Setting

Jodie Chapman-Kemp Headteacher Oyster Park Primary Academy Watling Road Castleford West Yorkshire WF10 3SN

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Additional, remote monitoring inspection of Oyster Park Primary Academy

Following my remote inspection with Sue Eastwood, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), of your school on 2 March 2021, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the findings. Thank you for the help you gave during the inspection and for the time you made available to discuss the actions that have been taken to provide education to all pupils during the current circumstances.

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Additional, remote monitoring inspection of Oyster Park Primary Academy

This monitoring inspection was conducted under section 8 (2) of the Education Act 2005 (as amended) and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for visiting schools while routine inspections remain temporarily suspended. It was additional to the usual monitoring process for schools that are judged to require improvement.

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Additional, remote monitoring inspection of Oyster Park Primary Academy

This monitoring inspection was carried out remotely. As such, the range of evidence available to inspectors was narrower than would normally be the case during an on- site inspection. As a result, this letter provides a more limited level of assurance than our usual monitoring reports.

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Additional, remote monitoring inspection of Oyster Park Primary Academy

The inspection took place because the school has received two successive judgements of requires improvement at its previous section 5 inspections. The school’s most recent section 5 inspection took place in October 2019.

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Additional, remote monitoring inspection of Oyster Park Primary Academy

Having considered all the evidence and taking into account the impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) on the school, I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action

to provide education in the current circumstances. Ofsted

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Leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted Leaders and those responsible for governance should take further action to:

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Leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action

 develop the curriculum planning in those subjects at an earlier stage of development

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Leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action

 monitor and evaluate the implementation of the new curriculum to check that pupils are making the progress that leaders intend.

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Context

 A new governor joined the governing body after the last inspection.

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Context

 Across the autumn term 2020, around two thirds of pupils were educated remotely for short periods.

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Context

 At the time of this inspection, around four out of every ten pupils were being educated in school. Nearly all of the vulnerable pupils were being educated on site. Over half of the pupils with an education, health and care plan were also attending on site.

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Context

 At the time of this inspection, three members of staff were absent due to COVID-19.

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Main findings

 You and other leaders know families well. You have used this knowledge to identify vulnerable pupils and encourage them to come into school. For those pupils attending school on site and those working remotely, you have developed a strong network of support. This helps pupils to continue to learn in the current challenging circumstances. Staff provide a wide range of mental health and well-being support for pupils when this is needed.

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Main findings

 In school and at home, pupils are learning the usual curriculum. However, teachers made some appropriate adaptations in certain subjects. You made these decisions so that pupils learning at home are not disadvantaged by a lack of practical resources. For example, in mathematics, younger pupils learning from home use household items to help them to count. Subject leaders changed the order of content in some subjects, such as science and history, so that pupils learning from home do not miss important learning.

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Main findings

 You and other leaders keep the development of pupils’ fluency and expertise in reading at the forefront of the curriculum. Each day, teachers share different books and stories with their classes. Teachers record story times to share with pupils learning from home. This helps pupils to develop breadth in their reading. You and staff ensure that pupils have plenty of reading practice to develop their expertise. Pupils in school and at home benefit from daily phonics lessons. Teachers plan these lessons carefully, using their knowledge of pupils’ grasp of early reading skills. Staff make regular checks on pupils’ phonic learning and use this information to plan further support if needed.

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Main findings

 You and other leaders have taken effective action to improve the way that staff support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers work closely with families and other professionals to identify pupils’ individual needs. Pupils’ detailed support plans include precise targets. Teachers use these targets to plan learning for pupils in school and those learning at home. In school, pupils with SEND benefit from a wide range of additional support, such as extra time reading with adults. For remote learners, staff give useful additional support. For example, they record video clips to share teaching points for pupils who need more help.

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Main findings

 At the start of the pandemic, you were in the process of embedding the school’s revised curriculum. Detailed curriculum plans, matched to the ambition of the national curriculum, are in place for most subjects. In subjects such as history, geography and mathematics, these plans set out the precise knowledge that you and other leaders intend pupils to learn and remember. However, in some other subjects, for example music and design technology, curriculum plans are at an earlier stage of development.

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Main findings

 You and other leaders have thought carefully about how pupils should build on their earlier learning. Teachers use mini quizzes to check whether pupils are remembering important information. Teachers check the learning tasks that pupils at home complete each day and provide a range of feedback. However, subject leaders are unable to carry out their usual range of checks to see how well pupils are learning. This means that you have been unable to evaluate the impact of the recent curriculum changes.

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Main findings

 Governors know the school well. They speak with you and other leaders regularly. This means that governors have a clear understanding of the curriculum provision for pupils both in school and for those working remotely. Governors ask a range of pertinent questions. For example, they challenge you about adjustments to the curriculum to enable pupils to catch up with missed learning due to COVID-19. Governors keep a careful check on the provision for vulnerable pupils and those with SEND.

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Main findings

 You benefit from being part of a multi-academy trust. Trust leaders provide you with a range of useful support, both for curriculum development and staff well-being. Subject leaders value working with leaders from other schools in the trust. In addition, you have maintained a close relationship with the local authority. This enables staff to attend a range of training and develop their expertise. This has supported you with the development of the curriculum.

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Evidence

This inspection was conducted remotely. We spoke to you, other senior leaders, the multi-academy trust chief executive officer and executive headteacher, four pupils from Year 5, seven teachers and three representatives of those responsible for governance. These meetings were to discuss leaders’ actions to provide education to all pupils during a national lockdown.

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Evidence

We also observed pupils when they read with an adult, scrutinised curriculum plans and checked samples of teachers’ communication with remote learners. We looked at responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 26 free-text responses, and 53 staff questionnaires.

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Evidence

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body and the chief executive officer of the Northern Ambitions multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Wakefield. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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