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

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Violet Walker Headteacher Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School High Street Barnet Hertfordshire EN5 5RR

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Ofsted visit to Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School

Following my visit with Jasper Green, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 8 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 Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ 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 Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ 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 Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School

During the visit, we spoke to you and other members of the senior leadership team, including the leader with responsibility 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. 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:

 There was a staggered beginning to the autumn term. Year 7 and Year 12 started on 3 September. The school was open full time to all pupils on 4 September.  Overall, attendance is slightly lower than you would usually expect at this time of year. Leaders have kept in regular touch with parents, and encourage all pupils to attend. At the time of the visit, pupils in the Year 9 ‘bubble’ were isolating.  Pupils are studying the usual range of subjects and you have made changes to the content of some subjects and how they are taught. For example, in physical education, teaching makes more use of outdoor facilities than in the past, and in music, pupils listen to recordings and play a different range of instruments. You are dedicating more time to mathematics and English each week, and plan to return pupils to the usual curriculum content in all subjects by April 2021.  In Years 7, 8 and 9, teachers have checked pupils’ new starting points. They

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

use the information to identify any pupils who need extra help. Teachers adapt what pupils learn to help pupils revise and memorise previous learning.  Your assessments across all subjects have shown that pupils in Years 10 and 11 lack confidence in the application of complex ideas and the use of technical terminology. Pupils practise these skills through the subject content planned for this term. Selected pupils receive further support from subject specialists to help them catch up.  Since March 2020, you have developed your provision of remote education, including online learning. Pupils are able to access lessons and resources that match what is covered in school. This term, online learning is available to year-group bubbles or small numbers of pupils, should this be needed.

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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 Barnet. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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