Setting

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

p.1

Leanne Mahony Headteacher Nechells Primary E-ACT Academy Eliot Street Nechells Birmingham West Midlands B7 5LB

p.1

Ofsted remote visit to Nechells Primary E-ACT Academy

Following my remote visit with Jo Evans, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 19 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.

p.1

Ofsted remote visit to Nechells Primary E-ACT Academy

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.

p.1

Ofsted remote visit to Nechells Primary E-ACT Academy

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.

p.1

Ofsted remote visit to Nechells Primary E-ACT Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you, members of the senior leadership team and the designated safeguarding lead. We did not speak to pupils.

p.1

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.

p.1

Context

In undertaking this focused work, HMI are visiting a broad range of schools. HMI will visit a sample of:

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 Since returning to school in September 2020, around half of your pupils have had to work remotely at some point. No class ‘bubbles’ were isolating at the time of the visit.  All pupils are studying their usual range of subjects.  You and your leaders have made checks on pupils’ starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. These checks have identified pupils who are less fluent in reading than leaders would normally expect. Adults are providing these pupils with additional help and extra time to practise. Your aim is that this additional support will help pupils to catch up.  You have made some adaptions to the mathematics curriculum. You told us that these changes will help pupils to learn the content they missed during the spring and summer terms 2020, when the school was not open to all pupils. Teachers are including this missed content in the topics they are currently teaching.  In the wider curriculum, you are placing greater emphasis on personal, social

p.2

From this visit, inspectors noted that:

and health education. You told us that this work is focused on well-being and positive relationships.  You and your team have developed an approach to allow pupils to learn from home. As part of your approach, pupils who are isolating as part of a class bubble are expected to access pre-recorded videos. Pupils who are individually isolating complete work from the subjects they are missing. You told us that you match remote education with the school’s curriculum as closely as possible.

p.2

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.

p.3

From this visit, inspectors noted that:

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees, the chief executive officer of the E-ACT multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Birmingham. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.3