Setting

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

p.1

Helen Lammin Headteacher Ivy Lane Primary School Ivy Lane Chippenham Wiltshire SN15 1HE

p.1

Ofsted remote visit to Ivy Lane Primary School

Following my remote visit with Dale Burr, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 19 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 Ivy Lane 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 Ivy Lane 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 Ivy Lane Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and your deputy headteacher. 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.1

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:

 Approximately 15% of pupils have had to self-isolate and work from home, for a few days, since September 2020.  Staff are teaching all the subjects in your usual curriculum apart from modern foreign languages. You intend to reintroduce Spanish and French in the summer term 2021. You are prioritising personal, social and health education to support pupils’ mental health and well-being.  Staff have checked what pupils know in reading, writing, including spelling, punctuation and grammar, and mathematics. In the short term, staff are adapting their teaching plans to address any gaps in pupils’ knowledge.  In the early years, staff are concentrating on developing children’s speech and language, and early reading skills.  Pupils are having extra phonics and spelling lessons. You explained that when pupils returned to school in September 2020, their ‘stamina’ for writing at length had reduced. Teachers are adjusting their plans to help pupils increase

p.2

From this visit, inspectors noted that:

the amount they are writing.  In mathematics, staff are focusing on teaching number, including pupils’ quick recall of number facts.  You have put plans in place to deliver remote education to individual pupils and class ‘bubbles’. You have trained staff. You told us that you intend to provide pupils with a daily timetable for lessons that will align with the school’s existing curriculum plans.

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 local governing board, the chair of the board of trustees, and the chief executive officer of the Pickwick Academy Trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Wiltshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.3