Setting

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

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Jenny Venning Headteacher St John and St Francis Church School Westonzoyland Road Bridgwater Somerset TA6 5BP

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Ofsted remote visit to St John and St Francis Church School

Following my remote visit with Lydia Pride, 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 St John and St Francis Church 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 St John and St Francis Church 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 St John and St Francis Church School

During the visit, we spoke to you and the deputy headteacher. 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:

 A small number of pupils have had to work from home this term as they were self-isolating.  Pupils are studying their usual range of curriculum subjects.  You have assessed pupils in reading, writing and mathematics. You have identified gaps in learning since pupils returned to school. You have allocated catch-up time at the start and end of each day for staff to work with individual pupils and small groups.  In reading, you have assessed pupils’ new starting points. You have adapted the curriculum to include additional phonics teaching. For example, in Year 3 you have scheduled a daily lesson so that pupils can revisit phonics knowledge taught last year.  You can see that pupils have taken a step back in their handwriting. You are providing more opportunities for pupils to practise this so that they can get back on track with their handwriting skills.  In mathematics, you have assessed what pupils know and can remember. You

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

have organised the curriculum to include more opportunities for pupils to revisit their learning about measurement and statistics.  In science, you have reorganised the curriculum to cover content missed earlier in the year. For example, in Year 6, pupils study forces in addition to electricity. You have organised the Year 1 carnival topic to include content pupils missed on ‘understanding the world’. In physical education, you are prioritising activities that help pupils regain physical fitness.  You have delivered remote education that is in line with the usual curriculum. You have taught pupils how to use the online classroom. Pupils also use this regularly to complete homework. Pupils who are working from home complete a range of activities that match what they would have done in school.

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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 board of trustees, and the chief executive officer of the Bath and Wells multi-academy trust, the director of education for the diocese of Bath and Wells, 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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