Setting

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

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Joanna Trusty Headteacher Days Lane Primary School Days Lane Sidcup Kent DA15 8JU

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Ofsted remote visit to Days Lane Primary School

Following my remote visit with Janet Hallett, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 18 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 Days 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.

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Ofsted remote visit to Days 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.

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Ofsted remote visit to Days Lane Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the senior leadership team and subject leaders for English, mathematics and geography. 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:

 Around a third of all pupils have had to work at home since the beginning of term.  Pupils are studying all subjects except music and Spanish. Leaders are allocating additional time to reading and basic mathematics skills. Leaders expect pupils to return to their usual curriculum by the summer term 2021.  Tests undertaken in September show some pupils have fallen back with their knowledge of phonics. Teachers have also noticed a decrease in pupils’ stamina when reading. Additional time is being allocated each day to teach specific reading strategies. Teachers are also placing greater emphasis on reading across all subjects.  In mathematics, leaders have looked at what should have been taught last term. Teachers are covering this content first, before teaching this term’s curriculum. Catch-up sessions provided by support staff are focusing on times tables, and on the other basic skills of addition, subtraction, and division.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 Leaders have reviewed the geography curriculum content missed in the summer term. Currently, teachers are delivering the previous half term’s content. You aim to have caught up by summer 2021.  So far this half term, three separate year-group ‘bubbles’ have self-isolated. On these occasions, remote education typically consisted of online tasks, with some recorded videos in English, mathematics, science, and other areas of the wider curriculum.  When individual pupils are required to isolate, teachers make their learning resources in English and mathematics available online. Initial barriers to pupils accessing technology have been overcome.

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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 Bexley. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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