Hade Edge Junior, Infant and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school. They champion the school values which include 'respect, perseverance and friendliness'. Staff build warm and positive relationships with pupils.

Being part of a small school, they know each pupil very well. Staff, pupils and governors form a united and welcoming school community.

Pupils behave well at Hade Edge.

They cooperate and get on positively with one another. There is a real sense of family, with older pupils looking out for their younger friends. Leaders ensure that systems for behaviour are consistent throughout school.

Pupils say that these are fair. As a result, pupils get on with their learning with littl...e disruption. Pupils enjoy coming to school.

Rates of attendance are strong. Leaders continue to ensure that this is the case for all groups of pupils.

Following a period of turbulence, leaders and governors have brought about much needed stability to the school.

Leaders have prioritised some of the changes required. They have refined safeguarding systems and put in place some positive changes to aspects of the curriculum. The school is ambitious for all pupils; however, these high expectations are not yet fully realised.

Leaders are aware that, despite some of their actions to improve the curriculum, there is still more to do.

Parents remain fully supportive of the school. They recognise and appreciate the developments that have taken place and say that their children are happy at the school.

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

Children get off to a good start in the early years. Leaders have ensured that the knowledge they want pupils to learn before the end of Reception is clear. There is a sharp focus on both the development of language and the promotion of a love of reading.

Children have regular opportunities to share stories with adults and each other. Staff carefully choose books and model how to be a reader. Children enjoy this time.

The school has prioritised the development of a new indoor learning environment for pupils in the early years. This allows them to access a range of areas of learning. Strong routines are in place.

Children follow these well. Children play cooperatively together. They share, take turns and talk to each other about what they are doing.

Leaders ensure that children learn these fundamental social skills in preparation for Year 1.

The school has chosen a suitable early reading approach that sets out what pupils should learn and when. Within phonic sessions, there is some consistency in teaching, so that pupils know what to expect and when to take part.

However, at times within these lessons, there are limited opportunities for pupils to practise reading. Some pupils are, therefore, not suitably challenged. Leaders are continuing to review their reading offer.

They have recently implemented a more structured approach to the teaching of reading at key stage 2.

Pupils access all required subjects that are set out in the National Curriculum. In some subjects, the school has chosen curriculum materials to support with the choice of what they want pupils to learn and with the delivery of teaching.

However, the school has not fully evaluated the impact of their chosen curriculum. As a result, in some subjects, such as geography and mathematics, pupils do not sufficiently revisit deliberately planned content. This means that they do not always embed prior learning or remember knowledge that they have been previously taught.

In other subjects such as history, the choice of activities sometimes does not match well to the intended learning or to pupils' abilities. Leaders are taking steps to review the curriculum across subject areas.

The school has improved its provision for pupils with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND).

Pupils with SEND are swiftly identified. Leaders ensure that appropriate actions are in place to support this group of pupils. Individual targets for pupils with SEND are clear.

Staff are aware of how to support pupils to work towards these targets in lessons. Pupils with SEND enjoy learning alongside their peers.

As part of the programme in place to develop personal, social and health education, pupils learn about positive friendships, teamwork and how to keep themselves safe.

Pupils are developing a mature and age-appropriate understanding of differences related to gender, sexual orientation, disability and ethnicity. Pupils are clear that they should treat everyone with respect, regardless of their differences.

Leaders ensure that there is a strong focus on promoting pupils' positive mental health.

Pupils who are well-being champions have received specific training on how they can support and understand the mental health of others. In addition to these roles, pupils also have the opportunity to take on responsibilities as school councillors and playground buddies.

The local governing body recognises the work carried out by the school to bring about recent positive changes.

As a group, they ensure that they continue to review their own practice to provide effective challenge and support. They are fully committed to the school.

Leaders at all levels recognise the importance of the well-being of staff.

Staff feel very well supported. They acknowledge the changes that have been essential to bring about improvement, However, they appreciate the considerations and actions taken to help support their workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the school has not identified deliberate opportunities for pupils to reinforce and recall important prior learning. This means that pupils do not build up a secure body of knowledge over time. This makes it difficult for them to connect concepts and remember important knowledge.

The school must ensure that pupils systematically revisit important content to help them recall and embed knowledge securely. ? The school has not ensured that learning opportunities and activities given to pupils in some subject areas match the intended knowledge that they want pupils to learn. As a result, some pupils do not learn important knowledge as well as they might.

Some learning activities are not sufficiently matched to pupils' abilities. The school should ensure that learning opportunities in all subjects clearly match the intended learning of that subject area and ensure that activities meet the needs and abilities of all pupils. ? The school has not evaluated the impact of changes to the curriculum in some subjects in a timely manner.

Therefore, the school does not have a full picture of how well pupils learn the intended curriculum. This has meant that curriculum changes have not been made as swiftly as they might have been. The school should strengthen curriculum evaluation, so that it can gather and assess the impact of the curriculum on pupils' learning to ensure required changes are enacted as soon as possible.

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