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

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Teri-Leigh Jones Head of Academy Maltings Academy Spinks Lane Witham Essex CM8 1EP

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Ofsted visit to Maltings Academy

Following my visit with John Mitcheson, 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 Maltings 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 Maltings 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 Maltings Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you, members of the senior leadership team, the senior leader responsible for safeguarding, the leader for the humanities department and the human relations (HR) officer for the trust. 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:

 The school opened full time to pupils on 8 September 2020. Prior to this, Year 7 pupils spent a day on site to be introduced to their new school.  Almost all pupils attended school in the first week back. Since then, there has been a dip in the number of pupils attending school. Attendance has now improved, but it is lower than is typical for this time of year.  Pupils are studying a full range of subjects. Leaders have reviewed their personal development curriculum to include a greater focus on attributes such as empathy and resilience.  Leaders of practical subjects have adapted their plans so that pupils can still undertake all learning while being able to follow the school’s safety arrangements. For example, in drama, pupils are creating monologues rather than group performances.  Teachers are currently checking pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the work completed online in the summer term. Year 7 pupils have recently

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

completed tests in reading, writing and mathematics.  Leaders have plans in place should they need to deliver their curriculum remotely. Meanwhile, teachers are continuing to use the school’s digital learning resources for pupils who are unable to attend 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 board of trustees, and the chief executive officer of the Academies Enterprise Trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Essex. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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