Setting

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

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Sam Bowden Headteacher St Neot Community Primary School Loveny Road St Neot Cornwall PL14 6NL

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Ofsted remote visit to St Neot Community Primary School

Following my remote visit with Matt Middlemore, 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 St Neot Community 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 lockdown restrictions, we made this visit remotely to reduce pressure on the school.

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Ofsted remote visit to St Neot Community 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 St Neot Community Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and the deputy headteacher. You are responsible for safeguarding. 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 (coronavirus) 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:

 No pupils have had to self-isolate.  Pupils began studying their usual curriculum from 3 September 2020. The order of topics they study has changed in music and physical education. In Years 5 and 6, pupils are spending more time learning science.  Children in the Nursery and Reception class are continuing to follow the early years curriculum.  Teachers have checked pupils’ starting points in reading. You told us that this has helped teachers to identify the precise letter sounds that pupils need help with. You have introduced extra reading sessions to help pupils catch up.  You have checked pupils’ understanding in mathematics. You found that some pupils have lost their fluency when working with numbers. You have introduced extra sessions to help pupils get back on track.  You have undertaken checks to see what pupils know in other subjects, such as writing, music and science. Teachers are using this information to identify

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

gaps in pupils’ learning and to adjust their teaching accordingly.  You have conducted a survey of families’ access to the internet. You are using this information to plan a multimedia-based approach to remote education. You told us that pupils will study the same curriculum as if they were in their classroom.  Staff have attended training in how to teach reading, history and religious education remotely. You have planned further training in remote education for later in this term.

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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 Cornwall. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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