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

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Niki Carpenter Head of School Wednesfield High Academy Lichfield Road Wednesfield Wolverhampton West Midlands WV11 3ES

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Ofsted visit to Wednesfield High Academy

Following my visit with Jane Spilsbury, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 22 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 Wednesfield High 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 Wednesfield High 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 Wednesfield High Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you and members of 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.

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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 on 2 September 2020 for pupils in Year 7. It opened on 3 September 2020 for all other pupils. You expect all pupils to attend full time.  Since the start of term, attendance has been a little lower than is normal for this time of year. You are supporting a small number of families, to encourage regular attendance. At the time of our visit, one class ‘bubble’ in Year 8 was learning at home.  You told us that all pupils are studying their usual range of subjects. You have made some changes to what is taught in a few subjects. For example, teachers of science in Years 7 to 11 now demonstrate practical experiments, rather than pupils carrying out the experiments themselves.  In Year 7, you have completed assessments of what pupils know and understand using externally-marked tests. In all other years, teachers are using assessment activities as part of their usual teaching. Each department is

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

currently bringing this information together in a ‘recovery plan’ that will aim to identify and address gaps in pupils’ learning.  You have placed a greater focus on activities that support pupils’ well-being this term, as part of your personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education programme.  Teachers routinely upload learning resources for their lessons to the school’s website. Pupils who are self-isolating access these resources through the student portal. You also provide printed packs of work for pupils who struggle to access work online. You intend to continue to use this system to provide work for any pupils who have to self-isolate 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 board of trustees, and the chief executive officer of the University of Wolverhampton 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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