The Thomas Hardye School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The Thomas Hardye School is highly ambitious for all pupils, and students in the sixth form.

There is a strong focus on academic achievement and many pupils achieve exceptionally well. The curriculum is broad. Pupils can study a range of subjects and courses that reflect their interests and prepare them well for the next stage of their education.

Teachers are passionate and highly knowledgeable about their subject areas.

The school has high expectations for pupils' behaviour and conduct. The vast majority of pupils behave very well.

They value the warm and respectful relationships they have with staff. Students in the sixth form particularly value th...e opportunities to learn beyond the academic curriculum, for example going on trips and meeting alumni.

The extra-curricular provision is a significant strength of the school.

Many pupils are part of the Combined Cadet Force and complete the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Alongside this, there are a number of successful sports teams and music ensembles, which play to an exceptionally high standard. There are school plays and musicals and a huge variety of clubs, ranging from chess to literary societies.

The school participates successfully in a range of nationally recognised competitions and initiatives, including debating and scientific research projects.

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

The school provides an ambitious curriculum. The majority of pupils study the full range of subjects in the English Baccalaureate (Ebacc).

The curriculum has been planned well. Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They prepare pupils well for public examinations, reflected in the school's very strong published outcomes.

There are areas of the school where pupils, including students in the sixth form, are inspired to complete challenging work, read widely and take part in extra-curricular activities linked to those subjects. This is a strength of the school.

However, the delivery of the curriculum is not consistently effective, including in the sixth form.

In some lessons, teaching supports pupils effectively to know and remember more. This is not consistently the case across all areas of the school. In some lessons, staff do not design activities that support pupils' learning.

This means that, in some cases, pupils learn less effectively, and do not produce work of a high standard. The school's systems for monitoring the effectiveness of the curriculum are more established in some subjects than in others. Where systems are less strong, the actions taken to address weaknesses have not yet had an impact, so pupils' learning remains inconsistent.

The school has strong systems in place to accurately identify and monitor the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school's two resourced provisions provide high-quality support to pupils with complex communication needs and physical disabilities. These pupils thrive and are well integrated into the school community.

Teachers have accurate information about how to support pupils with SEND. However, where the delivery of the curriculum is less strong, pupils with SEND learn less effectively.The school promotes a love of reading, with some success.

Pupils enjoy using the well-loved library. The school organises author visits and competitions. Pupils who have fallen behind with reading receive effective additional support.

The school's sixth form is vibrant and ambitious. Many students achieve well and are successful in gaining places at academically selective universities. The Student Union provides opportunities for students to organise events, raise money for charity and support younger pupils.

The school's impressive extra-curricular offer is very much part of sixth-form life.

Most pupils have positive attitudes towards school. The school is calm and orderly.

When pupils' behaviour falls short of the school's expectations, pupils are supported to take responsibility for their actions and limit lost learning time.

The school's personal, social, health and citizenship education programme is well planned. However, the delivery of this curriculum is not always effective.

Staff do not always have the expertise to deliver this as intended. As a result, some pupils' understanding of healthy relationships and the fundamental British values is not as strong as others. However, this curriculum is supplemented with assemblies, workshops, visits from guest speakers and opportunities to take part in activities such as a mock general election.

The information that pupils receive about their next steps, including apprenticeships and universities, is of high quality. As such, the school ensures that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Leaders, local governors and trustees know the school and its community well.

They are mindful of staff well-being and workload. As a result, staff are proud to work at the school, and many parents value the work they do to support pupils both academically and pastorally.

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 areas of the curriculum, staff do not consistently link their pedagogical approaches to the intended learning. This means that some pupils do not learn as effectively as they do in other areas, where there is high-quality provision. The trust must ensure that staff utilise the most effective pedagogical tools, so that more pupils develop a deep understanding of their subjects over time.

• Oversight of some areas of the curriculum is not sufficiently robust. This means that leaders do not have a detailed and accurate view of where curriculum implementation needs to be improved. The trust must strengthen its systems to check the impact of the curriculum, so that pupils benefit from high-quality implementation across all subjects.

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