Setting

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

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Sarah Maltese Headteacher St Paul’s Church of England Primary School The Avenue Frien Barnet London N11 1NQ

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Ofsted remote visit to St Paul’s Church of England Primary School

Following my remote visit with Andrea Bedeau, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 1 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.

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Ofsted remote visit to St Paul’s Church of England 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 St Paul’s Church of England 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 St Paul’s Church of England Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, members of the leadership team, including leaders responsible for safeguarding, and the office administrator. 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 September 2020, approximately one quarter of pupils have studied from home at some point for a few days, to self-isolate.  Pupils are studying nearly all the school’s usual subjects. Pupils are not currently learning French so that additional time can be given to personal, social and health education (PSHE). You plan to return to the usual curriculum by summer term 2021.  At the start of this term, leaders carried out checks on pupils’ knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics in all year groups. You identified what pupils need to catch up on and where they need help to recall previous learning.  Pupils, including in Nursery and Reception, need extra help with reading this year. You have increased the amount of time that pupils spend reading during the school day and you provide additional support to selected pupils.  Leaders’ checks have found that pupils have generally retained their

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

mathematical calculations knowledge. Pupils are less confident in using what they know to solve mathematical problems. Teachers have adapted subject content this term in mathematics to focus on this.  In writing, leaders identified that pupils need additional support in writing extended pieces of text. Teachers have adapted the writing curriculum to help pupils strengthen their fine motor skills and maintain their concentration.  Teachers have checked what content pupils missed in the previous academic year in subjects such as history and geography, and have adapted curriculum plans to cover essential knowledge before starting new content. Leaders have extended the PSHE programme to support pupils’ emotional well-being. Pupils have more time to reflect on their own and others’ feelings. Teachers have more time to support pupils who may be anxious.  Teachers provide a variety of paper-based resources for pupils who need to

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

self-isolate at home. The work covers the same objectives as lessons taught in school. Leaders will make greater use of online resources should larger groups of pupils need to study from home in the future. These plans include remote education timetables that follow the school day, for all year groups. Arrangements include time for brief discussions with teachers, and physical education.

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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 director of education for the Diocese of London, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Barnet. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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