Hazlewood Community Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 March 2023

Pupils at Hazelwood Community Primary are confident, friendly and well-mannered. They love coming to school. Relationships between staff and pupils are very positive. Leaders are passionate about all pupils having the best possible start in education. They recognise the challenges as a result of the pandemic and continue to support all pupils, both academically and socially. Staff know pupils well, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They successfully adapt the learning to meet pupils' needs effectively. Most pupils behave well and respond to the high expectations set by teachers. A very small number of pupils struggle to manage their behaviour. Leaders develop thoughtful plans to help these pupils. A welcoming nurture room provides a calming space for pupils. Staff deal with disruptions sensitively and quickly. This minimises any impact on pupils' learning or daily routines. Pupils are safe in school. Bullying is rare. Leaders are vigilant. They check closely any incidents that might indicate bullying. Leaders work sensitively with pupils, parents and carers to address any issues that arise. In lessons, pupils learn how to recognise and report incidents of bullying. Pupils are confident that adults will help and support them. The curriculum extends well beyond the classroom. Pupils benefit from a broad range of experiences, including educational visits to the theatre and museums. Pupils enjoy after- school activities such as football, dance and theatre performances. Regular forest school sessions enrich the curriculum. These additional opportunities widen pupils' experience and nurture their talents.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, the planned curriculum has not been implemented as leaders intended. This is due to gaps in some teachers' subject knowledge. Some pupils do not learn the important subject knowledge that they need. Leaders should provide additional training to further improve some teachers' subject knowledge so they can successfully implement the planned curriculum.
• The checks on pupils' learning in some foundation subjects are not as helpful as those seen in the core subjects. This means that some teachers do not consistently gather the right information about what pupils have learned over time. Leaders should support staff in their use of assessments so that gaps in learning are identified and pupils are able to build on prior learning with success.
• Governors rely too heavily on leaders' evaluation of the strengths and areas to improve rather than checking these for themselves. This means they do not always have an accurate understanding of the school's effectiveness. Governors need to ensure their expertise is used to rigorously check progress towards the key priorities and to secure further school improvement.

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