Setting

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

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Mark Moore Headteacher Ludham Primary School and Nursery School Road Ludham Great Yarmouth Norfolk NR29 5QN

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Ofsted remote visit to Ludham Primary and Nursery School

Following my remote visit with John Mitcheson, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI) and Hannah Stoten 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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Ofsted remote visit to Ludham Primary and Nursery 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 Ludham Primary and Nursery 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 Ludham Primary and Nursery School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the chair of governors, class teachers and the senior leadership team, including the leaders 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:

 Very few pupils have had to isolate from school since the start of the autumn term. In the handful of cases, the need for any pupil to isolate was typically due to a pupil, or a family member, waiting for COVID-19 test results. There were no pupils isolating at the time of the interim visit.  Pupils in all year groups are taught the same subjects they were learning prior to the partial closure from March 2020. After-school clubs and educational visits are on hold for now. Leaders aim to restore these opportunities for pupils by the summer term 2021.  Across year groups, staff continue to make checks on pupils’ learning, including for children in the early years. This helps teachers to plan what else they need to do to make up for any learning missed or forgotten due to the partial closure of the school.  From the early years to Year 6, securing pupils’ reading and writing skills is a high priority. This is also the case for pupils’ language and communication

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

skills development. Teachers are giving more time currently to revisiting learning in phonics; opportunities for in-class discussion; and working on spelling and grammar for older pupils.  In mathematics, in Years 1 and 2, teachers are focusing on mental arithmetic, number bonds and times tables. Teachers’ work with older pupils aims to build confidence over time in applying this knowledge to tackle more complex calculations, for example working with fractions.  As in other years, pupils are taught subjects, such as geography and history, through a series of topics planned over each term. Teachers are reviewing the links across subjects to see where learning can be enhanced and revisited, to help make up for any learning time that has been missed.  Where the need arises, pupils are offered work for home learning, either online or paper based. While different resources may be used, teachers say these are usually matched to the lessons taught in school. Leaders are

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

considering how a wider remote education offer might be established, but recognise that access to computers may be difficult for some pupils.

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

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