Keep Hatch Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and learning by ensuring that:
  • work consistently challenges pupils’ thinking across the curriculum, particularly for the most able, so that they can achieve the highest standards of attainment
  • mathematics teaching is more consistently effective
  • all staff have secure mathematics subject knowledge
  • children in early years are consistently supported to improve their writing and number skills.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher is ably supported by the executive headteacher and governing body, and has a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Leaders have resolutely set about addressing the areas needing improvement, for example by restructuring the leadership team, providing middle leaders with more responsibility, and addressing previous weaknesses in teaching.
• Leaders have introduced new processes for monitoring the quality of teaching. As a result, teachers are now held more readily to account for their pupils’ progress. This is having a positive impact on school improvement.
• Leaders make very good use of training to support teachers in developing both their practice and their skills as leaders. All middle leaders have successfully undertaken the national professional qualification for middle leaders (NPQML). This training is having a positive impact on their ability to develop teaching and learning across the school. There are, however, inconsistencies in the skills and expertise of some subject leaders who do not, therefore, have a clear understanding of strengths and weaknesses within their curriculum areas.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced, and suitable links are made across subjects. During the inspection, skills learned in mathematics were used in a geography lesson to compare temperature graphs of Nairobi and London. Leaders regularly review the curriculum content by seeking the views of staff and pupils and adjusting it accordingly. One leader described these reviews as ‘...tilting the curriculum to ensure it is relevant for our pupils’. Pupils say that they enjoy learning the wide range of subjects they study as well as being able to learn even more through homework.
• Leaders have recently extended the range of extra-curricular clubs at the school. Yoga, computing, sewing and cross-country are a few examples that are now on offer. Pupils say that they enjoy taking part in these activities and, indeed, many of these clubs are oversubscribed.
• Additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is used effectively. Funding is targeted to provide additional teaching and to help pupils to participate fully in all areas of school life. The support is evaluated for its impact on pupils’ progress and, if necessary, re-targeted accordingly. As a result, work in books and the school’s information about progress show that the majority of disadvantaged pupils currently at the school are making strong progress.
• Leaders make effective use of funding for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. As a result, most of these pupils are currently making strong progress from their starting points. The curriculum is adjusted to ensure that these pupils can work alongside their peers whenever possible. Where needed, tailored learning programmes are used to support them. These are regularly monitored and adapted as needed.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well supported. For example, a visitor was invited to the school to speak about her beliefs as a Muslim. Pupils also celebrate a variety of festivals, such as Diwali, through their religious education.
• The physical education and sport funding is used well. Since the appointment of a new headteacher, the range of opportunities to participate in both intra-house and inter-school competitions has risen. Pupils were keen to share with the inspectors how much they particularly enjoyed the ‘new look’ sports day. Leaders have also used the funding to train staff to develop their confidence and expertise while teaching gymnastics.
• Pupils are prepared well for life in modern Britain. For example, election to the school council or the ‘friendship squad’ provides pupils with experience of democracy in action. Displays of pupils’ work around the school emphasise tolerance of one another as a key British value.
• Parents speak highly of the school and the recent changes to leadership. One parent, echoing the views of many, commented, ‘There has been significant progress since the new leadership appointments. Many aspects of the school have improved. Standards are higher and the children happier.’
• Nearly all staff who work at the school say that they are proud to work there. All staff say that it has improved since the previous inspection. Teachers appreciate the opportunities provided to attend courses that support their development. They are also appreciative of leaders’ commitment to support their well-being.
• The local authority has an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and has given timely support. Commissioned support from Frays Academy Trust has been highly successful in developing teaching, learning and assessment within the school.

