Setting

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

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Julia Clark Headteacher Lily Lane Primary School Kenyon Lane Moston Manchester M40 9JP

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Ofsted remote visit to Lily Lane Primary School

Following my remote visit with Adam Sproston, 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 Lily Lane 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 Lily Lane 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 Lily Lane Primary School

During the visit, we spoke to you and members of your senior leadership team. 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:

 About half of the pupils in the school have had to learn from home for a short period of time since September 2020.  With the exception of computing and Spanish, pupils are studying all of the subjects in the primary national curriculum. You told us that you are also teaching some aspects of religious education. You aim to return pupils to their usual curriculum by the beginning of the summer term 2021.  Across all subjects, teachers are identifying where pupils have gaps in their knowledge. You have a range of strategies in place to help pupils to catch up. For example, you have extended the start of the school day, which is providing opportunities to help pupils recap on their learning.  In phonics, your teachers have found that pupils in Years 1 and 2 have remembered most of their letters and sounds that they learned up to March 2020. However, they have gaps in their phonics knowledge after this point.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

Extra support is in place so that pupils can catch up with their reading, and practise their ability to write at length.  In mathematics, you said that many pupils have become less confident at explaining how they solve mathematical problems. You explained that you have put catch-up sessions in place for all year groups.  Across the wider curriculum, teachers are adapting their curriculum plans in the subjects that they are teaching to take any gaps in learning into account. You have used art and physical education, along with activities for personal, social and emotional education, to support pupils’ well-being.  You provide remote education online and in paper-based packs. Additionally, class ‘bubbles’ who are self-isolating are offered ‘live’ teaching sessions. You provide pupils with daily activities in mathematics and English. In the afternoon, remote education includes aspects of the wider curriculum.

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

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