Setting

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

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Jessica Bailey Headteacher Betty Layward Primary School Clissold Rd Stoke Newington London N16 9EX

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Ofsted visit to Betty Layward Primary School

Following my visit with Bryony Freeman, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 13 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 Betty Layward 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 Betty Layward 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 Betty Layward Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, your deputy headteacher and 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. 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 to pupils in Years 1 to 6 on 3 September 2020. Children returned to Reception and Nursery on 14 September with a staggered start. All pupils are expected to attend full time.  Attendance is down slightly compared to the same period in 2019. You told us how you are working closely with families to return all pupils to school.  Pupils have returned to the curriculum planned for this year and are learning the full range of subjects. There have been some adaptations, for example in music and physical education, where the school has needed to be mindful of the use of equipment. School leaders have also prioritised the teaching of personal, social and health education to support pupils’ wellbeing.  You told us you have prioritised helping pupils to catch up with their reading skills. Through their assessments, teachers have noticed that there are some gaps in younger pupils’ knowledge of phonics. School leaders have put in place

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

additional support to help pupils learn these sounds.  You told us that, in mathematics, staff have assessed that there are gaps in some pupils’ understanding of place value. Teachers have adapted their plans so that there is greater focus on addressing these gaps in pupils’ knowledge.  Teachers regularly review how well pupils recall important facts from their previous learning in different subjects, such as history and geography. You are providing pupils with opportunities to relearn skills and knowledge, using a wide range of resources, before moving onto new content.  You told us that staff have received training to use a new digital remote learning platform. You have used this to provide remote learning to pupils who have needed to isolate at home, including some live lessons. You have developed these systems further, should the school need to provide remote education to any year group ‘bubbles’ 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 Hackney. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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