Setting

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

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Alan Wilkinson Principal Tudor Grange Samworth Academy, A Church of England School 50 Trenant Road Leicester Leicestershire LE2 6UA

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England School

Following my remote visit with Deborah Mosley, 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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England 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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England 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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England School

During the visit, we spoke to you, members of the senior leadership team, leaders responsible for safeguarding and subject leaders. 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 a fifth of all pupils have isolated at home at some point due to COVID-19. At the time of the visit, groups of pupils from Years 4, 8 and 9 ‘bubbles’ were isolating.  Teachers are checking what pupils know and remember in all subjects. They are using this information to adapt their curriculum plans. Leaders intend to return to the school’s usual curriculum by summer 2021.  Leaders have prioritised some areas of learning. For example, in the personal development curriculum, there has been a greater focus on pupils’ emotional well-being than previously.  Teachers of Nursery, Reception, and Years 1 and 2 have assessed pupils’ reading, writing and mathematics. Staff are providing additional sessions in phonics to help pupils catch up on what was missed in the spring and summer terms.  Teachers in Years 1 to 6 are building pupils’ love of reading. These teachers are making daily changes to their planning in mathematics. They are

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

prioritising the revision of basic calculation methods to help pupils to use their mathematical knowledge fluently.  Teachers of Years 1 to 6 have analysed what pupils have missed from the wider curriculum. They have adapted the current topics for this year and included the most important content in their curriculum plans.  All pupils in Years 7 to 11 are following the school’s usual range of subjects, apart from pupils in Year 11. Year 11 pupils are not receiving their core physical education lessons. Year 10 and 11 pupils are studying all of their examination courses.  Leaders are continuing to develop ways of delivering the curriculum to pupils who are absent because of COVID-19. Pupils who are isolating follow the same curriculum as their peers. This includes live online lessons for older pupils. Younger pupils are provided with a range of activities and resources to help them learn, including phonics materials.

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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, the chief executive officer of the Tudor Grange Academies Trust, the director of education for the Diocese of Leicester, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Leicester City. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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