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

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Darryl Asbury Executive Headteacher Berrybrook Primary School Greenacres Avenue Wolverhampton WV10 8NZ

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Ofsted visit to Berrybrook Primary School

Following my visit with Martin Pye, 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 Berrybrook 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 Berrybrook 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 Berrybrook Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the head of school, the deputy headteacher and the chief executive officer of the multi-academy 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. 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 in Years 1 to 6 on 2 September 2020. Children in early years returned gradually during that week. You have expected all pupils to attend as they usually would from 8 September 2020.  You said that pupils’ attendance is below normal attendance for this time of year. You made expectations about attendance clear by sending information to parents in a letter, as well as in videos made by teachers.  Pupils are learning all their normal subjects. Leaders have taken the decision to pause some elements of the curriculum, such as swimming and going on educational visits. Leaders told us that they plan to return to the school’s usual curriculum by the summer term 2021.  Teachers have checked younger pupils’ phonics knowledge. Additional help is being given to those who need it. You told us that building pupils’ stamina in reading and writing is a key priority.  Teachers have been making checks on pupils’ learning in mathematics since

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

the start of term. You have introduced additional arithmetic sessions that focus on pupils’ calculation skills.  Subject leaders have identified topics missed in the summer term. You now plan to include these topics by making changes to this year’s plans. For example, in history, you have changed this year’s unit of work on Ancient Greece to now include a comparison with the Aztecs.  It is your ambition to provide remote learning in all subjects, if required. You aim to deliver both live and recorded online lessons, in addition to using paper-based resources. 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, the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Wolverhampton. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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