Setting

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

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Lisa Marshall Executive Principal St Monica Primary School Bay Road Sholing Southampton Hampshire SO19 8EZ

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Ofsted remote visit to St Monica Primary School

Following my remote visit with James Broadbridge, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 17 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 St Monica 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 Monica 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 Monica Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to members of the senior leadership team and your attendance and parent support officer. 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:

 Pupils in Reception Year and Years 1 and 2 were required to work from home for two weeks in October. Over the course of the term, a small number of other pupils have also had to work from home for short periods.  Currently, pupils are learning all of their usual subjects, except modern foreign languages. Leaders plan to reintroduce modern foreign languages to key stage 2 by the start of the summer term 2021.  Teachers have used published tests to check pupils’ new starting points in reading, writing and mathematics.  Leaders have asked teachers to make reading a priority in all subjects. Teachers are sharing their favourite stories with pupils and including fiction and non-fiction texts in their teaching across different subjects. Some pupils, especially in Year 3 and 4, are doing extra work to fill gaps in their phonics knowledge.  In mathematics, leaders have identified what learning pupils were not taught

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

during the summer term. Teachers are incorporating this missed learning into this term’s lessons. Leaders want pupils to practise using mathematics to solve problems.  In some subjects, such as physical education (PE) and music, teachers have changed the order of what is being taught. For example, in PE, dance and gymnastics have been postponed until later in the year.  Leaders had to put their remote learning plans quickly into action when pupils in Reception Year and Years 1 and 2 had to work from home in October. Although work is mainly being shared through the school’s website, leaders also make paper-based resources available. For any pupils needing to stay at home, work mirrors what pupils would have been taught 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 interim executive board, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Southampton. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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