Hartley Brook Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils enjoy attending school. They are polite, welcoming and inclusive of others.

Pupils have confidence that adults will support them with any concerns they may have. This helps pupils to feel safe in school.

The majority of pupils, including children in the early years, behave well.

They enjoy playing with their friends at social times. In lessons, most pupils focus on their learning. Pupils who struggle to meet leaders' high expectations for conduct receive additional support from the school to improve their behaviour.

This effective work has significantly reduced the number of pupils who receive sanctions for poor behaviour. Pupils understa...nd how behaving well benefits all members of the school community.

Many pupils achieve well academically.

The school provides pupils with a range of wider opportunities to support their academic achievements. Pupils benefit from these. Some pupils hold leadership responsibilities in the school.

In these, pupils make significant contributions to the school community. The school's 'eco-ambassadors' raised funds to purchase solar panels for the school when working to reduce energy use. Other groups have led on changes to school food to provide more healthy options for peers.

Most pupils participate in the school's diverse range of clubs or represent the school in competitions. The school uses visits, including residential visits, to develop pupils' cultural awareness well.

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

Historic weaknesses in the school's curriculum have resulted in some pupils achieving less well than they should have.

Some pupils have not always been as well prepared as they might have been for secondary school. Leaders have addressed these issues. They have strengthened the quality of the curriculum that pupils study.

This is now established. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, develop more secure understanding of a range of subjects than former pupils. They are increasingly well-prepared for their next steps in education.

Teachers use a set of common routines to teach the school's curriculum. These are informed by research. The school trains staff in how to use this approach.

In most lessons, staff use these routines consistently to support pupils to learn the curriculum. Teaching strategies, such as modelling new knowledge or regularly reviewing what pupils know, help pupils to commit information to memory. Teachers provide effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

This enables these pupils to learn the school's ambitious curriculum. In some lessons, how staff check what pupils know is not as effective as it could be. Some pupils' misconceptions go uncorrected.

Information from these checks is not well used by teachers to adapt their teaching.

The school has significantly improved provision for children in the early years. This is now a strength of the school.

Children play together, take turns and share well.Leaders have carefully designed the curriculum to meet children's needs. The development of language is central to the school's effective work.

Staff carefully design learning activities that capture children's imagination and develop their love of learning. Adults skilfully adjust the curriculum to provide extra support when children need this to catch up. Children are well-prepared for key stage 1.

Pupils enjoy reading. Many read often for pleasure. They enjoy reading books from a variety of genres and authors.

Pupils value the diverse range of texts that they can read from the school library. Most pupils learn to read accurately and fluently. Some pupils struggle and require additional help with their reading.

Support from trained staff enables many of these pupils to catch up. In some phonics sessions, adults do not identify or correct pupils when they do not pronounce sounds within words accurately. This limits these pupils' reading accuracy.

The school's tireless approach to improving pupils' attendance is leading to fewer pupils being regularly absent from school. The school works well with pupils and their families to secure improved attendance. Despite this, too many pupils continue to miss school regularly.

These pupils miss important learning and fall behind their peers.

Pupils have a strong understanding of many topics from the school's personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum. They know how to eat healthily and maintain physical fitness.

Pupils' knowledge of faiths and beliefs that are different from their own is strong. Some pupils make appropriate links between their learning in PSHE lessons and other subjects. For example, one pupil described how individual liberty related to their learning about Rosa Parks in history.

Leaders and those with responsibility for governance have a realistic view of the school. They understand its strengths as well as recognising where further improvements are needed. Many of these improvements are being realised.

Some of the school's checks on how the curriculum is implemented do not identify precisely the features that need refining. This slows how quickly some improvements are made.

Leaders consider how decisions that they make impact on staff's workload before making changes.

Staff feel well supported by leaders at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some checks that the school makes do not precisely identify the parts of the school's curriculum that are not working as leaders intend.

Some improvements in how the curriculum is taught take longer to be made than necessary. The school should refine its systems to ensure that checks on the curriculum consistently identify any necessary improvements so these can be promptly implemented. ? In some lessons, assessment is not well used to check on pupils' learning or to identify misconceptions.

Information from these checks does not inform future teaching consistently well. Some pupils' misconceptions are not addressed. The school should ensure that staff routinely use assessment information to address pupils' misconceptions and any gaps in learning.

• Too many pupils are regularly absent from school. These pupils miss important learning and achieve less well than they could. The school should build on its attendance strategy to secure further improvements in pupils' attendance.