Setting

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

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Melanie Keating Interim Headteacher Hunters Hill College Spirehouse Lane Blackwell Bromsgrove Worcestershire B60 1QD

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Ofsted remote visit to Hunters Hill College

Following my remote visit with Chris Pollitt, 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 Hunters Hill College

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 Hunters Hill College

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 Hunters Hill College

During the visit, we spoke to you, the senior leadership team and 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 the start of term, only one pupil has had to self-isolate.  All pupils are studying their usual range of subjects. However, teachers have changed the order in which they are teaching some of the content. For example, in physical education, they have moved some of the contact sports, such as rugby, to the summer term.  In English, teachers have focused on pupils’ reading and writing. They have done this because they believe that developing pupils’ communication skills is important.  Teachers have carried out baseline assessments in English and mathematics to find out what pupils have remembered. They have found that gaps in pupils’ knowledge have widened. Teachers have used this information to teach pupils specific knowledge to help them catch up.  In other subjects, teachers have continued with the curriculum plans from where they left off before the COVID-19 restrictions. This academic year,

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

pupils have been assigned to the same teachers as for the previous academic year to help with continuity.  Leaders have a selection of remote learning materials on the school’s website available for pupils to access and use if they are not able to attend school. These activities cover all curriculum subjects. They are mainly paper based.

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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 interim executive board, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Birmingham. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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