Setting

Mathew Atkinson Acting Executive Headteacher Woodfield Primary School Woodfield Road Harrogate North Yorkshire HG1 4HZ

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Additional, remote monitoring inspection of Woodfield Primary School

Following my remote inspection with Matthew Knox, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), of your school on 23 February 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 Woodfield Primary School

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 special measures.

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Additional, remote monitoring inspection of Woodfield Primary School

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 Woodfield Primary School

The inspection took place because the school was judged to require special measures at its previous section 5 inspection. The school’s most recent section 5 inspection took place in January 2020.

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Additional, remote monitoring inspection of Woodfield Primary School

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 systems to check that pupils have learned and remembered the most important content in subjects in the wider curriculum.

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Context

 Since the previous inspection, there has been considerable turbulence in staffing. Two teachers and the previous headteacher have left the school. The school was led by a temporary acting headteacher from another school for the spring term of 2020. The current acting executive headteacher and acting head of school took over the leadership of the school at the start of the summer term 2020. A new special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) and a curriculum leader were appointed in the summer term 2020. One new temporary teacher joined the school in September 2020.

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Context

 At the time of the inspection, approximately half of all pupils were being educated in school. All pupils with an education health and care plan and almost three quarters of the pupils leaders have identified as vulnerable were attending school on site.

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Context

 A small number of pupils were educated remotely for a period in the autumn term 2020.

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Main findings

 You, along with the acting head of school, have provided much-needed stability to the school. You have guided the school through the COVID-19 period and ensured pupils are being provided with education in the current circumstances.

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Main findings

 You have worked with other leaders in school to improve the curriculum in reading, writing and mathematics. This has provided a firm foundation for learning in the current circumstances. Pupils in school, and those learning remotely, are able to access lessons that match the school’s planned curriculum in these subjects.

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Main findings

 Development work in subjects in the wider curriculum, such as geography and history, is ongoing. Curriculum plans for these subjects show what pupils should learn by the end of each year. Because of delays to the academisation process and the impact of COVID-19, you have not yet established a system to check that pupils have learned and remembered the most important content in these subjects. This means teachers do not always know whether pupils are ready to move on to the next stage of learning.

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Main findings

 Pupils are being provided with activities in subjects such as art and design technology (DT) that do not consistently match the school’s planned curriculum. Leaders are working with the local high school to develop a new curriculum for languages. You have therefore decided not to teach languages to any pupils at the present time. You have plans to ensure that, when pupils return to school, teachers will teach the curriculum content that has been missed in art, DT and languages.

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Main findings

 There are effective systems to check the engagement of pupils in remote education. Where needed, staff provide appropriate support for parents to enable them to help their children. One parent told us, ‘The school has been very supportive during lockdowns and made a real effort to stay connected with children and families’.

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Main findings

 You have rightly made it a priority that pupils continue to learn to read. Pupils in school, and those at home, can take part in daily reading or phonics lessons. Teachers provide pupils with appropriate books to help them practise and remember the new sounds that they are learning. All pupils, including those who need help to catch up, have been provided with access to software that creates a bespoke programme to enhance their learning in reading. This is being used effectively by teachers to monitor pupils’ engagement and assess their progress in reading.

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Main findings

 The school’s SENCo has written plans for each pupil with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) that are carefully matched to pupils’ needs. These plans state the areas of learning they need to focus on and the support they require. This extra learning helps pupils gain basic skills in English and mathematics. Pupils with SEND who are in school are provided with regular support. Pupils with SEND who are working at home are provided with additional support materials for parents to use with them.

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Main findings

 The local authority are working with the governing body to ensure they have the skills to monitor the impact of leaders’ actions. Governors ask challenging questions of school leaders and are increasingly effective in holding leaders to account. Governors have undertaken some monitoring to understand the education being provided to pupils in the current circumstances, including for those pupils with SEND.

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Main findings

 The local authority has provided extensive support to the school since the previous inspection. This has led to improvements in the school’s curriculum and in the leadership of the provision for pupils with SEND. They have also brokered the support of a teaching school alliance and a multi-academy trust which has added to the leadership capacity in the school.

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Evidence

This inspection was conducted remotely. We spoke to you, the acting head of school, the SENCO, the reading leader and the curriculum leader. We met with two members of the governing body, including one of the co-chairs\. We spoke to representatives from the local authority to discuss leaders’ actions to provide education to all pupils during a national lockdown.

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Evidence

We looked at some work that pupils have completed remotely. We also reviewed documents, visited a reading catch-up session and spoke to a small group of pupils. We considered the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 9 free-text responses, and 14 staff questionnaires.

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Evidence

I am copying this letter to the chairs of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for North Yorkshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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