Hatchlands Primary

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 23 November 2022

The school's motto, 'Learning today, to make a difference tomorrow', can be seen in many areas of school life. 'Eco councillors' plant trees in the school's woodland area, growing an outdoor learning environment for current and future pupils. They remind pupils to save energy by turning off lights and taps, and they pick up litter to look after the environment. 'Learning councillors' gather the views of pupils to improve future learning and make experiences in school more memorable. Pupils are proud to make a difference to their school community. Leaders and teachers have high ambition for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils work hard in lessons and have positive attitudes to learning. They know that teachers want them to succeed. Pupils are motivated to do their best and live up to these high expectations. The school's values of compassion, respect, courage and responsibility filter through pupils' school life. For example, pupils explain how 'Callum Courage' helps them to 'stand up for what they believe and be brave to try new things', as one pupil said. Pupils are safe, happy and enjoy coming to school. They are friendly and respectful towards each other. Staff help pupils understand their emotions and manage their behaviour so that they can get better at doing this without adult support. Bullying is rare. Teachers deal with bullying quickly if it does happen.

What the school should improve

• Some subject leaders are not always completely clear about curriculum content in a small number of subjects. Leaders need to provide training for subject leaders. This will enable subject leaders to monitor teaching and provide helpful support for teachers.
• In some subjects, not all teachers have the subject knowledge to teach fully, confidently and with expertise. Teachers are not completely clear about the essential knowledge that pupils must know and remember. This means that learning in this small number of subjects is not as strong as it could be. Leaders need to ensure teachers are well trained in these subjects.
• Systems for assessment are not as strong in some subjects as they are in others. Where this is the case, teachers are not as sure about how well pupils are learning. Leaders must ensure that assessment in these subjects is sharpened so that teachers know what pupils need to learn next.

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