Hatchlands Primary

Overview

Hatchlands Primary is a growing academy where leaders have high ambitions for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school fosters a positive culture where pupils are “safe, happy and enjoy coming to school,” demonstrating “positive attitudes to learning” and strong determination to succeed.

Strengths

• Leaders have designed an “aspirational and engaging curriculum” that ensures children in the early years develop a “strong foundation for learning.”
• Reading is prioritised effectively; staff are “well trained in the teaching of early reading” and teach the phonics scheme “consistently well.”
• Pupils with SEND benefit from regular staff training and skilful adaptations, enabling them to “access learning fully” and achieve well.
• Personal development is carefully planned, teaching pupils about “tolerance and respect” and helping them understand that “difference is feeling unique.”
• Staff feel “supported, respected and valued,” with leaders mindful of workload when introducing new initiatives.

Areas to improve

• In a small number of subjects, teachers lack the subject knowledge to teach with “complete confidence,” and leaders have not yet provided “sufficient curriculum training.”
• Assessment systems are weaker in some subjects than in reading and mathematics, meaning staff cannot always gauge precisely whether pupils have “retained the learning.”
• Subject leaders need training to monitor teaching effectively and provide “helpful support for teachers” in areas where expertise is currently lacking.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with a “strong culture of safeguarding” throughout the school and staff trained to identify risks and report concerns quickly.