LATEST HANSON OFSTED: One of Bradford's largest and most troubled schools praised extensively for lockdown response

MORE than 800 pupils at one of Bradford's largest secondary schools had to self-isolate at some point during the Autumn term.

Hanson Academy, in Swain House Road, was visited remotely by Ofsted, as part of the education watchdog's commitment to discovering how schools across the country have responded to the coronavirus crisis.

The secondary school - which caters for 1635 mixed pupils between the ages of 11 and 18 - was at the forefront of the fight against the Covid-19 virus during its first stages last year.

Dedicated staff members and children who were attending the school while it was shut to most other pupils crafted PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), at a time when the NHS was desperately short.

By May 1 last year, the school had manufactured and distributed more than 6,000 visors, 1,000 dust bags for scrubs, 800 mask buckles, and even stitched together seven sets of scrubs.

It was the third-biggest producer of visors and scrubs bags in the country at one point, even sending out vital PPE as far afield as Barbados and Australia.

Hanson was visited by both Steve Shaw, Her Majesty's Inspector (HMI) and Marcus Newby, HMI on Thursday, November 26, 2020.

Ofsted is not conducting its usual visits, where schools would be graded.

HMIs are instead finding out how schools have responded to the crisis brought about by the Covid-19 virus.

The report outlines how Hanson has approached the various pressure points for education settings along the pandemic timeline.

Half of the school's pupil population had to work from home for short periods, at some point during the Autumn term, due to isolation.

Students in one Year 9 "bubble" were self-isolating at home when Ofsted visited.

Those who have to stay at home have a mixture of digital learning, where pupils access their work online, and paper-based work.

The report states: "You explained that the remote education work covers the same content in all subjects that pupils would be doing in school.

"You told us that, currently, you are not teaching ‘live lessons’ but that this is something you plan to do."

All pupils from Year 7 to 13 are still studying the full range of subjects that they were before the pandemic.

Teachers have been checking pupils' new starting points since the beginning of the Autumn term by "mapping" missed units and conducting "baseline" assessments of their skills.

This has informed where changes have needed to be made to the curriculum.

It includes some switching of the order in which certain units are taught in specific subjects, to allow for lost learning.

The report states: "For example, you told us how you have changed the units in Year 8 history because of what Year 7 last year missed due to Covid-19 restrictions."

There were also some adjustments being made for pupils in Years 11 and 13, who had been due to take exams in 2021, before the Government announced they would be scrapped.

This included adapting the Science curriculum so students got extra teaching time to make up for what they lost during the period when schools were closed to most pupils due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The findings are based on discussions with the school’s headteacher, Richard Woods, other senior leaders (including the leader responsible for safeguarding), the chair of governors, a representative of the local authority and several subject leaders.

The inspectors were not able visit lessons, check work, or speak to pupils, as they normally would.

HMIs are visiting around 1,200 schools across all Ofsted grades, and of all types, to see how England's education system is managing the return to full education for pupils, following an extended break in formal schooling due to the pandemic.