Heatherlands Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.

School leaders, including the governing body, are ambitious to turn Heatherlands from an effective first school into a high performing primary school. The staff share this drive for improvement so that all pupils receive a good education. Achievement is good.

All groups of pupils make good progress in their reading, writing and mathematics from where they start from because : of the consistently good teaching. Teachers assess pupils' work well and give pupils good guidance on what to do next to improve. Disadvantaged pupils and those who are disabled or have special educational needs achieve as well as, and sometimes better than, other p...upils.

Pupils enjoy school. They attend regularly, behave well and feel safe. Children make good progress in the Reception classes.

Good leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage has resulted in improved teaching and better achievement for these children. Pupils benefit from a wide range of subjects and exciting learning experiences, such as the specialist teaching in gymnastics, music and art. This positively contributes to pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Leaders systematically check pupils' rates of progress and the quality of teaching. Information from this is used effectively by school leaders, including governors, to identify the priorities for improvement. Leaders are effective in turning plans into reality.

The governing body is clear as to the school's strengths and areas for improvement. The governors challenge leaders appropriately and understand the linkage of improvements in teaching to salary progression. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Teachers in the Early Years Foundation Stage do not consistently incorporate parents' views as to the development of their children into the teacher assessments and use these to help their planning.

Pupils are not provided with sufficient opportunities to apply their mathematical skills in a variety of different ways.

Information about this school

Heatherlands has changed from a first school to a primary school since the last inspection. The oldest pupils are now in Year 5.

Heatherlands is larger than the average-sized primary school. The proportion of pupils with disabilities and with special educational needs is similar to that found nationally in primary schools. The large majority of these pupils have speech, language and communication difficulties.

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage attend full time. The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is slightly less than the national average. This additional funding supports disadvantaged pupils.

Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. There are fewer girls at Heatherlands than are found in primary schools nationally. A small proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.

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