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

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Lisa Jackson-Ward Executive Headteacher Ripley Endowed Church of England School Ripley Harrogate North Yorkshire HG3 3AY

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Ofsted remote visit to Ripley Endowed Church of England School

Following my remote visit with Michael Wardle, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 5 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 Ripley Endowed Church of England 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 Ripley Endowed Church of England 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 Ripley Endowed Church of England School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the special educational needs coordinator and the 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:

 The school opened fully to pupils on 8 September 2020. All pupils are expected to attend full time.  You told us that pupils’ attendance is slightly higher than it was at this time last year.  Pupils are studying the school’s normal range of subjects. Physical education is currently being taught outside, but leaders have plans to teach this indoors when it becomes necessary. Food technology and singing have not been taught this term.  Assessments have been completed in reading and phonics to check what pupils know and remember from the period when schools were only open to some children due to COVID-19 restrictions. You said that phonics is a priority in Years 1 and 2. Pupils are being taught phonics in smaller groups and additional reading sessions are taking place at the start of the school day to help pupils catch up.  In mathematics, pupils have undertaken similar assessments. Mathematical reasoning is a priority across all year groups, with a focus on word problems in

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

Year 1 to Year 4. In Years 5 and 6, your focus is on fractions, decimals and percentages. In-class teaching and additional online learning opportunities are in place to support pupils with these knowledge gaps.  Leaders have not yet fully assessed pupils in the wider curriculum. You told us that teachers assess pupils at the start of each unit of work and then adapt curriculum planning to focus on the knowledge that pupils are missing.  Leaders have plans in place to deliver the curriculum remotely if needed. You are considering how remote learning could be further improved through the online delivery of pre-recorded, teacher-led learning.

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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 co-chairs of the governing body, the director of education for the diocese of Leeds, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for North Yorkshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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