Setting

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

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Jenny Smith Headteacher Swansfield Park Primary School The Avenue Alnwick Northumberland NE66 1UL

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Ofsted visit to Swansfield Park Primary School

Following my visit with Graham Findlay, 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 Swansfield Park 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 Swansfield Park 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 Swansfield Park Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to senior leaders. 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 to all pupils on a full-time basis on 2 September 2020.  Pupils’ attendance is higher than usual for the school at this time of the year.  Pupils are studying the full range of subjects which are typically part of the school’s curriculum. You have made some adjustments to how you are teaching the curriculum because of your risk assessments. For example, you told us you have organised the teaching of singing in small groups rather than in full classes.  Leaders directed staff to carry out checks on pupils’ reading. You explained that while most pupils have retained their knowledge of phonics, some pupils who previously found reading difficult now have increased gaps in their knowledge. In addition to the usual phonics teaching, staff are providing daily phonics sessions to help pupils to catch up.  Teachers have reviewed what pupils know and have remembered in mathematics. You told us that pupils needed to refresh their knowledge of

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

some mathematical language and their multiplication tables. Teachers are planning work to help pupils to make up any missed or forgotten learning.  Leaders have found that some children in the early years require more support with their communication and language because of the time they missed in the pre-school class or Nursery. You are currently devoting extra teaching time to this area of learning.  Leaders have identified subject content from the wider curriculum that pupils may have missed. You explained that you have adapted curriculum plans for the remainder of the year to teach this knowledge alongside existing topics and to recap prior learning. You expect to return to the usual curriculum by summer 2021.  You have invested in additional online resources so that you are better able to deliver the usual curriculum remotely, if required. You explained that you are providing pupils with opportunities to use these resources now so that

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

they are more confident to access them remotely 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 Northumberland. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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