Setting

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

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Linda Fletcher Headteacher Crosscrake C of E Primary School Stainton Kendal Cumbria LA8 0LB

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Ofsted visit to Crosscrake C of E Primary School

Following my visit with Naomi Taylor, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 21 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 Crosscrake C of E 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 Crosscrake C of E 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 Crosscrake C of E Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you. 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. 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 fully to all pupils on 2 September 2020.  Attendance is in line with the normal attendance for this time of year.  Pupils are studying their usual range of subjects, but you have reordered the content in some lessons. For example, in geography, pupils are learning map- reading skills in the school grounds, rather than during a field trip. You intend to return to the school’s normal curriculum before summer 2021.  Teachers have checked where pupils are up to in reading. They know what content pupils have missed, particularly in phonics, and they have plans in place to help pupils catch up. You explained that reading is a high priority this term as pupils are not reading with confidence due to their time away from school.  Teachers have also checked pupils’ new starting points in mathematics. They have found that pupils have forgotten some of their previous learning, such as multiplication tables. Teachers are revisiting previous learning to help pupils

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

recover some of their mathematical fluency.  Staff have identified that pupils have lost some of their physical fitness. You are prioritising keeping pupils active through the ‘mile-a-day’ around the school grounds. In subjects other than English and mathematics, teachers are making some adjustments to teaching to help pupils catch up on missed learning.  You are developing plans to deliver the curriculum remotely, should this be needed. You are investing in new hardware to support learning at home. You are considering how best to assess pupils’ work when they are not in school. 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 Carlisle, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Cumbria. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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