Setting

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

p.1

Ellen Bullock Headteacher Moorhouse Primary School Crossley Street Milnrow Rochdale Lancashire OL16 4DR

p.1

Ofsted remote visit to Moorhouse Primary School

Following my remote visit with Will Smith, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 12 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 Moorhouse 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.

p.1

Ofsted remote visit to Moorhouse 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.

p.1

Ofsted remote visit to Moorhouse Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the deputy headteacher, the pastoral manager and the special educational needs coordinator. 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.2

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 the start of term, approximately one quarter of pupils in the school have spent some time working from home.  Your teachers have started to make checks on what pupils remember since March 2020, to establish their new starting points. Teachers are amending curriculum plans, for example in English and mathematics, to incorporate key subject content that was not taught in the summer term 2020.  With the exception of some aspects of physical education (PE), pupils are studying all subjects in the primary national curriculum. Teachers have made changes to the way PE is taught. You are prioritising pupils’ emotional well- being to help them to settle back into school.  Plans are in place to return pupils to the usual curriculum by the end of the summer term 2021.  Teachers’ checks show that pupils in Year 1 have forgotten some of the sounds and letters that they had previously learned. These pupils are receiving

p.2

From this visit, inspectors noted that:

additional support to help them to catch up. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 are being given more opportunities to develop their vocabulary to support their reading comprehension.  Assessments in mathematics have highlighted that pupils have developed gaps in their learning. Pupils across the school are revisiting basic number facts, to improve their recall and fluency, before they move on to new curriculum content. In Years 3 to 6, teachers are helping pupils to catch up on missed learning in geometry, statistics and algebra.  Remote education is provided online and with paper-based study packs. Class ‘bubbles’ and individual pupils who are self-isolating are provided with a range of activities which broadly reflect what is being taught in school. Teachers have found that some subjects, such as science and music, are more difficult to deliver remotely.

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 executive board, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Rochdale local authority. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.3