Setting

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

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Lindsay Gould Headteacher Bedford Road Primary School Hillgrounds Road Kempston Bedford Bedfordshire MK42 8QH

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Ofsted remote visit to Bedford Road Primary School

Following my remote visit with Maureen Su, 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 Bedford Road 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 Bedford Road 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 Bedford Road Primary School

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

 Since the start of term, about 10% of pupils have had to spend time learning remotely at home for reasons connected to COVID-19. This includes a very small number of pupils that you have had to send home from school.  Pupils are studying almost all of the subjects that make up the school’s curriculum. You are not currently offering some activities that you normally would, including extra-curricular clubs and visits. Pupils are not currently learning French or Spanish. Pupils are spending extra time learning English and mathematics. You plan to re-start the teaching of these subjects by the summer term 2021.  Teachers have assessed where pupils are with their reading and phonics knowledge. You have increased the time and the opportunities for all pupils to practise and use their knowledge of reading. Extra help is in place to help pupils who have lost the most ground in reading due to COVID-19.  In mathematics, teachers have identified knowledge that was not taught

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

during the spring and summer terms. They have also checked what pupils have remembered from last year’s teaching. Teachers have adapted their plans to give pupils opportunities to learn things they missed last year and to secure their understanding of key knowledge, such as place value and arithmetic.  Teachers are helping pupils to use a wider range of vocabulary. Teachers are also helping pupils to apply their knowledge of grammar and punctuation in their writing and to practise their speaking skills to help pupils catch up in English.  In other subjects, teachers are planning to cover essential knowledge that was not taught in the spring and summer terms. Since the start of term, you have prioritised personal, social and health education in all year groups to help pupils settle into learning and playing with others again.  Since September, you have provided remote education for pupils who have had to learn remotely from home. This education consists of a series of

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

activities each day, linked to what pupils would have been learning in class. You know that the availability of suitable devices is a barrier to accessing remote education for some pupils and you are actively seeking ways to overcome this.

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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 Bedford Borough. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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