Setting

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

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Richard Boase Headteacher Wilton Church of England Primary Academy Burcombe Lane Wilton Salisbury SP2 0ES

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Ofsted remote visit to Wilton Church of England Primary Academy

Following my remote visit with Paul Williams, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 12 November 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 remote visit to Wilton Church of England Primary 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. Following changes to government guidance and the imposition of COVID-19 (coronavirus) lockdown restrictions, we made this visit remotely to reduce pressure on the school.

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Ofsted remote visit to Wilton Church of England Primary 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 remote visit to Wilton Church of England Primary Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you, the senior leadership team and the director of education for the trust. We did not speak to pupils.

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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 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:

 Since September 2020, a small number of pupils have had to work from home for a short period of time.  Pupils are studying all the subjects in the school’s curriculum. Some content within schemes of work is currently taught in a different order. For example, in music, singing will be taught later in the year. Leaders plan for pupils to return to their usual curriculum in January 2021.  Teachers’ assessments at the beginning of the academic year showed that pupils had some gaps in their English and mathematics knowledge. For instance, some pupils are struggling to recall and use their times tables as well as they could before. Staff are helping pupils to remember more, to catch up with lost learning.  Leaders have prioritised reading across the school. They have timetabled extra reading and catch-up sessions. For example, some pupils, including children in the early years, have extra phonics lessons.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 In mathematics, teachers have changed how they present number work to help pupils fill in gaps in their knowledge. For example, teachers are using pictures to represent addition and subtraction calculations in Year 1.  Staff use personal, social and health education and extra-curricular lunchtime activities to support pupils’ development. For example, Year 5 are learning to play as part of a team during football practice.  Pupils and staff use online learning in the classroom and for homework activities. Parents have received information on how to support their children’s learning at home. If a family does not have access to the school’s online learning, paper-based activities are provided.  Leaders have plans in place to provide remote education should pupils need to study at home. Pupils would access the school’s online learning activities. Teachers plan to create live and recorded lessons.

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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 Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust, the director of education for the diocese of Salisbury, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Wiltshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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