Setting

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

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Jo Harrison Headteacher Mossbrook School Bochum Parkway Sheffield South Yorkshire S8 8JR

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Ofsted visit to Mossbrook School

Following my visit with Tracey Ralph, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 9 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 visit to Mossbrook 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.

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Ofsted visit to Mossbrook 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 visit to Mossbrook School

During the visit, we spoke to you and your senior leadership team, including the senior leader responsible for safeguarding. We did not speak to pupils because of the protective measures in place.

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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 (coronavirus) pandemic. 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 two thirds of pupils have self-isolated at least once since September 2020, typically for two weeks. A small number of pupils have self-isolated more than once which means they have been absent from school for up to four weeks in total.  Pupils in all classes have been studying the full range of subjects in the school’s curriculum since returning in September. The curriculum for individual pupils is adapted to their different needs and starting points, and the content is linked to the longer-term targets in their education, health and care plans. Practical subjects, such as physical education, are being taught but there have been fewer out-of-school learning activities this term.  Your assessments of pupils’ starting points show that the disruption they have experienced has affected them in different ways. For some pupils, time away from school has reduced their anxiety while others have been noticeably more

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

anxious since they returned to school. You have used a range of approaches, including social stories, to help pupils understand why some things this term have been different.  Some pupils returned in September with greater confidence and independence in important areas of learning such as physical development and personal care. Others had taken a few steps back in communication, reading and mathematics. You have prioritised the knowledge and skills, that individual pupils most need help and support with, in your plans for assisting them to catch up.  Remote education is provided for pupils who are self-isolating. You provide work which links to the curriculum that pupils would be learning if they were in school. You also provide resources which support pupils’ physical health and well-being, as well as their ability to communicate when they are not 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 governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Sheffield. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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