Hawbush Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils believe in the school's values of fairness, perseverance, hope, resilience and respect. Pupils enjoy their forest school sessions and working together. Pupils know what bullying is.

They have confidence that adults would help them sort it out. Pupils feel safe in school.

Staff are ambitious for pupils.

They show commitment to the pupils and the local community. The school provides high-quality care for pupils who need emotional support. Pupils behave well most of the time.

Staff are looking for ways to extend pupils' experiences. Pupils are looking forward to restarting clubs and welcoming visitors. For example, some have recently started scho...ol council, junior leadership team and working with community police.

Despite these positive features, pupils do not achieve well enough. Leaders know the attributes they want all pupils to have by the time they leave the school. However, leaders have not identified exactly what pupils need to learn in subjects such as history, science and art and design.

The curriculum lacks ambition and is not well organised in some subjects. Leaders have prioritised improving pupils' mathematics. However, due to weaknesses in the teaching of early reading, some pupils do not learn to read fluently or confidently.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The quality of education is not good enough. Leaders are beginning to think about how to organise and deliver their curriculum so that it supports pupils' learning and development more effectively. For example, in mathematics, leaders are clear on the small steps that pupils need to learn to be successful.

The teaching of early reading is not secure. Some staff do not have the skills to teach phonics well because training has not been effective. Adults do not always appropriately model the sounds letters make.

Pupils struggle to remember and use their previous learning. Pupils do not use letter sounds to help them write well.

In some subjects, teachers have insufficient guidance about what to teach.

Curriculum plans in these subjects do not clearly identify the knowledge and skills pupils will learn. Teaching in these subjects does not sequence learning well enough to help pupils build on what they already know or prepare them for future learning. Some teachers have not had sufficient training to help them teach the curriculum well.

Pupils have a poor recall of their science and history work.

Leaders have not consistently checked that subject plans are delivered effectively. This does not help leaders have an accurate understanding of the areas to improve in the school.

For example, plans to learn about key artists have not enabled the pupils to know more and remember more about these artists.Leaders are ambitious to broaden pupils' horizons. They make sure that pupils learn about different faiths and cultures.

Other areas of the curriculum teach pupils about democracy. Leaders have also prioritised pupils' understanding of mental health. They have secured additional support for those who need it.

Pupils generally behave well. Sometimes they lose focus when the curriculum does not meet their needs fully.

Leaders have procedures in place to manage attendance.

However, low attendance and high persistent absence rates have continued since summer 2021, when all pupils were expected to return to school. This is a barrier to pupils making progress through the curriculum.

Teachers understand the difficulties that pupils with special educational needs/and or disabilities (SEND) have with their learning.

This is especially so in the school's specially resourced provision. The individual attention and care that these pupils receive meets their needs well. This means that the pupils engage in learning where they may not have done so before.

The early years curriculum is well thought out. Skilled adults help children to learn and acquire language. There is a high focus on this, and children rise to the challenge.

They can talk effectively with a partner by the time they reach Reception Year. Relationships are strong and children get off to a good start because the adults understand the steps to develop learning. Children who have had little pre-school experience or have SEND are well supported.

However, due to weaknesses in the teaching of reading, children do not do as well as they could.

Governors have ensured that the school operated well during the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been less attention on their evaluation of the school's quality of education.

Staff enjoy working at the school. They say leaders support them well. Staff value the help they get to keep a positive work–life balance.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders make sure that there are clear arrangements for keeping pupils safe. They train all staff so that everyone knows what to do if they have concerns about a child.

Staff are alert to any signs that a pupil may be at risk. They report concerns quickly. Leaders' records help to ensure that pupils and their families get the support that they need when they need it.

Additional staff provide well-being support. Leaders have also invested in external services to help pupils.Pupils learn about keeping safe, including how to stay safe online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The reading programme is not effective for all pupils. Leaders need to ensure that the teaching of phonics is precise and consistent. Leaders also need to ensure that all adults, routinely and accurately, help pupils use their phonics knowledge to write well.

• In some subjects, the curriculum is not well sequenced. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum plans for all subjects show teachers the knowledge that pupils should learn and when. Leaders must make sure that teachers have the necessary subject knowledge to develop the curriculum effectively.

• Leaders have not checked how well pupils are progressing through the curriculum. As a result, leaders do not know whether pupils are learning the planned curriculum. Leaders need to check how well the curriculum is delivered so that they can implement training and support where necessary.

• Governors do not have a full picture of the schools' strengths, weaknesses and priorities for improvement. This makes it difficult for them to support and challenge leaders effectively. Governors need to make sure they have the necessary information to proactively hold leaders to account.

• Pupils' attendance is low. This reduces the time available for learning. Leaders need to ensure they rigorously apply the school's systems to challenge pupils' absence so that attendance levels rise, and fewer pupils are persistently absent.