Setting

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

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Anne-Marie Maggs Head of School Dundry Church of England Primary School 110 Dundry Lane Bristol Somerset BS41 8JE

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Ofsted remote visit to Dundry Church of England Primary School

Following my remote visit with Matthew Barnes, 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 Dundry Church of England 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. 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 Dundry Church of England 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 remote visit to Dundry Church of England Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and the executive headteacher. 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 the beginning of the autumn term approximately 8% of pupils have had to work from home due to COVID-19.  In September you introduced a ‘recovery curriculum’ designed to support pupils to increase their physical stamina and reduce their mental fatigue. Although your initial focus has been on reading, writing, mathematics and pupils’ social and emotional needs, you have introduced subjects from the wider national curriculum as the term has progressed.  Computing and modern foreign languages are not currently being taught, but you are keeping this decision under regular review. You intend to return to teaching all subjects of the curriculum by the summer term of 2021.  Your checks on pupils’ reading skills have identified that there are gaps in their ability to read fluently, particularly for younger pupils. You have adapted the curriculum and increased the support provided, to build pupils’ confidence and

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

to support them in their phonics acquisition. You have also reviewed the choices of books that older pupils read in class in order to allow them to explore topical issues.  In mathematics, you have concluded that younger pupils have lost their sense of what numbers represent. Older pupils are out of practice at using the correct processes for tackling calculations. Therefore, you have refined the curriculum so that this understanding can be refreshed.  You are providing remote education for the small number of pupils who are currently not in school because they have had to self-isolate. Your online portal allows pupils to upload their work and receive feedback from their teachers. Such pupils receive work aligned to their usual curriculum, so that they do not fall behind.  You have addressed the challenges presented by some pupils’ difficulty in accessing computer equipment. This means that you are confident to proceed

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

with this way of working in the future if necessary.

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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 Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership multi-academy trust, the director of education for the diocese of Bath and Wells, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for North Somerset. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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