Hatchside School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Staff take the time to get to know the pupils well and build positive working relationships. When children begin in the Nursery, or if pupils join the school part way through their primary education, careful planning enables them to settle quickly. Pupils trust the adults they work with, and this helps them to feel safe in school.

The school has high expectations for all pupils and is working effectively to establish these aspirations through recent changes to the school's curriculum. Leaders are reflective and identify where aspects of the school's work need further strengthening.

Pupils' behaviour is calm.

Pupils are encouraged to think positively about the...mselves, and to understand and respect the cultures and backgrounds of others in their school. During weekly event days, pupils' achievements, such as 'wow' moments, are celebrated and cultural differences of pupils and staff are explored.

Parents and carers appreciate the communication they receive from the school.

They said that the opportunities to come into school, to meet other parents and to understand how they can support their children's learning at home is helpful. One parent typically commented, 'I will forever be grateful to this school.They work hard every day to provide the best care for all the children.'



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

The school has designed a curriculum that is ambitious. Generally, the curriculum builds on what pupils know and aims to enable pupils to retain key knowledge and skills. The curriculum is further personalised to ensure that learning meets pupils' specific needs.

Therapists and teachers, including those in the early years, set personalised termly and daily learning goals. The school's curriculum has been in place a short time and is already showing some positive impact on pupils' achievement.

The school has systems in place to check pupils' understanding.

These are routinely used by staff to understand what progress in learning the curriculum pupils have made. Staff find solutions to help pupils to secure their learning where needed. However, some pupils' learning goals are not personalised as precisely.

This means that sometimes it is less clear what exactly each pupil should already know or needs to learn next, to be able to know and do more.

The school's therapy team works alongside staff to share expertise and to devise therapeutic plans to meet pupils needs. These plans help inform adults about how each pupil communicates and how to manage their sensory needs.

On occasion, staff do not routinely model or use communication resources as outlined in plans. This means that sometimes pupils are not helped as effectively to make themselves understood, or do not understand as easily what staff are saying to them.

Reading is prioritised across the school.

Children in early years, explore the sounds letters make through songs, rhymes and in their play. When pupils are ready to learn phonics, they are taught through a systematic approach. Staff, including the therapy team, reinforce sounds across the school day.

Adults read to pupils enthusiastically and pupils enjoy being read to.

Pupils are typically engaged in their learning. Any behaviour that disrupts learning is dealt with calmly by staff, who do not raise their voices.

However, occasionally pupils are unsure of expectations or what they need to do next when staff do not communicate routinely clearly.

The school provides opportunities for pupils to develop their interests and extend their learning. For example, recent visitors to the school have included actors who performed a pantomime and a mobile farm, which bought farm animals.

Recently, the school has begun to organise a few outings to places of interest in the community.

The school is tenacious in ensuring that pupils attend regularly. If attendance rates fall below expectations, they work with parents to find ways to help pupils to attend school every day.

The school hosts regular coffee mornings and provides helpful information to support families.

The trustees and the governing body work together to assure themselves of the quality of the school's work and challenge leaders. They visit the school regularly to check the school's attendance and safeguarding practices.

Trustees and the governing body's understanding of the schools personalised curriculum is not as strong and their oversight of this aspect of the school's work is not as routinely secure.

Staff are proud and are overwhelmingly positive about working at this school. They said that leaders are supportive and considerate of their workload and well-being.

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 instances, pupils' learning is not personalised as precisely as it could be to meet their needs fully. This means that sometimes, pupils' learning does not build on what they already know in a logical sequence.

The school should sharpen and refine goal setting and ensure that all pupils' learning is tailored to their specific learning needs. ? Sometimes, the school's ambitious intentions for the curriculum, pupils' behaviour, and communication are not securely implemented in practice by all staff. The school should ensure that all staff have the resources and expertise needed to strengthen communication, support behaviour and implement the curriculum as intended.