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

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Kathryn Evans Principal Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy Barnfield Avenue Runcorn Cheshire WA7 6EP

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Ofsted visit to Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy

Following my visit with Ahmed Marikar, 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 Ormiston Bolingbroke 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 Ormiston Bolingbroke 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 Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy

During the visit, we spoke to you, members of the senior leadership team including the senior leader with responsibility for safeguarding and a group of middle leaders. 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. 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 September 2020, three quarters of all pupils and students have studied from home on at least one occasion. About half of the pupils in Year 11 have studied from home at least twice. All of the pupils in the Year 8 ‘bubble’ and a group of pupils from the Year 9 bubble are currently learning from home.  Pupils in Years 7 to 9 are studying the usual range of curriculum subjects. You told us that pupils do not have their usual access to practical activities in some subjects. You explained that you are planning to resume this by the summer term 2021.  Pupils in Years 10 and 11, and students in the sixth form, are studying all of the subjects that they will be examined in. You have asked teachers to reorder the units of work that pupils and students are studying. This is so that pupils and students can cover the most important learning in preparation for their examinations.  Teachers are checking what pupils and students can remember about the work

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

that they covered since March 2020. Teachers have used the findings from these checks to prioritise the learning that pupils and students need to catch up on this academic year. In some subjects, teachers are providing additional support outside of lessons to help pupils and students make up for lost learning.  You have an online system for pupils and students to learn when they cannot be in school. This allows them to access resources and listen to their teachers’ explanations. Pupils in Years 9 to 11, and students in the sixth form, are sometimes able to participate in class discussions when learning remotely.  You have provided additional equipment so that all pupils and students can access resources online. In some subjects, pupils and students submit work online when they are learning from home. Teachers are beginning to use the online systems to mark work and feedback to pupils and students.

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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 chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer of the Ormiston Academies multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Halton. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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