Setting

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

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Emma Laflin Interim Headteacher Pot Kiln Primary School Butt Road Great Cornard Suffolk CO10 0DS

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Ofsted remote visit to Pot Kiln Primary School

Following my remote visit with Damian Loneragan, 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 Pot Kiln 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 Pot Kiln 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 Pot Kiln Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to the senior leadership team and the senior leader responsible for safeguarding. 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:

 As a school, you organise your classes into ‘bubbles’. Since September, no bubbles have been sent home and a very small number of pupils have been required to self-isolate.  Pupils are studying the usual range of subjects. You have checked to see if pupils have any gaps in their learning and are using this information to design your ‘recovery plan’. Teachers use this plan to teach new priorities in your English and mathematics curriculum.  Reading has been given a higher priority in school. You have identified that younger pupils need additional support with their vocabulary and older pupils require help to develop their stamina for reading. You have increased the amount of time pupils have to read in school and purchased new books to increase pupils’ access to quality texts.  Assessment checks in mathematics have identified common gaps in learning across the school, including the four operations and fractions. You have

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

adapted the mathematics curriculum. Planning is in place to help pupils catch up.  You have reorganised the wider curriculum, for example, subjects such as history and science. You are confident that pupils will be able to cover the full range of knowledge in all subjects.  In the Reception class, you have identified that more time needs to be spent on speaking and listening. You are also supporting children to develop their turn-taking and sharing skills when playing together. Teachers have adapted their planning to focus on helping children get back on track with their phonic knowledge.  When individuals have had to self-isolate, you have provided access to remote education. Where possible, you enable pupils to access learning that is linked to your curriculum in school.  You have recently organised additional laptop provision for any pupils who may not have access to remote education at home.

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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 Suffolk. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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