Setting

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

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Beth Rigby-Drake Principal Harris Primary Academy Beckenham Manor Way Beckenham Kent BR3 3SJ

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Ofsted visit to Harris Primary Academy Beckenham

Following my visit with Madeleine Gerard, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 6 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 Harris Primary Academy Beckenham

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 Harris Primary Academy Beckenham

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 Harris Primary Academy Beckenham

During the visit, we spoke to you and to the senior leadership team. 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 reopened to pupils in Years 1 to 5 on 3 September 2020. Children in the Reception class started on 4 September 2020. There are a few pupils who are temporarily attending part time to help them transition back into school routines.  The current rate of pupils’ attendance is normal for this time of year. A small number of pupils are isolating.  You have reorganised music and design technology sessions so that children can benefit from the usual curriculum content in these subjects. You have made changes to the way in which science and physical education are taught. You plan to return to the usual curriculum by the spring term 2021.  Teachers have modified what is taught in each subject to enable pupils to catch up on learning missed over the spring and summer terms 2020.  Pupils have completed a piece of writing for teachers to assess. As a result, all pupils are focusing on sentence structure and writing at length.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 In mathematics, teacher assessments have indicated that there are gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Pupils are finding shape, time and fractions difficult. Pupils complete ‘early work’ as they arrive in the morning to help address these gaps.  Since September, pupils have a lot more time to read during the school day, for example because of changes to lunchtime arrangements. You have made sure that pupils have access to a wide variety of reading materials so that they catch up with reading widely across subjects.  A small number of pupils are currently accessing the curriculum through the school’s online learning platform. Leaders have established remote learning guidance for pupils and parents. Staff are being trained to teach online lessons should this be needed in the coming months.

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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 chief executive officer of the Harris Federation multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Bromley. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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