Governance of the school

• Following the previous inspection, a review of the effectiveness of the governing body was undertaken. Since the review, there have been many changes to the governing body’s membership and organisation, reflecting recommendations within the report. Members of the present governing body are now well-trained, well-informed and have a sound understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Governors bring a wide range of expertise and experience to their roles and are willing to challenge leaders and staff on aspects of school life. Minutes of meetings show that they ask leaders challenging questions, for example about what the school is doing about persistent absentees and the impact of actions taken.
• The safeguarding governor regularly visits the school to check procedures and policies. All governors have received training in safeguarding and two are trained in safer recruitment.
• Governors take full account of staff well-being when making decisions. For example, when the subject of becoming an academy was first raised, they attended information meetings alongside staff to support them and to listen to their views.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders have ensured that all staff have read and acted on the latest guidance on keeping children safe and, for example, on the dangers of cyber bullying. Safeguarding updates are shared weekly during staff meetings. Systems ensure that staff and volunteers are checked thoroughly and are made aware of safeguarding arrangements. The single central register is compliant with statutory requirements.
• Leaders regularly give information to parents to help them understand about keeping children safe, for example on the dangers of internet chat rooms. Pupils say they are safe in school and know who to talk to about any worries. Parents and staff agree that pupils are safe at this school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Under the strong leadership of the executive headteacher and the headteacher, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment has improved significantly since the last inspection.
• Clear assessment procedures, which are used to track pupils’ achievements carefully, are now in place. To ensure accuracy, staff judgements about pupils’ progress are now moderated effectively, both internally and by external providers. Leaders say that information about progress is now far more accurate than in previous years. This has enabled leaders to target support to specific pupils who are in danger of falling behind.
• Where teaching is strong, teachers provide work that supports, challenges and extends their learning. In some lessons, however, particularly mathematics, the most able and the most able disadvantaged pupils are not regularly given work that is suitably challenging. Work scrutiny and lesson observations also identified that teachers’ subject knowledge and their use of correct mathematical language are not as strong as they should be. Leaders are aware of and have already started to address this issue.
• Teachers have established good working relationships with pupils. Pupils are very keen to learn and usually behave very well in class. They say that their teachers are ‘friendly’ and ‘helpful’.
• Staff teach phonics well. As a result, pupils can apply these skills to their reading and writing. During the inspection, less able readers used their phonics knowledge highly effectively to decode unknown words when reading to the inspectors.
• Homework is set in line with school policy. Pupils say that they really enjoy the choice they are now given as it enables them to study an area of interest more deeply. One pupil, for example, spoke about visiting a museum so that he could find out even more information to help with his homework.
• Leaders ensure that teaching is inclusive and that pupils work alongside their peers whenever possible. Pupils who need extra support are often given additional sessions by teaching assistants to prepare them for lessons. This supports these pupils to participate fully in all lessons.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are polite and have positive attitudes to learning. They are keen to talk to visitors and to tell them about their school and the work they are doing.
• Pupils feel safe at school. They know who to talk to if they are worried about anything and say that all adults in the school will listen and help. Pupils have a good understanding of what bullying is. They say that bullying does happen occasionally, although not as much as in the past, and that any incidents are quickly sorted out. Pupils have a good understanding of cyber bullying and the importance of not sharing passwords.
• Pupils value the opportunities to take on additional roles and responsibilities, such as becoming a school councillor or house captain. Younger pupils at the school talk excitedly about becoming a member of the ‘friendship squad’ when they are older, so that they can help to organise games for the younger pupils to play.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are extremely polite and respectful to visitors and each other. They enjoy their learning and talk positively about the staff.
• Most pupils react quickly to prompts from adults. They settle well to their work and are keen to succeed. Occasionally, however, off-task behaviour occurs when pupils are waiting for adult help or for work that is suitably challenging.
• Pupils enjoy coming to school and attend regularly. Recent information shows that attendance is above the national average. In the past, the proportion of pupils who were persistently absent from school was above that found nationally. As a result of actions taken by leaders, this proportion has fallen and is now below the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils make good progress across the school in most subjects. However, they do not achieve as well in mathematics as they do in English.
• There is clear evidence, through work sampling and the school’s own information about progress, that the majority of disadvantaged pupils and most-able disadvantaged pupils presently at the school are making strong progress and diminishing the difference between themselves and other pupils nationally. However, the school is aware that the progress made by disadvantaged pupils in mathematics still lags behind that made by other pupils. Strategies have been introduced to address this.
• Provisional information for 2018 shows that the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 was above that found nationally. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher standard was broadly average for writing and mathematics, and above average for reading compared to national results.
• Provisional information for 2018 indicates that the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 was similar to that found nationally. However, the proportion of pupils achieving greater depth in writing was below that found nationally.
• Standards achieved in the national phonics screening check have been steadily rising over the past three years. In 2018, the proportion of pupils meeting the standard at the end of Year 1 and Year 2 was well above the national average.
• Children make good progress in early years. In 2018, the proportion of children reaching a good level of development was above the average achieved nationally. However, leaders recognise that girls are currently out-performing boys and are currently addressing this through changes to the curriculum.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting points. Carefully planned support activities and monitoring of their progress enable them to achieve well.

Early years provision Good

• Leaders have introduced a far more rigorous and accurate method of assessing children on entry to school than had previously been the case. The school receives children from 19 different providers, and leaders have acted to ensure that there is more consistency in the information they receive. As a result, teachers are more able to gain a deep understanding of the children and adjust the provision to cater for their needs.
• The early years provision is well led. Teachers have a good understanding of the progress made by different groups of children. External moderation confirms that their judgements about children’s attainment are accurate.
• Support for the small number of disadvantaged children in early years is well targeted. Staff get to know these children well and are adept at designing a programme that effectively supports their needs. As a result, these children make good progress from their starting points.
• Children behave well. They enjoy talking to visitors and explaining what they are doing. During the inspection, inspectors were particularly impressed by the depth of knowledge the children had about dinosaurs from work earlier in the term.
• The outside area is well used. However, at times, children’s learning is not planned well enough to maximise learning. For example, during the inspection, despite number activities being set out, children were not supported in using them.
• Parents are very positive about the way in which teachers communicate with them and enjoy contributing to the learning journals. They also appreciate the opportunities to visit the school to find out about how children learn in early years.
• Safeguarding procedures are robust. All staff in early years are fully qualified. They have all had paediatric first-aid training.
• Children achieve well in early years and are well prepared for Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number 109840 Local authority Wokingham Inspection number 10052908 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 393 Appropriate authority Local authority Chair Mr Stephen Johnston Headteacher Mrs Claire Appleby Telephone number 0118 978 4859 Website www.keephatch.wokingham.sch.uk Email address admin@keephatch.wokingham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 30 June–1 July 2016

Information about this school

• The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who receive support for SEN and/or disabilities is slightly below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is below that found nationally.
• The current headteacher was appointed in May 2017, and a new leadership team was formed.
• Children in early years are taught in one Reception unit.
• At present, the school is undergoing due diligence before converting to academy status.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors carried out observations of learning in all year groups. Some classes were visited more than once. Six of these observations were conducted jointly with the headteacher.
• Meetings were held with senior leaders, phase leaders, subject leaders, three members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.
• Inspectors scrutinised documents, including: minutes of governing body meetings; the school’s self-evaluation; the development plan; monitoring and assessment information; school policies; behaviour and safety records; safeguarding policies and procedures; and reports from visits by the local authority.
• Inspectors met formally with pupils, as well as having informal conversations with pupils during lessons and playtimes. Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked to them about their work.
• Inspectors considered 98 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 63 free-text comments. They also met with parents before school.
• Inspectors considered 146 responses to Ofsted’s online pupil questionnaire and 23 responses to Ofsted’s online staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Brian Macdonald, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Kevin Burrell Ofsted Inspector Charlotte Wilson Ofsted Inspector