Setting

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

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Gavin Winters Headteacher The Cedars Primary School High Street Cranford Hounslow Middlesex TW5 9RU

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Ofsted remote visit to The Cedars Primary School

Following my remote visit with Andrea Bedeau, 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 The Cedars 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 The Cedars 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 The Cedars Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and the senior leadership team, including the senior leaders responsible 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:

 A small number of pupils have needed to work from home since September.  Leaders anticipate that pupils will return to their usual curriculum before summer 2021. For the first two weeks of term, teaching prioritised pupils’ mental health, with activities designed to rebuild pupils’ resilience and ability to cope with change. After this two-week period, pupils resumed lessons in the school’s usual range of subjects.  At the beginning of term, teachers listened to each pupil read. They sought to find out whether pupils had fallen behind in their reading, as well as identify what help they might need to get back on track. Using the information, leaders put in place individual programmes of support for each pupil, including additional catch-up lessons in phonics for selected pupils.  Based on teachers’ checks on pupils’ starting points in mathematics, teaching is personalised to help pupils to fill any gaps. This term, teaching also seeks to

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

rebuild pupils’ willingness to persevere with mathematical tasks that they find hard. In Years 1 and 2, particular attention is being paid to strengthening pupils’ understanding of number.  In September, leaders identified that pupils initially found it hard to listen to others and express their ideas. Some pupils’ enthusiasm for writing had also decreased. Teaching has placed greater weight on these areas of pupils’ learning, and selected pupils receive extra help to develop their readiness to write, such as practising how to hold and use a pencil correctly.  Remote education for individual pupils is based on the curriculum that pupils would receive if they were in school. Remote education plans aim to cater for each pupil’s individual academic and pastoral needs, drawing on their education, health and care plans. Should a class ‘bubble’ need to isolate, leaders intend to use a similar approach.  Remote education is mostly provided digitally. Leaders have checked whether

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

all pupils have access to suitable devices for learning online at home. Leaders also plan to adopt a paper-based approach to remote education, to meet the specific needs and circumstances of selected pupils.

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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 regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hounslow. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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