Setting

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

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Janet Ward Headteacher Our Lady Mother of the Saviour Catholic Primary School Lapwing Grove Palacefields Runcorn Cheshire WA7 2TP

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School

Following my remote visit with Ian Hardman, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 10 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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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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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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School

During the visit, we spoke to you and your deputy headteachers. 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 term, less than half of your pupils have spent some time isolating at home.  All pupils are studying their usual range of subjects, but you told us that teachers have changed their planning to account for pupils’ missed learning from March to July 2020. You also explained that teachers have moved some subject content, for example the performance elements of your music curriculum, to later in the year. You intend to return to your usual curriculum by summer 2021.  Teachers have identified gaps in pupils’ reading skills due to missed learning. You are providing support to help pupils to catch up. For example, you are using COVID-19 catch-up funding to provide additional phonics sessions.  Teachers’ checks in mathematics show that pupils have not remembered previous learning in arithmetic due to the time missed from school. During the first half of the autumn term, you changed your usual mathematics curriculum

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

to focus on arithmetic. You have now returned to your usual mathematics curriculum.  You have identified missed learning in subjects other than English and mathematics. Subject leaders have started to change long-term plans to address these gaps in pupils’ knowledge.  You are providing remote education for pupils who are having to isolate. You intend to provide recorded lessons in English, mathematics and religious education for any whole-class ‘bubbles’ who may need to isolate. Where individual children are isolating, you are providing paper-based work.

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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 Shrewsbury, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Halton. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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