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

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Edel Gillespie Headteacher Leagrave Primary School Strangers Way Luton Bedfordshire LU4 9ND

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Ofsted visit to Leagrave Primary School

Following my visit with Paul Wilson, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 10 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 visit to Leagrave 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.

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Ofsted visit to Leagrave 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 visit to Leagrave Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the deputy headteacher and two senior assistant headteachers. We did not speak to pupils because of the protective measures in place.

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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 (coronavirus) 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:

 The Year 2 and Year 6 ‘bubbles’ have needed to isolate since September 2020. More than half of your pupils have needed to isolate at some point this term and approximately one quarter have isolated more than once.  Teachers are not yet teaching the full range of subjects. Languages, art and design, and technology are not taught at the moment. You are continually reviewing your curriculum offer and plan to teach the full range of subjects when pupils are ready.  Teachers have checked pupils’ knowledge in English and mathematics. They identified that many pupils across the year groups have lost learning in reading, writing and mathematics. You have made the decision to prioritise the teaching of reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils in Years 1 and 2 were not secure in their knowledge of phonics when they returned to school. In addition, teachers identified that older pupils need to do more work on the different strategies that help their understanding of

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

texts. You are using whole-class teaching and targeted small-group teaching to help pupils across the school to catch up in all areas of reading.  Since returning to school, the majority of pupils are not forming their letters correctly or applying accurate grammar, punctuation and spelling consistently. Teachers are making sure that pupils are practising these skills more across a range of subjects.  Teachers’ assessments show that pupils’ calculation skills and recall of number facts are not secure. Teachers are giving more time for pupils to practise these in class. Years 5 and 6 are offered extra after-school sessions.  You have prioritised pupils’ well-being, ensuring pupils are having more lessons in personal, social and health education. After-school clubs and external trips are not yet taking place.  Year groups studying at home are receiving live teaching via the internet. Individual pupils who are isolating access work online. Pupils experience

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

similar curriculum content to that they would cover if they were in school.

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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 regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Luton. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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