Setting

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

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Chris Drew Headteacher Khalsa Secondary Academy Holybush Hill Slough Buckinghamshire SL2 4QB

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Ofsted remote visit to Khalsa Secondary Academy

Following my remote visit with Alison Bradley, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 24 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 Khalsa Secondary Academy

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 Khalsa Secondary Academy

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 Khalsa Secondary Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you and members of the senior leadership team, including the senior leader responsible for safeguarding, the director of school improvement from Khalsa Academies Trust and the school’s mental-health champion. 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 September 2020, all year groups, except Year 7, have had periods where they have had to self-isolate and work from home. This has affected approximately 85% of pupils. At the time of the remote visit, all pupils in the Year 9 ‘bubble’ were isolating.  Pupils are studying their usual range of subjects, but are not always doing their usual activities. For example, Year 8 and 9 pupils do not have access to technology workshops, so teachers have created practical activities that can be done in a standard classroom. Leaders intend to provide the full curriculum as soon as possible, including visits to the gurdwara.  Staff have used a mix of formal and informal checks to find out what pupils have learned and remember in each subject. Teachers use this information to adapt their lesson plans. For example, in history, they are teaching any missing knowledge to Year 7 pupils, and making sure that pupils are confident

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

about their ‘mental timelines’ for historical events and the order in which they happened.  Pupils in Year 11 are continuing with their examination subjects. Teachers have adapted their lessons to revisit previously studied topics, and to take account of the changes to examination specifications for this year. In the sixth form, teachers are providing students with extra lessons to help make up missed learning.  Across the school, pupils in all year groups are revisiting subject-specific vocabulary. In mathematics, teachers have found that many pupils are slower with their calculations than they used to be, so teachers have changed lessons to include more work on these.  If any year-group bubbles have to work from home, they log into ‘live’ lessons that are delivered online. If individual pupils are self-isolating, teachers provide the same work that is being covered in class and teaching assistants support

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

them to complete it. Leaders have made sure that all pupils have the technology required to access these lessons.

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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 board of trustees and the chief executive officer of Khalsa Academies multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Buckinghamshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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