Setting

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

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Mrs Rebecca Allard Executive Headteacher Thrybergh Fullerton CE Primary Academy Church View Rotherham South Yorkshire S65 4BL

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Ofsted visit to Thrybergh Fullerton C E Primary Academy

Following my visit with Matthew Vellensworth, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 13 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 Thrybergh Fullerton C E Primary Academy

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 Thrybergh Fullerton C E Primary Academy

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 Thrybergh Fullerton C E Primary Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you and the head of school, who is also the safeguarding lead. 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 was open to all pupils from 3 September 2020.  Attendance is currently lower than the normal attendance for this time of the year. School leaders told us that the number of pupils arriving late in the morning has reduced because of the new routines at the start of the day. A learning mentor has been employed since September 2020 to support pupils and their families in improving attendance.  Pupils are studying their normal range of subjects. Leaders plan to return to the school’s usual variety of residential trips, visits and visitors in school by the end of the summer term 2021.  Pupils are being encouraged to read more, both in school and at home, because leaders know that many pupils missed out on this during the period when schools were only open to some pupils due to COVID-19 restrictions. Extra teaching assistants have been employed to support pupils in learning to read in school.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 A mathematics booster class is being held once a week after school to help Year 6 pupils catch up on what they have missed. When gaps in pupils’ knowledge have been identified in other classes, pupils learn in small groups with adult support to help them catch up.  For other subjects within the curriculum, teachers are planning ways for pupils to catch up on missed learning.  You explained that pupils who are learning remotely can access a range of resources. These include access to a virtual teacher from the Diocese of Sheffield Academies Trust, paper-based packs supplied by the school, and online programmes recommended by the school. 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 and the chief executive officer of the Diocese of Sheffield Academies Trust, the director of education for the Diocese of Sheffield, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Rotherham. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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