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

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Timothy Rome Executive Headteacher Woodcote Primary School Dunsfold Rise Coulsdon Surrey CR5 2ED

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Ofsted visit to Woodcote Primary School

Following my visit with Mark Smith, 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 Woodcote 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 Woodcote 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 Woodcote Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the head of school and the senior leadership team. 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 opened to pupils in Years 1 to 6 on 7 September 2020. Pupils in the Reception class started full time on 18 September 2020, after their usual settling-in period. All pupils in attendance are full time.  Attendance is broadly in line with the same period last year. Some pupils with complex medical needs are not attending school. You are working with external professionals to support these pupils to return to school safely, as soon as it is possible to do so.  Currently, staff are not teaching music. Teachers are reorganising the content of the music curriculum and aim for lessons to start in November. You have made changes to the way in which science and design technology are taught, in line with the latest government guidance. You plan to return to the usual curriculum by the second half of the autumn term.  Teachers are prioritising reading across the school. They are focusing on reading stamina because some pupils now find it difficult to read longer texts.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

In phonics, teachers are checking pupils’ knowledge as they usually would. Leaders are purchasing new phonics books for pupils to take home.  In mathematics, teachers are currently checking pupils’ new starting points. You and your team intend to use the information to further adjust lesson plans to meet each pupil’s specific needs.  For the first two weeks of term, you put in place a ‘compassionate curriculum’ which aimed to rebuild pupils’ resilience, self-confidence and social skills. To support pupils’ well-being throughout the autumn term, you have allocated more time to teaching personal, social, health and economic education. In the wider curriculum, teachers are looking at how lessons can be adjusted to include important learning from the spring and summer terms.  Teachers have pre-recorded lessons for pupils to view and online activities for pupils to complete. Following a recent period when a ‘bubble’ of 120 pupils

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

had to self-isolate at home, you have plans to increase the video content within the remote learning arrangements, should more pupils need to use it in the future.

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

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