Setting

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

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Janine King Principal Wold Academy Wold Road Hull HU5 5QG

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Ofsted visit to Wold Academy

Following my visit with James Duncan, 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.

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Ofsted visit to Wold 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.

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Ofsted visit to Wold 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 visit to Wold Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you and other senior leaders, including those responsible for safeguarding. We did not speak to pupils because of the protective measures in place.

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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 to all pupils on 9 September 2020. All pupils are expected to attend full time.  Pupils are studying their usual range of subjects. However, you told us that less time is being spent on some subjects, such as art and history, to allow more time to be allocated to English and mathematics. You intend to return to the full depth and breadth of your usual curriculum by summer 2021.  Teachers have checked pupils’ phonic knowledge. They found that some pupils have forgotten sounds they previously knew, and most are behind where you would expect them to be at this time of the year. You are providing additional lesson time and support for staff to address this.  Teachers have tested pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills in mathematics. You told us that these checks show that many pupils have forgotten basic facts, such as number bonds and times tables. You are allocating extra time to these topics to help pupils to regain their previous

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

fluency.  Teachers will check what pupils can remember in the wider curriculum later in the year. Staff are using themed days to focus on subjects such as history, which currently are allocated less time than usual in the average school week.  Work booklets and digital resources are available to pupils to enable them to access the same curriculum as their peers when they are not in school. Leaders told us that this system will continue, with the addition of recorded lessons, if there is a need to deliver the curriculum remotely in the future. 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 David Ross Education Trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Kingston upon Hull. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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