Setting

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

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Adam Riley Headteacher Newton Flotman Church of England Primary Academy School Road Newton Flotman Norwich Norfolk NR15 1PR

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Ofsted visit to Newton Flotman Church of England Primary Academy

Following my visit with Tessa Holledge, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 3 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 Newton Flotman Church of England Primary 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.

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Ofsted visit to Newton Flotman Church of England Primary 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 visit to Newton Flotman Church of England Primary Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you. 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:

 Leaders have organised the school into four class ‘bubbles’. Since September 2020, one sixth of pupils have had to isolate and learn at home.  Leaders are planning to return to the usual curriculum by January 2021.  Teachers checked pupils’ starting points in September 2020. Leaders found that some pupils had fallen behind in English and mathematics. They have increased the time that pupils spend in lessons each day to help pupils catch up.  In reading, teachers identified that pupils needed to revisit some of what they had previously learned. Younger pupils are having additional lessons in phonics. Pupils are spending more time reading and talking about what they have read to help them develop their comprehension.  In mathematics, younger pupils are spending more time recapping place value and number facts. Older pupils are being taught the fractions knowledge that they missed while they were not in school.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 In other subjects, teachers are planning different ways to teach the same content that they normally would. For example, all physical education is being taught outside.  Teachers are changing the order of some subject content they teach. In music, wind instruments will be taught later in the year.  The school provides remote education for pupils who are having to learn at home. If pupils cannot access this online, the school provides paper-based packs of work that is the same as the online learning.

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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 the St Benet’s Multi-academy Trust, the director of education for the Diocese of Norwich, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Norfolk County Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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