The Hathaway Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 25 June 2024

Pupils feel happy, safe and secure at school. They respond well to the expectations set in the school's 'pride drives'. These include good manners and strong discipline. Reflecting these attributes, pupils show pride in their work. They are keen to do their best, but sometimes their work is too easy. This means that pupils do not always achieve as highly as they could. Pupils benefit significantly from the school's character and resilience programme. They develop skills and behaviours that prepare them to become responsible citizens. Pupils learn to lead healthy and safe lives. They also learn first aid so they can help others. Pupils can adopt leadership roles where they take active responsibility for the learning and behaviour of their peers. This includes the role of head boy and girl, as prefects and also as apprentices who mentor younger pupils. A wide range of clubs are open to all pupils. These include sports, music, drama and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). All pupils also have the opportunity to take part in drama, media, art and music productions. Local, national and international trips are available to all pupils and serve to enhance classroom learning.

What the school should improve

• Teachers sometimes do not use assessment effectively to establish what content pupils have mastered and when they are ready to move on to new learning. Some lessons are too easy for some pupils, because they repeat the same content for too long. Pupils do not always get the practice they need to develop higher-order skills. As a result, some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, do not achieve as highly as they could. Leaders must ensure that teachers provide sufficient opportunities for all pupils to regularly practise and develop their higher-order skills.

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