Heathland School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a friendly school. Many parents and carers said the school strives to make them feel welcome. Pupils and their parents agree that this is a happy place to be.

At breaktimes, pupils enjoy the many games and activities that the school makes available.

Mostly, pupils behave sensibly. Typically, they are kind to each other.

If problems between pupils arise, the school sorts them out fairly. The school fosters trusting professional relationships with school staff and pupils. Pupils' safety and welfare are given high priority.

Pupils are safe and feel safe.

The school focuses on encouraging pupils to understand their rights and responsibil...ities. Staff provide opportunities for pupils to learn about the importance of showing respect for others.

For example, in assemblies pupils are taught regularly about the importance of equal opportunities and fairness. Pupils have many chances to share their views through various pupil committees. These include an equalities committee, pupil leaders' group and a well-being committee.

Recently, pupils' views were consulted to choose the charities that the school will support.

Leaders have high expectations for pupils. Published results show that pupils achieve highly in reading and mathematics in particular.

Leaders want pupils to understand how feelings and emotions can impact the brain and learning. This is because the school wants pupils to be in the right frame of mind to learn well.

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

Reading is given high priority.

Pupils have many opportunities to read and borrow books from the library. The school's approach to supporting early ready is structured appropriately. Phonics teaching begins in Reception.

The school checks whether pupils know letters and the sounds they make. Phonics teaching is matched according to what pupils know already. Pupils read books securely matched to the sounds they know.

If pupils struggle with reading, they receive extra phonics teaching. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND receive effective support to help them develop spoken language if they need it.

The school collaborates with a range of external therapists and experts. This helps them identify if a pupil may have SEND and provide appropriate support.

The school's curriculum is ambitious and well organised.

Pupils study a broad range of subjects in line with the breadth of the national curriculum. The most important knowledge the school wants pupils to know and remember is defined clearly. This knowledge is sequenced effectively from the early years onwards.

There are many opportunities for pupils to revisit and recall information they have learned before. For example, in the early years, children sing songs in Spanish about numbers and colours regularly. This helps them remember and recall this information readily in Year 1.

Mostly, the curriculum is implemented effectively. Learning opportunities are appropriate and help pupils to know, recall and remember the curriculum. However, on a few occasions activities and learning experiences do not enable pupils, including pupils with SEND, to learn the intended knowledge as securely as leaders intend.

Sometimes, adaptations to teaching and resources for pupils with SEND are not made precisely, which limits how well they learn the curriculum.

Children are taught about routines and expectations when they join the school in early years. Pupils enjoy being recognised and rewarded for behaving well.

Typically, they are motivated to learn. In lessons, low-level disruption to learning is dealt with effectively.

Pupils are taught about a range of different religions and cultural traditions.

Many pupils said how much they enjoy taking part in educational visits to different places of worship. Leaders provide a wide range of extra-curricular clubs. These include touch typing, dodgeball and crochet.

Pupils in Years 5 and 6 said how much they are looking forward to attending Japanese club starting soon. Pupils are taught about age-appropriate healthy relationships. They are taught the importance of keeping information private when online.

Leaders of the trust know their statutory responsibilities. They work collaboratively with the school to make sure that priorities for development are appropriately identified. Typically, school staff appreciate endeavours to reduce teaching workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On some occasions, the curriculum is not implemented as intended. As a result, pupils do not learn and remember important knowledge as well as they could.

The school must make sure that the intended curriculum is implemented appropriately. ? Sometimes, adaptations to teaching and resources made for pupils with SEND are not precise enough to enable them to learn the intended curriculum securely. The school must make sure that adaptations are clear and effective so that pupils are able to learn the intended curriculum.

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