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

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Andrew Shakesby Headteacher Keinton Mandeville Primary School Chistles Lane Keinton Mandeville Somerset TA11 6ES

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Ofsted remote visit to Keinton Mandeville Primary School

Following my remote visit with Susan Aykin, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 17 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 Keinton Mandeville 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 Keinton Mandeville 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 Keinton Mandeville Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, in your capacity as headteacher and senior leader responsible for safeguarding. We also spoke with your senior teacher, who is the special needs coordinator and deputy senior 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 September 2020, around 10% of pupils have relied on remote education at some time. During the remote visit, one pupil was isolating at home.  Pupils are studying most subjects in the school’s curriculum. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 are not currently learning Spanish as leaders are dedicating more time to supporting pupils’ well-being.  In physical education, leaders have moved the teaching of swimming and contact sports to later in the academic year.  Teachers assessed pupils’ knowledge in phonics, reading, writing and mathematics. As a result, they are using more time in lessons to help pupils catch up. Some pupils receive extra help with this learning.  Teachers are currently supporting pupils to use spelling, punctuation and grammar accurately, particularly in longer pieces of writing.  In phonics, teachers are reminding pupils how to combine sounds together to make a word.  In reading, teachers are providing more opportunities for pupils to understand

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

what they have read.  Teachers are giving more time for pupils to learn number facts in mathematics. They want to make sure pupils know these facts before they move on to trickier work.  In subjects such as science and geography, leaders have not changed the order of the curriculum. They intend to teach what pupils missed out on during the spring and summer terms, later in the year.  In the Reception class, staff are providing more opportunities to promote children’s physical development, with activities like cutting and sticking.  Teachers provide remote education via an online site. Pupils have regular English and mathematics work, which is in line with what pupils would be learning at school. In other subjects, work is less well matched to what pupils learn in school.  Teachers are assessing pupils’ submitted work, which is completed remotely, and are providing pupils with feedback.

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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 Somerset. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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