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

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Vanessa Pearce Headteacher Beaudesert Lower School Appenine Way Leighton Buzzard Bedfordshire LU7 3DX

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Ofsted remote visit to Beaudesert Lower School

Following my remote visit with Katherine Douglas, 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 Beaudesert Lower 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 Beaudesert Lower 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 Beaudesert Lower School

During the visit, we spoke to you and the deputy headteacher. Both of you have responsibility 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:

 On the day of this visit, you needed to provide education remotely for both classes in the Year 3 ‘bubble’. This is the first time you have had to send a year group home since starting back in September 2020. Prior to this point, hardly any pupils have had to work from home.  Pupils are studying the usual range of subjects, though there is less time spent in a few subjects such as French. There are also some changes to the content in physical education, especially swimming lessons. Leaders plan for pupils to cover the necessary content in every subject by summer 2021.  You have prioritised the teaching of reading, writing, mathematics and science for pupils in all year groups. You checked what pupils could remember in these subjects at the start of term. Teachers are using this information to plan learning from pupils’ starting points. Pupils who need to catch up are provided with extra instruction and support as part of a pre-

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

teaching approach.  In mathematics, you are pleased that most pupils remember what they learned before March 2020. Pupils are having more opportunity to rebuild their confidence and use of their mathematical knowledge.  There is a whole school focus on the teaching and use of phonics. Teachers are providing additional learning opportunities to ensure that pupils in Year 1 make up for any learning that they missed from the early years.  Teachers use an online system to provide remote education. Individual pupils or isolating classes receive education from the first day of absence. Teachers have linked the online lessons in mathematics and English to the work in class.

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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 and the director of children’s services for Central Bedfordshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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