Setting

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

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Jenny Cockett Headteacher Westgate Community Primary School and Nursery Brooklands Close Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP33 3JX

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Ofsted visit to Westgate Community Primary School and Nursery

Following my visit with Steve Mellors, 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 Westgate Community Primary School and Nursery

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 Westgate Community Primary School and Nursery

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 Westgate Community Primary School and Nursery

During the visit, we spoke to you, the deputy headteacher and the assistant headteacher. 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 reopened fully to all pupils on 5 September 2020. There are a few pupils attending part time as a planned transition back to full-time education.  Attendance is in line with that normally expected at this time of year.  Pupils are studying the usual range of subjects.  Teachers are currently assessing where pupils might have gaps in their learning as a result of the partial closure of schools earlier in the year. They intend to plan for catch-up work for individuals as needed and identify areas that whole classes need to work on.  In English and mathematics, additional time is being given in the afternoons to enable pupils to revisit content from the spring and summer terms.  Pupils are revisiting early phonics, handwriting and comprehension activities, linked to their work in other subjects.  In mathematics, teachers are revisiting some curriculum content before introducing new content. They are using their regular ‘maths meetings’ to

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

revisit some of the spring and summer terms’ topics.  Leaders had always intended to launch a revised wider curriculum in September 2020. This is in place, although the content of some subjects (French, music and physical education) is slightly reduced to take account of the school’s safety measures and the additional English and mathematics teaching.  For individual pupils who are away from school, there are a range of activities signposted on the school’s website. Should there be the need for whole classes to learn at home, leaders intend to use online learning to continue to provide the curriculum that would be in place in school.

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

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