Hillocks Primary Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 September 2023

Hillocks is a warm and friendly school. Staff have created an environment that makes pupils feel happy, safe, and welcome. It is a place where children come first. Staff really get to know every pupil. Pupils know that the adults at Hillocks will help them deal with any worries they might have. This gives pupils a strong sense of belonging and a feeling of security. The school is well supported by Diverse Academies Trust. The trust has overseen significant improvements at Hillocks in recent years. Everyone associated with the school has high ambition and aspiration for all pupils. However, there is still further work to do to develop the quality of teaching and learning so that pupils acquire the knowledge and skills they need for the next stage of their education. Pupils behave well. They treat others as they want to be treated. The caring ethos at the school is built on the values of respect, curiosity, kindness, and determination. Staff model these values, and they encourage pupils to display them in lessons and on the playground. This is called 'putting on a Hillocks show!' Pupils strive to earn golden tickets for meeting these expectations.

What the school should improve

• Pupils do not reliably remember the important knowledge they have covered before in sufficient detail. This leaves pupils unable to add to what they already know and deepen their understanding of important concepts. The school should review the approach to the recall of prior learning so that teachers routinely revisit and check on the key content that pupils need to use again, helping them to remember it over the long term.
• The school's arrangements for checking closely on pupils' learning are not consistently implemented. Sometimes pupils spend time doing work that is too easy or too hard. Misconceptions and errors are not always addressed quickly enough. The school must ensure that teachers sharpen their use of formative assessment so that pupils are moved on to new content when they are ready, and misconceptions are addressed swiftly.
• Some pupils are given reading books that are too difficult for them. This prevents these pupils from reading their books successfully by themselves and developing their fluency. The school should ensure that all pupils in the early stages of learning to read are given books that are matched to the letter sounds they know.
• The early years curriculum has not been broken down into a precise enough sequence. As a result, children do not build their knowledge and skills systematically in all areas of learning. The school must review the early years curriculum, ensuring that children build their knowledge and skills step by step in readiness for key stage one.

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