Setting

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

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Lindsay Hayward Headteacher Othery Village School Othery Bridgwater Somerset TA7 0PX

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Ofsted visit to Othery Village School

Following my visit with Stewart Gale, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 20 October, 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 Othery Village 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 Othery Village 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 Othery Village School

During the visit, we spoke to you 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. 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 7 September 2020.  School attendance is broadly in line with the normal attendance for this time of year.  Pupils are learning their usual range of subjects but with some modifications in practical subjects, for example design and technology. As well as learning in academic subjects, you have included one-to-one sessions for pupils to help them with their social, emotional and mental health.  Pupils in Years 1 to 6 have completed assessments in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers are using this information to plan the order in which key concepts and knowledge are to be taught.  Teachers have completed checks to determine pupils’ reading ability. Some pupils in Years 1 to 3 have forgotten some of their phonic knowledge. You are providing additional support to help these pupils catch up in phonics and reading.  In mathematics, teachers have pinpointed gaps in pupils’ knowledge. For

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

example, in Years 3 and 4 you have identified gaps in fractions and in Years 5 and 6 in pupils’ knowledge of times tables. Teachers are using this information to adapt learning activities to help pupils catch up.  You state that teachers will not be able to cover all the subject content missed during the summer term in the wider curriculum, such as in history and geography. However, teachers are looking to see how these gaps can be covered in future topics.  The school has provided remote education for all pupils. You have plans in place to provide online and paper-based learning should they be required in the future.

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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 and the chief executive officer of The Levels Academy Trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Somerset. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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