Henderson Green Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well looked after, safe and have positive relationships with adults. Adults care deeply about pupils and want the best for them. Despite this, pupils receive a mixed quality of education.

They do not develop the detailed knowledge and skills they need to get them ready for the next stage of their education journey. Although recent improvements are starting to pay dividends, too many pupils do not currently learn well. This includes the youngest children in early years, where many are not well prepared for their move to Year 1.

Pupils behave well. Whether in class or in the playground, they love laughing and playing with their friends. They share playground ...equipment together and enjoy one another's company.

The dinner hall is a buzz with upbeat and friendly chatter, with adults joining in with gentle humour.

The school provide pupils with a range of wider opportunities. From karate to bush craft, pupils experience a range of activities, trips and visits.

They are guided to understand, and value, the differences between themselves and others. Newcomers to the school are welcomed with open arms by pupils, who quickly go on to become friends.

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

The school has been through a turbulent time.

Frequent changes in staffing and leadership mean that for too long, pupils have not received the education they deserve. Things have now steadied. The school is on the up.

While there are many 'green shoots' of improvement, much work is needed to establish the positive changes that have been made.

In the past year, the school has put in place an ambitious curriculum. Some subjects are more established than others though.

In subjects such as geography and art, more pupils are now learning well. Older pupils have a well-developed understanding of plate tectonics, helping them to explain, for example, how volcanoes are formed. There are, however, inconsistencies in the quality of education pupils receive.

Many older pupils have significant gaps in their knowledge because of weaker provision in the past.

While improving, not all teachers have sufficiently well-developed subject or pedagogical knowledge to teach the curriculum well enough. They do not always provide effective adaptations to help pupils fill gaps in their understanding that have emerged.

This means that not all pupils develop detailed knowledge and skills across the curriculum. While this is the case, leaders provide high-quality training for staff to help them sharpen their practice. Teachers are committed and are working hard to bring about improvement for pupils; leaders manage staff workload well.

Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn well. This is not the case for all pupils with SEND, where some still do not receive precisely tailored provision to meet their needs. While pupils with SEND have their needs accurately identified, not all activities or interventions are precisely designed to help pupils to access and remember more of the curriculum.

Pupils experience a range of carefully selected texts to help them develop a love of reading. Children in Reception benefit from the very recently introduced 'structured story time' where they are supported to learn new words. There remain a number of pupils who do not have the phonic knowledge they need to be able to read well.

These pupils receive the right support to help them catch up, which many of them are doing rapidly.

Children in Reception have only very recently started to learn a high-quality curriculum. Their learning is now linked to key story books that have been chosen to motivate the children in this class.

The curriculum is organised and clear. However, in the past, their learning has been disjointed. This means many children lack the foundational knowledge and skills they need to be well prepared for Year 1.

Pupils are keen to learn. They try hard in lessons and do their best. Most pupils now attend school regularly.

While a small number still do not, leaders are doing all they reasonably can to improve this.

Pupils benefit from a well-established personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum. They learn about different religions, understand right from wrong and develop a strong moral compass.

Pupils know that being different matters. Trips to the local university provide opportunity for pupils to see what is on offer to them as they grow older.

Trustees have faced considerable challenges.

There have been many changes to the school's leadership. Many leaders are new and need time to establish the many changes that have been made. The systems and processes leaders use to monitor and evaluate the quality of the school's work are in the very early stages of development.

Currently, there are aspects of the school's work where leaders do not know what is working well, or how much pupils are learning.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The support that some pupils with SEND receive lacks precision.

Adults are not always clear what these pupils need to know and be able to do. This means some activities or interventions that pupils undertake are not precisely matched to their needs. These pupils do not learn as well as they could.

The school should ensure that teachers receive the information and training they need to help them adapt activities more precisely to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. ? Some aspects of the curriculum are relatively new. Not all teachers have sufficiently well-developed subject or pedagogical knowledge to teach the curriculum well enough.

This means pupils do not learn as well in these developing subjects. The school should continue to provide training and support for teachers to ensure they deliver the ambitious curriculum to the standard leaders expect. ? The curriculum in the early years has been in place for a very short time.

This means children in the early years have not received a carefully designed curriculum for some time. They are not all sufficiently well prepared for year 1. As there is now stability in leadership and staffing in the early years, the school should provide these staff with training and guidance to ensure they deliver the early years curriculum to a high standard.

• The systems and processes leaders use to monitor and evaluate the quality of the school's work are in the very early stages of development. There are aspects of the curriculum where leaders do not know what is working well, or how much pupils are learning. The school should fully establish systems for monitoring and evaluating key aspects of the school's provision so leaders have a clear oversight of how well pupils learn.