Setting

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

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Lorna Kimberley Headteacher Fremington Primary School Beechfield Road Barnstaple Devon EX31 3DD

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Ofsted visit to Fremington Primary School

Following my visit with Susan Aykin, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 20 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 Fremington 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 Fremington 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 Fremington Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and your senior leadership team, leaders responsible for safeguarding and the chief executive officer of the Tarka Learning Partnership. 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:  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. Most pupils on the school’s roll have returned to school and are attending full time.  Pupils’ attendance is broadly in line with the same time last year. There was a slight decline during the second week of the autumn term due to an increase in seasonal coughs and colds. Leaders provided parents with extra guidance to help them identify COVID-19 symptoms.  Pupils are studying all the subjects in the school’s curriculum. However, leaders have re-ordered the music and physical education (PE) curriculum. Leaders have also postponed swimming lessons.  Teachers have been assessing pupils’ learning since the school fully re-opened. Leaders plan to assess pupils’ knowledge again in November to pinpoint gaps in their understanding.  In phonics, leaders checked how well pupils in Years 1 and 2 could recall their knowledge of letters and the sounds they make. Some pupils are receiving

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

extra support. In the Reception Year, children have recently begun to learn phonics.  In mathematics, some pupils are struggling with their knowledge of number and place value. Teachers are prioritising curriculum content that pupils may have missed when the school was not fully open.  In writing, teachers have noticed a decline in pupils’ basic skills. They are supporting pupils in class to help them improve these.  In subjects such as geography and science, teachers are prioritising learning that pupils may have missed, before moving on to new topics.  Across the early years, staff are prioritising developing children’s speech and language, and health and self-care, having identified that some children need extra support.  Leaders are providing remote education for a small number of pupils. Pupils access learning online. Activities are in line with what pupils would normally learn in school.

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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 Tarka Learning Partnership 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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