Hatch Warren Infant School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 June 2022

This is a happy and inclusive school with curious pupils who want to learn. Leaders have high expectations for all pupils. The school's motto, 'Happiness and wonder inspire success', is deeply embedded. Pupils, staff and parents value the 'family feel' and the importance put on pupils' well-being. Pupils feel safe. As one parent wrote, typical of many, 'The ethos of the school is that of inclusion, support and nurture, which cascades from the headteacher to all the staff.' Pupils behave well. They understand the behaviour policy. Pupils love receiving 'carrot' awards for working hard and trying their best. Staff deal with any pupil low- level disruption with care and dignity. They remind pupils about the school's behaviour expectations. Pupils understand what bullying is and say it is very rare. They say that sometimes there are squabbles, but that staff listen to them and take all incidents seriously. Leaders take appropriate action. Pupils take their role on the school council earnestly and make sure everyone has a voice in school improvement. Many pupils and parents are keen for the wide range of pre-pandemic clubs to start up again. The school council is busy making sure this happens.

What the school should improve

• The books pupils read are not always matched closely to their reading skills. This slows down their progress in learning to read fluently. Leaders need to ensure that pupils have plenty of opportunities to read books that are precisely matched to their phonics knowledge to help them practise the sounds they have learned.
• Leaders' checks on how well pupils' knowledge and understanding of the curriculum over time are at an early stage of development for some foundation subjects. This means that not all subject leaders have an accurate view of how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum in their subject. They do not know what support teachers need to teach all subjects as well as the best. Leaders should develop effective systems so that they understand how well pupils are learning the curriculum in all subjects over time and what further support teachers need.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, governors have focused their questioning about the effectiveness of the curriculum on the core subjects. This means governors do not yet have a full understanding of the quality of education in the school. Governors need to strengthen their understanding of how well pupils learn in all subjects so that they can provide the most effective support and challenge.

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