Setting

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

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Paul Baddeley Headteacher Holywell Church of England Primary School Mill Way Needingworth St Ives Cambridgeshire PE27 4TF

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Ofsted visit to Holywell Church of England Primary School

Following my visit with Kim Hall, 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 Holywell Church of England 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 Holywell Church of England 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 Holywell Church of England Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the deputy headteacher and the special educational needs coordinator. 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 Years 1 to 6 returned to school on 7 September 2020. Children in Reception started school on 10 September 2020. You expect all pupils to attend school full time.  Attendance is below what you expect for this time of the year. You are working with parents to encourage them to send their children to school.  You told us that pupils are now studying all subjects in the curriculum. Leaders have delayed some topics to give them time to plan how to teach these topics safely.  Staff have started to check what pupils know about their subjects. They have begun providing extra support for pupils who need help to catch up.  Leaders have identified that some pupils in Years 1 and 2 need extra help to learn phonics so that they can read confidently. Staff have started to deliver support to address this.  You told us that in mathematics some pupils need more practice with basic calculations. In response, leaders have provided new online resources and

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

changed the school’s approach to the teaching of mathematics.  Leaders have used the views of parents to create the school’s approach to remote education should any pupils need to learn from home. You aim to provide online options as well as activities that are not reliant on electronic devices. 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 director of education for the diocese of Ely, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Cambridgeshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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