Hadlow Rural Community School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a unique school with a land-based curriculum covering agriculture, horticulture and animal care. The school aims to develop pupils' love of learning as well as their ability to be kind, caring, courteous and considerate.

There are high expectations for pupils' academic achievement. However, pupils' performance in recent public examinations has been disappointing. In particular, the gap between the performance of disadvantaged pupils and their peers remains too large.

Pupils are safe in this school. A well-considered personal, social and health education programme helps pupils to understand how to stay safe and well. However, not all areas of the curriculum are... as well planned or implemented.

Pupils confirm that they have adults that they can talk to if needed. Bullying is rare and staff deal with any incidents swiftly. Relationships between staff and pupils are respectful.

However, there are a small number of lessons where behaviour falls below leaders' high expectations and is not managed consistently.

Leaders have thought carefully about enrichment opportunities, including sports, arts and public speaking. Pupils enjoy trips and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

They are proud to take on positions of responsibility, including prefects, sports leaders and anti-bullying ambassadors.

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

Pupils' experience a variable quality of education, because of inconsistencies in the way subjects are planned and sequenced. In subjects where this is done well, there is a shared and consistent approach across all years.

In land-based subjects, pupils learn confidently and with enjoyment. They build up their knowledge over time, with many undertaking qualifications in these subjects in key stage 4. In a small number of subjects, curriculum planning does not lead well enough towards clearly defined learning goals.

While most teachers exhibit strong subject knowledge, others are still developing their expertise in some of the subjects that they teach. Consequently, the planned curriculum is not always delivered well enough.

The school understands the need to improve pupils' achievement, particularly for the disadvantaged.

While leaders have taken various actions to address weaknesses, the impact of this work is not yet evident in improved examination results and the attendance of disadvantaged pupils.

Leaders are increasingly prioritising reading. They understand that confident reading is important to access the full curriculum.

However, reading assessments focus too much on checking reading ages. This means that they do not always identify specific barriers to pupils' reading development. The promotion of reading across the curriculum is still developing.

Pupils' conduct around the school is generally calm, positive, and orderly. Relationships between staff and pupils are encouraging and supportive. Effective systems track and monitor attendance but are not sufficiently focused on specific groups, especially disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Therefore, some pupils do not come to school as often as they should.

The personal development curriculum has been recently reviewed and updated. High-quality pastoral support fosters pupils' understanding of diversity and cultural development.

Pupils show tolerance and respect for different beliefs. They speak passionately about equality, diversity, inclusion and neurodiversity.

The school prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.

It is fully committed to ensuring pupils make a positive contribution to society. Pupils were able to explain what is meant by democracy, the rule of law and individual liberty. Year 9 pupils talked confidently about protected characteristics and how they relate to the Equalities Act of 2010.

Pupils are well prepared for their next stage of education. The well-considered careers programme is a strength of the school. Pupils have access to extensive careers information.

This includes information on apprenticeships and vocational routes. Pupils benefit from work-experience opportunities, work-related learning and careers links within individual subjects.

Leaders engage with staff, acknowledging and addressing the main pressures they face.

Staff feel well supported regarding workload and well-being. They appreciate leaders' approachability, especially the headteacher. Ongoing professional development is helping staff to develop their pedagogical practice.

The school has faced significant challenges in recruiting staff in recent years. This has impacted on its capacity for improvement. Trustees and senior leaders are committed to improving outcomes and are working hard to achieve this goal.

Nevertheless, this work is not currently leading to pupils' achievement improving quickly enough. Plans to address areas for improvement are not always captured clearly enough in documentation, which impedes how effectively people are held to account for the impact of their actions.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum is not consistently planned and implemented across all subjects. This means that pupils do not build well enough on their prior learning to achieve the success they are capable of. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is planned and delivered consistently well, so that pupils, particularly the disadvantaged, achieve the standards they are capable of.

• Some pupils who struggle to read are not always sufficiently supported to read confidently and fluently. This means that these pupils have difficulty accessing the learning intended in lessons. Leaders should ensure that support for these pupils is matched to their individual needs, so that pupils' fluency, accuracy and confidence in reading improve.