Setting

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

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Solomon Berhane Headteacher St Catherine’s College Priory Road Eastbourne East Sussex BN23 7BL

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Ofsted remote visit to St Catherine’s College

Following my remote visit with Daniel Lambert, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 1 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 remote visit to St Catherine’s College

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 Catherine’s College

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 Catherine’s College

During the visit, we spoke to you, the senior leadership team and the subject leaders for English, mathematics, computing and art. 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:

 You have not had to send home any ‘bubbles’ of pupils. At the time of the visit, six pupils were self-isolating at home. Nearly a fifth of pupils have had to self-isolate since the start of term, some for a few days, others for up to two weeks at a time.  All pupils are studying their usual range of subjects. You have made some adaptations to practical aspects of some subjects. For example, teachers in art have changed the materials pupils use because some art lessons are not being taught in specialist rooms at the moment. You hope to be able to return to your normal curriculum by the summer term.  Teachers have checked what pupils remember in all subjects. In English, teachers have focused on helping pupils to improve their reading, spelling and punctuation. Pupils are also now expected to read independently between lessons.  Pupils in Years 10 and 11 are continuing to study all of their planned

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

examination courses. You have rearranged the school day for pupils in Year 11 to provide more learning time across the curriculum. Teachers have reorganised what they are teaching in some subjects to take account of changes made to GCSE examinations this year.  Teachers set work for any pupils who have to self-isolate at home. This is based closely on the lessons that pupils are learning in school. You have provided some pupils with laptops and other equipment in order to enable all pupils to have access to online work. You have plans in place for teachers to teach ‘live’ lessons remotely should any class bubbles have to self-isolate.

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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, the chief executive officer of the Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust, the director of education for the Diocese of Chichester, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for East Sussex. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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