Setting

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

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Andrea Swift Headteacher Holy Trinity Rosehill CofE Voluntary Aided Primary School Upsall Grove Fairfield Stockton-on-Tees TS19 7QU

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School

Following my remote visit with Fiona Manuel, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 24 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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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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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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School

During the visit, we spoke to you, the senior leadership team and the chair of the governing body. 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:

 Around a third of pupils have spent a period of time learning from home due to COVID-19 since September. A small proportion of pupils have had to self- isolate on two or more occasions.  All pupils are now studying the range of subjects that form the school’s usual curriculum. Teachers are spending additional lesson time focusing on pupils’ well-being. You told us that this was to help pupils adapt to school routines and to re-establish relationships with pupils.  A range of assessments have been used to identify pupils’ new starting points in English. Teachers have identified that some pupils’ writing stamina is not as strong as it was in March 2020. You told us that pupils are being given more opportunities for writing in all subjects in the curriculum.  Teachers’ assessments in mathematics have identified that some pupils have gaps in their knowledge due to missed subject content that would have usually

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

been taught in the summer term 2020. For example, some Year 6 pupils have gaps in their knowledge of angles and fractions. You told us that teachers have adjusted their plans for this year to make sure that pupils are taught the key knowledge that they missed from the previous year’s curriculum.  Teachers have identified subject knowledge from the wider curriculum that pupils were not taught last year. Leaders have adjusted curriculum plans so that any subject content that pupils have missed or forgotten is taught, in subjects such as history, before moving on to new content.  Remote education is available to those pupils who are self-isolating. Teachers use email to send work that aligns with the curriculum being taught in school. You explained that you have considered feedback from parents and carers when developing your remote-education offer.

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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 director of education for the Diocese of Durham, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Stockton-on-Tees. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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