Northamptonshire secondary school inspected 'remotely' by Ofsted sitting in over Zoom

Campion School in Bugbrooke has been told they are on the road to improvement...although inspectors were not able to visit in person
Ofsted inspected a Northampton secondary school without visiting in person.Ofsted inspected a Northampton secondary school without visiting in person.
Ofsted inspected a Northampton secondary school without visiting in person.

A Northamptonshire secondary school was inspected by the education watchdog by sitting in over Zoom and without visiting in person.

Campion School in Bugbrooke was given warm feedback in its latest monitoring visit as it works to climb out of a "requires improvement" rating it was handed in 2016 and 2018.

But in a sign of the times, the check up by Ofsted was conducted entirely without a visit to the school, and was instead carried out "remotely," despite almost all pupils currently attending the school on site.

The latest report, published April 22, reads: "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 onsite inspection."

The breadth of evidence included observing a reading lesson by remote hearing, interview staff and pupils in online meetings and use of Ofsted's "Parent View" online questionnaire.

The check-up visit - which the watchdog carries out ahead of formal inspections that set new ratings for schools - compliment Campion School and ruled they taking "effective action" to teach during the Covid-19 restrictions.

It reads: "Leaders are determined to provide pupils with an education underpinned by the school’s vision of ‘achievement, character, and excellence’. They want all pupils to do well.

"Leaders have continued to improve the school since the previous inspection, despite the pandemic.

"Trustees are ambitious for the school and want every pupil to be successful."

However, the report came with some criticisms. Inspectors stated that leaders "had not thought carefully enough" about providing information to plan learning for SEND students, and that older pupils were not getting the support they needed in reading.

Campion School is likely to receive a formal visit by Ofsted before the end of 2021.