Setting

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

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Alesa Henham Scott Headteacher Parklands Community Primary School Durnford Close Chichester West Sussex PO19 3AG

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Ofsted remote visit to Parklands Community Primary School

Following my remote visit with Laurie Anderson, 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 Parklands Community 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 Parklands Community 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 Parklands Community Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and the senior leaders. 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 this academic year, approximately one in six pupils have had to stay at home as a result of COVID-19. For the majority of these pupils, this was only for a short time.  All pupils are being taught their normal range of subjects, but with more personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education than usual. Leaders have decided to do this to help pupils’ well-being during this difficult time. Leaders are planning to return to the normal curriculum by the summer term 2021.  Teachers have carried out checks on pupils’ knowledge and skills in English and mathematics. They have used this information to understand what they need to focus on most with pupils. Staggered starts every morning mean that staff have time before lessons begin to give extra support to pupils who need it.  Staff are giving younger pupils more time and support to practise their early reading. Staff are also making sure that older pupils have plenty of

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

opportunities throughout the day to answer questions about what they have read.  In mathematics, teachers are helping younger pupils to understand and remember exactly what written numbers represent. Older pupils are having extra support to remember their times tables.  In some subjects, teachers are reordering what they teach pupils because of the learning pupils missed during the summer term 2020. For example, in French, teachers are recapping numbers with pupils before moving on to telling the time.  Currently, if pupils need to learn at home, they receive a prepared pack of paper-based English and mathematics work for the first day. After this, their remote education consists of online tasks. Where possible, this learning matches what is being taught in school.  If leaders need to send a year group ‘bubble’ home, they plan to provide pupils with online recorded English and mathematics lessons. Staff will

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

continue to provide online tasks for other subjects. Teachers will provide paper-based tasks for pupils who cannot access online 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 chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for West Sussex. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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