Setting

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

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Paul Hudson Headteacher Duddon St Peter’s CofE Primary School Tarporley Road Duddon Cheshire CW6 0EL

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Ofsted visit to Duddon St Peter’s CofE Primary School

Following my visit with Simon Hunter, 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 Duddon St Peter’s CofE 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 Duddon St Peter’s CofE 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 Duddon St Peter’s CofE Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and the leaders responsible for English and mathematics. 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 on 2 September 2020. All pupils are expected to attend full time.  Pupils’ attendance is currently above the normal rate for this time of year.  All pupils are studying the usual range of subjects, but teachers have changed some subject content. These changes include pausing the teaching of singing in music and contact sports in physical education. You plan to return to your usual curriculum before the summer term 2021.  Staff have checked pupils’ knowledge of phonics and you have arranged support to help those pupils who need to catch up. You told us that teachers’ reading checks show that some pupils are not as confident as they were with completing comprehension activities. Extra time is being provided to help pupils overcome this difficulty.  Teachers have also checked what pupils have remembered from their learning in mathematics before March 2020. They are paying special attention to the

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

teaching of number bonds, place value and multiplication tables, because pupils need to regain their knowledge of these areas.  You have plans in place to check pupils’ knowledge in subjects other than English and mathematics before the end of the autumn term 2020.  You have provided support for staff, pupils, and parents and carers, so that learning can be delivered remotely. You told us that the resources for delivering remote education align with the school’s usual curriculum. 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 director of education for the Diocese of Chester, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Cheshire West and Chester. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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