Setting

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

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Laura Martin Headteacher Southfields Avenue Stanground Peterborough PE2 8PU

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Ofsted remote visit to Southfields Primary School

Following my remote visit with David Milligan, 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 Southfields 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 Southfields 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 Southfields Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and the senior leadership team. 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:

 Pupils are organised into class ‘bubbles’. No class bubbles had been sent home at the time of this visit. Almost 1 in 10 pupils have had to self-isolate since September at one time or another.  Pupils are studying their usual range of subjects. Leaders have re-organised the school day to increase the time pupils spend on some subjects. Teachers are spending extra time supporting pupils to catch up on learning they have missed or have forgotten.  Leaders are planning for pupils to return to the school’s usual planned curriculum in all subjects at the start of the summer term 2021.  In September, teachers checked pupils’ starting points in English and mathematics. From these checks, leaders identified that pupils had fallen behind in their learning and forgotten important knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics.  Leaders have planned for pupils to recover the confidence in reading that pupils lost when they were not in school. Pupils are reading more. Teachers

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

are helping pupils re-visit the meaning of important vocabulary they have forgotten to help pupils read more challenging books.  Leaders have planned in more time for pupils to write to get them used to writing for longer periods of time. In every year group, pupils are having additional spelling, grammar and punctuation lessons to help them in their writing.  Teachers are re-visiting multiplication tables and pupils’ basic number knowledge. Teachers are providing extra support to help pupils use the learning they re-visit to calculate accurately.  Teachers are making changes to how they teach the planned content of some subjects. In music, some lessons are being taught online. Teachers and pupils are taking virtual tours of art galleries to support pupils’ learning in art.  Leaders have planned remote learning that has the same content as the lessons being taught in school. If pupils are unable to access the online offer,

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

paper resource packs are sent home for pupils to be able to continue their learning.

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

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