Doncaster primary school had to cope with over a dozen staff self isolating during Ofsted inspection

And that was on top of a small number that were away because they were shielding, a monitoring report into Hexthorpe Primary School states.

The monitoring inspection was carried out remotely, and praised how the school was coping with teaching during the pandemic.

Osted inspector Christopher Pearce’s inspection at the end of March took place because the school had received two successive judgements of requires improvement.

Mr Pearce said: “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: Leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action to provide education in the current circumstances.”

But he said leaders and those responsible for governance should take further action to ensure that phonics training is provided to all staff so that they have the skills required to support all pupils in the early stages of reading; and ensure that curriculum leaders have opportunities to monitor the impact of the school’s newly written curriculum plans and assessment systems.

He said since the last inspection, the school had appointed a maths leader and an assistant principal. Two governors had joined its transition management board.

At the time of this inspection, two thirds of pupils were in school. The Reception and Year 1 ‘bubbles’ had been closed and these pupils were learning at home. He added the school was dealing with some disruption to staffing caused by COVID-19, with staff members self-isolating and small number of staff shielding.

He told the school “You are determined to provide education in the current circumstances. You have identified barriers to learning and provided laptops to help pupils access learning online. You have carried out doorstep visits to deliver work packs to pupils that need them. These visits and welfare checks are continuing for pupils who need to self-isolate.

“You have translated key messages for parents and carers into languages other than English. This has improved your communication with families.”

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