would like them to complete.

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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 trustee and the chief executive officer of Education South West multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Devon. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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