Hasting Hill Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 5 December 2023

The school is warm and welcoming. The school cares deeply for the pupils and their families. Pupils love coming to school. They know staff will greet them with a smile. Relationships between pupils and staff are very strong. Pupils trust staff and feel safe. Pupils are kind to each other. Instances of bullying are rare. If bullying does happen, staff deal with it promptly. Pupils respond well to the school's high expectations. Behaviour is good. Pupils move through the school calmly and get on with work in lessons. Pupils apply themselves and work hard. A few pupils struggle to manage their own behaviour. Staff support these pupils well. Learning is not interrupted. The school supports pupils' well-being very effectively. Pupils learn about the different ways to help keep calm, for example. Pupils who need extra help can use one of the homely breakout spaces. Pupils love reading. They look forward to hearing the next chapter of the class book. They recall the content with enthusiasm and excitement. They listen to teachers reading a novel, rapt with attention and groan when the chapter ends on a cliffhanger. Younger children eagerly join in with the re-telling of traditional tales.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of foundation subjects, including history and art, the school is not ensuring that pupils have the essential knowledge they need. This means that, in these subjects, pupils have gaps in their knowledge. This is limiting pupils' understanding in these subjects. The school should review the planning and delivery in these subjects. The school should ensure pupils are revisiting essential knowledge consistently across all subjects in order to ensure pupils are learning effectively across the curriculum.
• The school does not have a consistent approach to developing pupils' expressive, spoken language. This means that some pupils struggle to speak in full sentences and cannot explain themselves clearly. The school should review the opportunities children have to develop spoken language from the early years onwards. The school should ensure that there is a consistent and effective approach to developing spoken language across the school, so that all pupils can speak in full sentences and explain themselves clearly.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)