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

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John Halliwell Executive headteacher Beddington Park Academy Mallinson Road Croydon Surrey CR0 4UL

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Ofsted remote visit to Beddington Park Academy

Following my remote visit with Andrea Bedeau, 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 Beddington Park Academy

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 Beddington Park Academy

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 Beddington Park Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you, the acting headteacher, who is responsible for safeguarding, and an assistant headteacher. 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, a small number of pupils have had to study from home for several days due to COVID-19.  All pupils are studying the same subjects they usually would. Pupils have not been on any trips or had opportunities to attend the usual range of after- school clubs during this term. Leaders intend to review these procedures again in spring term 2021.  Teachers have checked pupils’ phonics knowledge in all year groups. This information has been used to provide additional phonics sessions for specific pupils. Teachers are prioritising pupils’ reading fluency and their ability to blend and segment sounds in unfamiliar words, particularly in Year 2.  In Years 1 to 6, teachers used tests in mathematics to assess pupils’ knowledge. Teachers have adapted their lessons to include the content that pupils missed in the spring and summer terms 2020. Teachers are focusing on number facts and pupils’ use of mathematical language.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 Teachers have allocated more time to personal, social, health and economic education this term. These lessons have focused on pupils’ well-being and safety. All pupils have additional physical education sessions, where they learn about fitness and team sports.  In history, teachers check on pupils’ knowledge and understanding through regular quizzes. Teachers use the beginning of each lesson to recap the content that pupils learned during the spring and summer terms when the school was only open to some children due to COVID-19 restrictions.  Teachers have plans in place to deliver remote education, should it be needed. These plans include paper-based activities, online learning and links to external website resources. Leaders have identified that the limited number of devices available for families to access online learning is a challenge to future remote 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 board of trustees and the chief executive officer of Step Academy Trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Sutton. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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