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

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Alison Ward Acting Headteacher Netherton Park Nursery School Netherton Park Netherton Dudley DY2 9QF

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Ofsted remote visit to Netherton Park Nursery School

Following my remote visit with Heather Simpson, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 26 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 Netherton Park Nursery 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 Netherton Park Nursery 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 Netherton Park Nursery School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the acting deputy headteacher and the pastoral leader. We did not speak to children.

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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 half of the children have spent some time self-isolating at home since the start of the term. A small number of children were individually self- isolating at the time of the visit.  You told us that children are following their usual curriculum, with some adaptations. For example, children are not currently going on educational visits. Your aim is to return to your usual curriculum by summer 2021.  Staff have made changes to some practical activities. They have made these changes because of the protective measures that you have put in place. For example, adults have replaced their usual choice of materials with ones that are easier to clean.  Adults have made checks on children’s starting points. These checks have shown you that children are ready to learn. In addition, staff have noticed that some children are choosing to spend more time than usual learning in the outdoor environment.  Leaders are supporting families to help their children learn remotely when

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

needed. Families can access daily online tasks. You told us that these activities encourage children to explore and investigate. In addition, adults are recording story-time sessions. You are sharing these story times with families, so that they can enjoy them at home.

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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. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Dudley. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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