Harwood Park Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a calm and welcoming place where pupils achieve well. Pupils are happy at school.

They spoke enthusiastically to inspectors about the new and interesting things that they have learned.

Pupils also told inspectors how much they like to help others. They explained that they enjoy the many roles of responsibility they hold.

Through this work, pupils make a tangible contribution to the smooth running of the school. For example, they act as 'buddies' to new classmates. This helps pupils arriving from other schools or from overseas to adjust quickly to the school's high expectations for their behaviour and academic achievement.

Children in th...e early years also settle in effortlessly. They form secure relationships with staff and each other. They learn quickly how to socialise, cooperate and listen to others.

The school makes sure that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), receive the support they need to succeed.

Pupils behave well during lessons and as they move around the school. Those who need additional help to manage their emotions benefit from the support of well-trained staff and access to the 'well-being hub'.

Pupils told inspectors that it is easy to make new friends because other pupils are kind and respectful.

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

The school has continued to develop its curriculum since the time of the previous inspection. The curriculum is ambitious and well thought out.

Its structure successfully supports teachers to design learning that caters for the differing prior knowledge that pupils may have.

Pupils frequently revisit earlier learning. This helps pupils new to the school to catch up with learning that they may have missed.

It also enables those pupils who have been at the school for longer to secure a deeper understanding of concepts and ideas. Pupils recall with ease what their teachers want them to know. They build securely on their prior knowledge to make sense of new learning across the curriculum.

Consequently, pupils are well prepared for the next stages of their education.

The school ensures that staff use agreed and effective strategies to help pupils to learn as well as they can. For example, teachers identify and address any gaps in knowledge that pupils may have in a timely fashion.

As a result, staff ensure that pupils keep up with their peers, especially in reading.

Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. Children are introduced to high-quality texts in the Nursery Year.

Children in the early years learn songs and rhymes that prepare them well for learning how to read words in the Reception class. The school provides regular training and support to ensure that staff deliver the phonics programme to a consistently high standard. Pupils build up secure reading knowledge as a result.

They make the most of opportunities provided to practise reading and become competent readers. Pupils value the wide range of enticing literature that is available in their classroom or in the well-stocked school library. They are keen to try out books that are recommended by their teachers or their classmates.

Staff are well equipped to identify many of the additional needs of pupils with SEND. Most of these pupils are well supported by staff, which enables them to access the curriculum successfully. Typically, pupils with SEND achieve well as a result.

However, at times, the school does not identify some pupils' additional needs quickly enough. This hinders how well these pupils learn.

Learning is rarely disrupted by poor behaviour.

Pupils apply themselves well during lessons. Most pupils also behave well on the playground. Staff deal with minor squabbles between pupils, including children in the early years, quickly and well.

The school places a high priority on pupils attending school regularly. However, there are some pupils who do not attend school as often as they should. These pupils do not benefit from all that the school has to offer.

Pupils benefit from the many activities that the school provides to support their personal development. Pupils told inspectors that they enjoy taking part in a wide range of clubs and other activities on offer, such as ukelele and art club. Through activities such as these, pupils explore and develop their own interests.

They also appreciate opportunities to share their talents with the rest of their school and wider community.

Pupils develop confidence in making a positive difference to the lives of others, including through fundraising for charities. They are well prepared to become active citizens of their local community when they are older.

Governors work closely with leaders and other staff to improve the quality of education that all pupils experience. The school makes sure that staff workload is not adversely affected when new initiatives are introduced.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• For some pupils with SEND, the school does not identify their additional needs in a timely enough manner. This impacts on these pupils' learning. The school should ensure that the systems that teachers use to identify the needs of pupils with SEND result in providing the most appropriate support for these pupils quickly and accurately.

• Some pupils do not attend school as regularly as they should. These pupils miss out on important learning and all that the school has to offer. The school should review its systems for identifying and supporting those pupils who most need to improve their rates of attendance.