Hawkes Farm Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy and nurturing school where pupils thrive. Relationships between adults and pupils are caring, and pupils feel safe.

The school's core values are 'passion, urgency, positivity, aspiration and commitment'. These values foster a sense of pride in pupils and help to ensure that all feel part of a community.

The school has high expectations for all.

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and or disabilities (SEND), are encouraged to try their best. Pupils respond positively to this and achieve well. Staff expect pupils to behave well, and they do.

Pupils are considerate, and they show kindness to one another. Children in th...e early years settle quickly into school life. They learn the routines and importance of sharing and taking turns from the start.

Children enjoy having their parents come in to see them during the 'pop-in and play' sessions.

The school aims for pupils to be aspirational. In Year 2 for example, pupils learn, 'You are never too small to make a difference.'

Pupils make a strong contribution to the life of the school. They relish the responsibilities that leaders give them, such as being eco-warriors or members of the pupil parliament.

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

The school's curriculum is ambitious and well structured.

It sets out the important knowledge that pupils will learn and when they should learn it. This builds, step by step, on what pupils have learned before and allows them to apply their learning to more difficult ideas. Teachers take time to revisit previous learning with pupils before moving on to new learning.

However, in some subjects, the school has only recently introduced systems to check what pupils know and remember. This means that, in these subjects, staff are not sure where pupils, including those with SEND, have gaps in their knowledge.

Reading takes a high priority in the school.

Skilled staff deliver the school's phonics programme to a high standard. The programme precisely targets where each child is in their learning. Pupils quickly gain the skills that they need to become accurate and fluent readers because books match the sounds that they know.

Pupils enjoy listening to a wide range of books, such as the story of Oliver Twist. Each class has an appealing reading area. The exciting library, run by pupil librarians, stocks an interesting range of books that encourages pupils' love of reading.

The school has clear processes in place to quickly identify the needs of pupils with SEND. Appropriate adaptations are made to support pupils, including for pupils who need help in regulating their emotions. Staff work well with specialist external agencies.

Children in the early years quickly learn to trust the adults they work with, and this helps them to feel safe. The school is keen for children to develop their own interests in their learning. For example, the children were excited about comparing different leaf shapes they found in the school playground.

However, in some learning activities, the school has not thought carefully enough about how children will develop their language and vocabulary knowledge.

Pupils behave well, both in class and at breaktimes. The school has implemented well-established routines.

Pupils said they like making their own class-behaviour-charters because, 'We all help to create them, so we will all stick to them.' The school works hard to instil positive attendance habits. It provides tailored support to help any parents who may need assistance.

This ensures that most pupils attend regularly.

There is good support for pupils' personal development. Pupils benefit from a range of after-school clubs, such as singing in the choir or multi-sports.

Pupils learn about the importance of keeping healthy, for instance why they need to eat a well-balanced diet. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They understand why it is important to respect everyone, including those who are different to themselves.

Pupils are confident to express their own views while respecting the views of others.

The trust acted quickly to put in place an experienced staff team in the school, following a period of significant change. This decisive leadership has had a positive impact on pupils' achievement.

Those responsible for governance, including trustees, provide rigorous oversight of all aspects of the school. Staff are well supported to manage their well-being; however, a few did consider that some recent initiatives had increased their workload in the short term.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In the early years, planned activities lack clarity about the language and vocabulary that children should be learning. This means that children do not develop these essential skills as well as they could. The school needs to ensure that planned opportunities for children to develop their communication skills are clear and concise.

• Assessments of pupils' knowledge and skills is new in some subjects. This means that gaps or misconceptions in pupils' understanding, including those with SEND, are not consistently identified. The school needs to ensure that staff check that learning is firmly embedded before moving on to new content so that gaps are swiftly addressed.

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