Setting

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

p.1

Meena Walia Headteacher Cranford Primary School Berkeley Avenue Cranford Hounslow TW4 6LB

p.1

Ofsted visit to Cranford Primary School

Following my visit with Noeman Anwar, Her Majesty's Inspector (HMI), to your school on 3 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.

p.1

Ofsted visit to Cranford 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.

p.1

Ofsted visit to Cranford 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.

p.1

Ofsted visit to Cranford Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to the senior leadership team. We did not speak to pupils because of the protective measures in place.

p.1

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:

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 The school opened to pupils in Years 1 to 6 on 3 September 2020. Nursery and Reception pupils returned fully on 25 September 2020 after a phased start.  Attendance is slightly lower than it would normally be at this time of year. This is because some pupils have had to self-isolate. To encourage attendance, safety measures are communicated weekly through the newsletter.  Pupils are studying the full range of subjects. Some changes have been made to the order in which content is being taught. For example, in computing, e- safety has been swapped with coding. Leaders expect to return to the normal curriculum by summer 2021.  When pupils returned in September, teachers found they had not been reading as widely as usual. Most pupils had been choosing to read fiction. Teachers are making increased use of non-fiction books to use during whole-class guided reading and across the curriculum.  In mathematics, teachers have made formal and informal checks on what

p.2

From this visit, inspectors noted that:

pupils know and remember. These show that pupils are not retaining facts as well as they should, for example times tables. Teachers are using memory games to help pupils remember key information.  In the wider curriculum, you are aware that some learning was missed last term. For example, Year 2 pupils did not learn about the history of seaside holidays. You have identified the teaching of chronology and changes in living memory as a priority.  Currently, paper-based tasks are provided for individual pupils who are unable to attend due to self-isolation. These include activities such as comprehension, times tables and a topic-based task. If an entire class were to be isolating, plans are in place to use an online learning platform.

p.2

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.

p.3

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

p.3