Hatch Warren Infant School

Overview

Hatch Warren Infant School is described as a “happy and inclusive school” where pupils are “curious” and “want to learn.” The inspection confirms that leaders maintain “high expectations for all pupils,” fostering an environment where children feel safe and valued. The report highlights a strong sense of community, with staff and parents appreciating the school’s “family feel” and commitment to well-being.

Strengths

• Pupils behave well, understand the behaviour policy, and appreciate receiving “carrot” awards for their efforts.
• Staff are “accurate” in their teaching of the new phonics scheme, helping pupils quickly learn to use sounds to read words.
• Leaders have successfully ensured that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) “access the full curriculum” alongside their peers.
• The curriculum is organised so that learning “builds on what they already know,” with teachers using assessments to spot pupils needing extra support.
• Staff morale is high, with leaders being “considerate of their workload” and streamlining processes.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure reading books are “precisely matched to their phonics knowledge” to help pupils practise sounds and improve fluency.
• Leaders should develop effective systems to understand how well pupils are learning the curriculum in “all subjects over time” and identify teacher support needs.
• Governors need to strengthen their understanding of the quality of education across all subjects, not just core subjects.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with staff well trained and reporting concerns quickly, though leaders need to tighten oversight of staff training records.