Setting

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

p.1

Christine Chorlton Headteacher Mercenfeld Primary School Oakfield Avenue Markfield Leicestershire LE76 9WG

p.1

Ofsted visit to Mercenfeld Primary School

Following my visit with Shaheen Hussain, 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.

p.1

Ofsted visit to Mercenfeld 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.

p.1

Ofsted visit to Mercenfeld 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.

p.1

Ofsted visit to Mercenfeld Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you. We did not speak to pupils because of the protective measures in place.

p.1

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.

p.1

Context

In undertaking this focused work, HMI are visiting a broad range of schools. HMI will visit a sample of:

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 The school opened fully to all pupils on 28 August 2020. All pupils are expected to attend full time.  Pupils’ rates of attendance are above the normal attendance for this time of year. At the time of the visit, the pupils in the Year 2 ‘bubble’ were self- isolating at home.  Pupils are studying the usual range of subjects. Children in the Reception Year are accessing all aspects of the early years foundation stage curriculum.  Teachers have been checking how well pupils are able to read. Pupils’ ability to read texts fluently is similar to what it was previously. However, their ability to understand the meaning of what they are reading is not as secure. Teachers have placed greater emphasis during lessons on improving pupils’ skills of inference and deduction.  Teachers have identified that in mathematics some pupils have developed gaps in their knowledge and understanding of place value and calculation.

p.2

From this visit, inspectors noted that:

Pupils have extra activities to help them to develop their knowledge and skills in these aspects, such as learning their times tables. A few pupils have needed more activities to help them to solve mathematical problems.  The headteacher introduced a whole-school unit of learning at the beginning of the term to help pupils to reintegrate back into school life. This focused on pupils’ personal, social, health and economic (PHSE) development. Pupils had opportunities to talk about their feelings and concerns during lessons about mindfulness.  The school has introduced a programme of remote learning for the few pupils who are not attending school full time and for the Year 2 bubble that is self- isolating at the moment. Teachers are developing materials in case they need to deliver the curriculum remotely to other year groups in the future.

p.2

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.

p.3

From this visit, inspectors noted that:

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer of the Bradgate Education Partnership multi- academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Leicestershire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.3