Setting

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

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Bridget Long Headteacher Broad Town Church of England Primary School Broad Town Swindon Wiltshire SN4 7RE

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Ofsted remote visit to Broad Town Church of England Primary School

Following my remote visit with Sue Costello, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 19 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 Broad Town 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 Broad Town 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 Broad Town Church of England Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and members of the leadership team. You are the leader 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 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 start of the autumn term 2020, a small number of pupils have worked from home as they were self-isolating.  Pupils began studying their usual curriculum from 7 September 2020. In the first week of the autumn term 2020, you focused on pupils’ well-being and on establishing routines and expectations. There have been some adaptations to the teaching of music, design and technology, geography and physical education (PE).  At the start of the autumn term 2020, teachers checked what pupils have remembered in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers also completed checks for other subjects, except foreign languages. You told us that teachers use this information to restructure the curriculum.  In Year 3, you found that some pupils have not remembered all that they need to read effectively. You have introduced additional phonics and reading sessions to help pupils catch up.  In mathematics, you found that some pupils’ understanding of calculation and

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

number is not where you would like it to be. You are providing additional support to help pupils to get back on track.  Children in Reception are following the early years curriculum. You told us that teachers are prioritising children’s personal, social and emotional development.  You have introduced systems to deliver the curriculum remotely. If individual pupils are self-isolating, work is set specifically to meet their needs. The vast majority of this work is set online.  You told us that if ‘bubbles’ need to isolate, pupils have access to curriculum activities, recorded lessons and online teaching. You are confident that this approach will enable all pupils to follow the school’s normal curriculum.

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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 director of education for the diocese of Salisbury, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Wiltshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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