Hartlip Endowed Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that learning is fun, and that Hartlip is a happy and safe place to be. The school's values of friendship, forgiveness, peace, trust and thankfulness are important to them.

Pupils try hard to model these. They are delighted when their efforts are recognised in assembly or by being given a house point. Pupils cooperate well.

They take pride in looking after each other, even in the youngest class. Playtimes are happy. Pupils play together well.

Bullying is rare, and quickly addressed by staff.

Teachers have high expectations. Pupils are expected to behave well and learn well too.

Mostly, pupils respond well and try hard. On the odd ...occasion that pupils are too chatty or their attention drifts, they respond quickly to reminders from adults.

Pupils form great friendships with each other right from Reception Year.

Relationships across the school are warm and nurturing. This helps to build pupils' confidence. Staff prioritise pupils' mental and physical fitness.

A wealth of activities enrich the curriculum and connect pupils with the community. Many pupils gain strong leadership skills through the school council and the worship council, which manage charity events.

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

Leaders and governors have a strong understanding of the school's many strengths and areas that need further development.

Governors work in close partnership with leaders. They hold leaders to account and ask challenging questions of them. Governors keep pupils' welfare and the quality of education at the centre of their discussions.

Everyone strives to help Hartlip to deliver on its vision of 'Learning to live! Living to learn!'. Staff feel well supported by leaders. They say that everyone works well as a team.

Leaders have identified the essential knowledge and content that pupils should be taught in each subject. This helps to ensure that pupils in mixed-age classes receive sufficient depth and breadth in the curriculum. The curriculum has been carefully shaped to develop pupils' understanding of their locality, the United Kingdom and then the wider world.

The core curriculum supports pupils to learn well. Pupils thrive in mathematics. Effective and consistent approaches to the teaching of mathematics right from the start ensure that pupils develop as competent and confident mathematicians.

Leaders have taken the right steps to ensure that any gaps identified as result of the pandemic are being addressed so that pupils can keep up.

Staff are well trained and highly skilled in the teaching of reading. As a result, pupils quickly learn to read.

The books that are sent home are well matched to pupils' phonics knowledge. Children in Reception Year show a love of stories. Staff use their detailed knowledge of what every child can do in order to shape curriculum experiences to encourage language development.

Pupils across the school enjoy reading and being read to. They read well. Pupils who need a little extra input are given the help they need to catch up quickly.

Teachers mostly have strong subject knowledge and an understanding of how the curriculum progresses year by year, particularly in English and mathematics. However, in other subjects, teaching is not precise enough. This is because the curriculum is not sequenced well enough to build the knowledge needed.

As a result, pupils sometimes struggle to understand some concepts in depth or to remember things over time. Subject leaders do not have enough oversight of this.

Staff know pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities very well.

Strong, caring support enables most of these pupils to experience success and grow in confidence. They progress through the curriculum alongside others and are fully included in the wider life of the school.

The school is calm and orderly.

Most pupils behave well because they want to. They are keen to learn, and value the relationships they have with their teachers and each other. Occasionally, some pupils find it hard to manage their feelings or misbehave.

Leaders have introduced systems that help all pupils to understand and manage their emotions well.

Staff help pupils to be compassionate, and to reflect on their own beliefs and other faiths and cultures. They learn that everyone is equal.

Pupils said that everyone is welcome at Hartlip and that, 'Everyone is supported with their needs even though they might learn differently.'

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff are well trained in what signs to look out for if pupils are at risk.

They know how to report concerns.

Leaders' record-keeping is detailed. They have good knowledge of the pupils in their care.

Appropriate links have been made with the various agencies that offer support to different pupils. Pupils get the help they need to help them to stay safe.

Pupils feel safe.

The curriculum includes opportunities to teach pupils about healthy relationships and how to keep safe, including when online. Pupils trust adults to help keep them safe.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, teaching across the wider curriculum is not precise enough.

Some teaching sequences miss important steps. This means that pupils do not achieve as well as they could in the wider curriculum. Leaders should ensure that teachers' design and implementation of the curriculum include all the necessary steps for pupils to build a depth of knowledge and achieve well.

• Not all subject leaders have checked that pupils know more and are remembering more within the foundation curriculum. They have not identified where teaching is not fulfilling the curriculum aims. Leaders should provide training and support so that subject leaders are able to ensure that the curriculum is having the desired impact in building pupils' knowledge.