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

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Ian Enwright Executive Headteacher Newbridge Short Stay Secondary School Midland Road Worcester Worcestershire WR5 1DS

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Ofsted remote visit to Newbridge Short Stay Secondary School

Following my remote visit with Mark Howes, 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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Ofsted remote visit to Newbridge Short Stay Secondary 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 Newbridge Short Stay Secondary 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 Newbridge Short Stay Secondary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the deputy headteacher, the senior leader responsible for safeguarding and the office manager. 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, approximately one sixth of the pupils have had to self- isolate at some point.  Pupils in all year groups are studying their usual subjects. Currently, educational visits and outdoor learning are being replaced with alternative activities in school.  Teachers’ checks on pupils’ learning have identified that all pupils need extra reading work. As a result, leaders are providing a range of support for pupils within the classroom and beyond. This includes individual support from pupils’ link workers.  All pupils in Years 10 and 11 are studying a range of accredited courses, including English and mathematics. Leaders have extended the school day to provide additional support for pupils who need it.  Pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 are following a curriculum that is planned to help improve and develop their subject knowledge and promote their social, emotional and mental health. Leaders say this will help them to prepare for a

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

return to mainstream education.  Should there be a need for pupils to be taught remotely in the future, you told us you will have a system in place that includes the use of online virtual classrooms.  Leaders have planned remote lessons that will follow pupils’ usual timetable. Some changes have been made to the content of subjects. For example, in food technology, teachers have thought about the resources pupils may have at home for cooking.

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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 chair of the board of trustees, and the chief executive officer of Central Learning Partnership Trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Worcestershire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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