Setting

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

p.1

Sarah Harvey Headteacher Discovery Primary School Battery Road Thamesmead London SE28 0JN

p.1

Ofsted visit to Discovery Primary School

Following my visit with Lucy Bruce, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 2 December 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.

p.1

Ofsted visit to Discovery 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.

p.1

Ofsted visit to Discovery 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.

p.1

Ofsted visit to Discovery Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and other members of your leadership team. We did not speak to pupils because of the protective measures in place.

p.1

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 (coronavirus) pandemic. In undertaking this focused work, HMI are visiting a broad range of schools. HMI will visit a sample of:

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 At the time of the visit, a small number of pupils were isolating at home. Since the start of term, approximately a quarter of pupils across the school have had to isolate and study from home for several days.  Pupils are studying their usual range of subjects. You have reordered content in some subjects. For example, in physical education, you are teaching fitness this term instead of contact sports. You have also adjusted the way in which you resource computing lessons to conform to your hygiene regulations.  Staff checked pupils’ starting points in reading, writing and mathematics at the start of term. They found that some pupils had fallen behind in mathematics. Pupils were struggling to apply their number skills in a range of contexts to solve mathematical questions.  You found that some lower-ability readers had fallen behind further. In addition, some children in early years and in key stage 1 were not at expected

p.2

From this visit, inspectors noted that:

levels in their phonics knowledge. You have adjusted planning to make sure that phonics knowledge that children have missed will be taught this year.  You have prioritised curriculum time for supporting pupils’ well-being and personal, social and emotional development. To compensate for the fact that you are unable to take pupils on visits to support your history curriculum, you have hired a history specialist to give pupils a ‘museum experience’ in school.  You are providing remote education for all pupils who are isolating at home. The work they are given reflects the learning taking place in school. You offer a combination of paper-based and digital activities. Thank you again for contributing to this important national work. The views and experiences you have shared will help to inform future policy.

p.2

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

p.3