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

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Sarah Disney Executive Headteacher Parker’s Church of England Primary Academy Pound Hill Saham Toney Thetford Norfolk IP25 7HP

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Ofsted remote visit to Parker’s Church of England Primary Academy

Following my remote visit with Tessa Holledge, 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.

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Ofsted remote visit to Parker’s Church of England Primary 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 Parker’s Church of England Primary 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 Parker’s Church of England Primary Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you, the head of school, and the federation leaders for special educational needs and phonics. 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:

 Approximately a third of pupils have had to work at home for some of the time since the beginning of the autumn term. One of the class ‘bubbles’ returned to school on the day of this visit, having been at home for eight school days. This is the only time that a whole bubble has worked from home. Some individual pupils have worked at home while waiting for COVID-19 tests and results. Some parents were reluctant to send their children to school following a local COVID-19 outbreak.  A recovery programme was in place for the first few weeks of the autumn term, with a balance of usual subjects and activities to support pupils’ emotional well-being. All pupils now study the normal range of subjects. The content of some subjects is taught in a different order, for example all physical education (PE) is outdoors at the moment. Leaders say that it is unlikely that swimming and school trips will take place before the end of this academic

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

year.  At the start of term, teachers assessed what pupils recalled from last year’s work, and in lessons they use ‘flashbacks’ to ask pupils what they learned previously. Leaders have checked what was not covered during the time when the school was only open to some children due to COVID-19 restrictions. Teachers have found that pupils in Years 1 to 6 are not applying what they know as well as they should. In Reception, the new children are taking longer to settle to the routines than is usual for this point in the term.  Teachers provide extra opportunities for pupils to practise their sounds and spelling, and to read each day to an adult. Some of this extra help happens before and after school. The phonics programme has been extended to pupils in Year 3.  In mathematics, pupils have remembered how to set out their calculations for addition, subtraction and division. They have remembered their times tables.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

Teachers now focus on how well pupils explain and use what they have learned in mathematics.  In the early years, teachers focus on children’s concentration skills, speaking, listening, and how to get on well with one another.  Specialists continue to teach PE, music and modern foreign languages. The school counsellor continues to come in to school to support pupils’ individual programmes.  Remote learning aims to give pupils the same lessons they would have if they were at school. For Years 1 to 6, teachers will pre-record video clips and have slide presentations to help pupils work through the activities. For Reception Year, parents will have suggestions for practical activities to do with their children, with a focus on phonics and exploring their immediate surroundings.

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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 the Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust (DNEAT multi- academy trust), the director of education for the Diocese of Norwich, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Norfolk. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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