Setting

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

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Marie Hendry Head of School South Marston Church of England Primary School Old Vicarage Lane South Marston Swindon Wiltshire SN3 4SH

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Ofsted remote visit to South Marston Church of England Primary School

Following my remote visit with Julie Carrington, 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 South Marston Church of England 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 South Marston Church of England 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 South Marston Church of England Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the attendance officer and a school improvement partner from the diocese of Bristol academies trust. 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 returning to school in September, one in three pupils have had to self- isolate and work from home. No pupils were working from home at the time of our visit.  Pupils are studying their usual subjects. You have temporarily increased the teaching time in some areas of the curriculum. For example, pupils now take part in a daily ‘fit in five’ activity to support their physical health and well- being.  Staff have carried out checks to find out pupils’ new starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers have identified that some pupils need additional reading and writing support. Teachers are adjusting their teaching plans accordingly.  Reading, including phonics, is a school priority. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 have an extra phonics lesson each day. You told us that new strategies, such as ‘reading miles’, are encouraging all pupils to practise their reading skills.  In mathematics, teachers are focusing on pupils’ recall of important number

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

facts and times tables.  You have systems in place to deliver remote learning to individuals or groups of pupils if needed. You have provided additional training to enable your staff to do this. You plan for teachers to give daily feedback to pupils who are working remotely.

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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 chief executive officer of the diocese of Bristol academies trust, the director of education for the diocese of Bristol, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Swindon. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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