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

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Lyn Adams Headteacher Surrey Street Primary School Cutenhoe Road Luton Bedfordshire LU1 3NJ

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Ofsted visit to Surrey Street Primary School

Following my visit with Steve Mellors, 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 Surrey Street 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 Surrey Street 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 Surrey Street Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the deputy headteacher, the attendance manager, the wellbeing team leader and a leader responsible for safeguarding. 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:

 Pupils in Year 1 to Year 6 returned to school on Wednesday 2 September 2020. The school opened for all pupils, including children in the early years, on Monday 7 September 2020.  Current attendance is very similar to attendance at this point last year.  Pupils are learning the usual range of subjects, but you have made some adaptations to what is taught and when. For example, in physical education teachers are currently focusing on aspects of the subject that can be taught outside. You expect to return to the school’s normal curriculum, fully, before the summer term 2021.  You have assessed pupils in reading, writing, mathematics and grammar. You have found that pupils have not made the progress that you would usually expect in reading, particularly in terms of the development of younger children’s phonics skills. As a result, you have made reading a higher priority, and put additional phonics teaching sessions in place.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 Similarly, in some aspects of mathematics, you have found that pupils are behind where you would expect them to be. You have temporarily taken out some subject content, to allow teachers the time to concentrate on the gaps that have been identified in calculation and recall of multiplication tables.  You have continued to teach all subjects in your usual curriculum, although you are placing a greater focus on English and mathematics. You have decided to continue with educational visits, including swimming lessons in the local pool. You have added an additional teaching programme to the curriculum to help pupils to manage their feelings and behaviour, as they return to school after an extended period at home.  You have plans in place for pupils to be taught remotely, should this be necessary. Your plans attempt to replicate your typical school day, with English, mathematics and a physical activity in the morning, and topic work in

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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 governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Luton. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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