Henderson Green Primary Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 April 2024

Pupils are well looked after, safe and have positive relationships with adults. Adults care deeply about pupils and want the best for them. Despite this, pupils receive a mixed quality of education. They do not develop the detailed knowledge and skills they need to get them ready for the next stage of their education journey. Although recent improvements are starting to pay dividends, too many pupils do not currently learn well. This includes the youngest children in early years, where many are not well prepared for their move to Year 1. Pupils behave well. Whether in class or in the playground, they love laughing and playing with their friends. They share playground equipment together and enjoy one another's company. The dinner hall is a buzz with upbeat and friendly chatter, with adults joining in with gentle humour. The school provide pupils with a range of wider opportunities. From karate to bush craft, pupils experience a range of activities, trips and visits. They are guided to understand, and value, the differences between themselves and others. Newcomers to the school are welcomed with open arms by pupils, who quickly go on to become friends.

What the school should improve

• The support that some pupils with SEND receive lacks precision. Adults are not always clear what these pupils need to know and be able to do. This means some activities or interventions that pupils undertake are not precisely matched to their needs. These pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers receive the information and training they need to help them adapt activities more precisely to meet the needs of pupils with SEND.
• Some aspects of the curriculum are relatively new. Not all teachers have sufficiently well-developed subject or pedagogical knowledge to teach the curriculum well enough. This means pupils do not learn as well in these developing subjects. The school should continue to provide training and support for teachers to ensure they deliver the ambitious curriculum to the standard leaders expect.
• The curriculum in the early years has been in place for a very short time. This means children in the early years have not received a carefully designed curriculum for some time. They are not all sufficiently well prepared for year 1. As there is now stability in leadership and staffing in the early years, the school should provide these staff with training and guidance to ensure they deliver the early years curriculum to a high standard.
• The systems and processes leaders use to monitor and evaluate the quality of the school's work are in the very early stages of development. There are aspects of the curriculum where leaders do not know what is working well, or how much pupils are learning. The school should fully establish systems for monitoring and evaluating key aspects of the school's provision so leaders have a clear oversight of how well pupils learn.

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