Hannah More Primary School

Overview

The report states that the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management all ‘require improvement’, while personal development and early years provision are ‘Good’. Pupils enjoy the school’s ‘diverse community’ and feel ‘safe and happy’, but inconsistent staff expectations and unclear curriculum planning hinder academic progress.

Strengths

• The ‘personal development offer is a strength’, with pupils benefiting from clubs, careers fairs, and a celebration of ‘faiths and cultures’.
• Early years provision is ‘Good’, with staff using assessment data to ensure activities are ‘closely matched to children’s needs’.
• The school maintains an ‘inclusive ethos’, ensuring pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive timely support.
• Staff are ‘well trained’ in early reading, helping younger pupils learn to read quickly.
• The governing body is ‘highly committed’, and the school has ‘strong links with its community’.

Areas to improve

• Teachers must set ‘ambitious learning activities’ and raise expectations, as some currently accept ‘low-quality work’.
• The English curriculum lacks ‘precision’ in reading and writing, causing pupils to struggle with national expectations.
• Staff must apply the behaviour policy ‘consistently’ to reduce disruption in lessons and at social times.
• Improvement actions need greater precision to allow governors to ‘accurately measure the impact’ of the school’s work.
• Safeguarding record-keeping systems must be made ‘robust’ to prevent errors and omissions.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are ‘effective’, though the report notes that record-keeping is not yet ‘robust enough’ and requires urgent improvement to meet statutory guidance.