Hedgewood School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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John Goddard Headteacher Hedgewood School Weymouth Road Hayes UB4 8NF

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Short inspection of Hedgewood School

Following my visit to the school on 31 January 2017 with Ofsted Inspector Jan Keating, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in December 2012.

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Short inspection of Hedgewood School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Hedgewood School

During this time, the school has expanded the number of pupils on roll from 120 to 148. To ensure that these additional children receive the same good quality of education, care and support as other pupils, you and the governors have increased the membership of the senior leadership team from two to five. The senior team has successfully overseen the expansion and would like to extend the school’s provision to include key stage 3, an intention that is well supported by parents.

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Short inspection of Hedgewood School

You, together with the senior leaders, have successfully addressed the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. Pupils’ achievement has risen in reading, writing and mathematics because of more effective subject leadership and successful deployment of teaching assistants. Nevertheless, senior staff have accurately identified that the progress of the most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged, is not as rapid as it should be. Firm plans are already in place to address this issue.

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Short inspection of Hedgewood School

Staff at all levels demonstrate a clear passion for their work and are highly committed to ensuring the best possible outcomes for the pupils. Since 2012, the school leaders have developed an extensive outreach programme for both special and maintained schools. They have also established a designated intensive pupil support team which works effectively with vulnerable families to ensure that they can support their children’s learning at home. Under the effective leadership of the extended services manager, the extra- curricular programme has been significantly expanded. Activities include Saturday morning study groups, a summer school and a range of after-school clubs, about which the pupils spoke enthusiastically. The school has recently added to the already good support it provides for families by introducing respite provision during the holidays.

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Short inspection of Hedgewood School

Governors care deeply about the school. They monitor its work effectively by visiting classrooms regularly. They feed back their findings to leaders and produce helpful short reports which are discussed by the rest of the governing body. These reports provide useful actions for leaders to further improve the quality of provision.

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Short inspection of Hedgewood School

Collaborative working is a strength of the school. Since the last inspection, leaders have worked well together to improve continuously the quality of teaching and learning across all classes. Staff spoke positively of the quality of training and induction they have received, which is tailored to their individual needs and career stages.

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Short inspection of Hedgewood School

The safety and care of pupils are key priorities for the school. Staff-to-pupil ratios are favourable so that staff know the pupils extremely well and provide very effective care and support. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality.

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Short inspection of Hedgewood School

Staff and governors attend regular safeguarding training and leaders have ensured that all adults in school have up-to-date knowledge about current issues, such as female genital mutilation and the ‘Prevent’ duty. Members of staff who join the school at different times of the year receive a full induction from an assistant headteacher. Through daily briefings and weekly team meetings, senior leaders update and check staff understanding of current safeguarding practice.

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Short inspection of Hedgewood School

Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe at a level they can understand. Those who were interviewed by inspectors could all name at least one member of staff to whom they could go if they had any problems. Leaders and the pupils who spoke to inspectors reported that that there are no incidents of bullying. As one pupil commented, ‘Mr Goddard’s rules keep the school safe.’

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Inspection findings

 In 2016, inaccurate data entry, small group sizes and a large proportion of pupils joining and leaving the school at different times of the year meant that the published data was not representative of pupils’ progress. For these reasons, it is difficult to make comparisons with national results or to analyse trends.  Since the last inspection, pupils’ progress has steadily improved because of better teaching. The school’s information for 2016 shows that the proportion of pupils making expected progress is above national figures for reading, writing and mathematics. However, the proportion of pupils making more than expected progress is not as high as it should be. We are in agreement that the most able, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, are not being challenged enough to reach their full potential. The least able pupils achieve well because of the effective support and care they receive from staff and therapists.

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Inspection findings

 Leaders have ensured that there is an effective training and development programme for staff at all levels. Staff receive high-quality training and induction upon arrival at the school, even when the appointment is only temporary. The school has been particularly successful in supporting teaching assistants to become teachers. Since the last inspection, five teaching assistants have been accepted on to a variety of teacher training routes. As a result, teaching assistants are a strength of the school.  Middle leaders, including those who lead different age groups, bring a wealth of enthusiasm, new ideas and experience to their work. They have grasped the opportunity to play a more pivotal role in improving the quality of teaching. Through well-considered training and effective mentoring of staff by middle leaders, teachers are now able to plan exciting learning activities that capture pupils’ interests and enable them to learn well.

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Inspection findings

 Governors and leaders review the school’s policies and information that need to be uploaded to the school’s website. This is done on a rolling programme throughout the year. However, you and the governors agree with me that the school’s website is not entirely compliant with the Department for Education’s most recent guidance, particularly regarding the impact of additional government funding on pupils’ progress.  Leaders work very effectively with families to ensure that pupils attend regularly. They follow up any absence swiftly, have clear systems in place to respond to persistent absence and take robust action where necessary. In 2016, there was very little difference in rates of attendance for pupil groups, including those eligible for support from the pupil premium funding. As a result, attendance is above national figures. Parents are very appreciative of the school’s efforts to help their children attend regularly and of its work in general. One parent

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Inspection findings

commented: ‘The school puts the children first, second and third and works on what they [children] can do and not what they can’t.’

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 information on the school’s website explicitly covers all the required areas and specifically those relating to the impact of additional government funding on pupils’ outcomes  the most able, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, achieve as well as they can.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hillingdon. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

The inspectors carried out the following activities to explore these areas during the inspection:

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Information about the inspection

 meetings with the headteacher, the assistant headteacher, middle leaders, other staff, governors and a representative from the local authority  joint visits to classrooms with senior leaders  scrutiny of pupils’ work and discussions with pupils  informal discussions with parents during the school day  evaluation of 40 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View  an evaluation of documents, the school’s website, the school’s self-evaluation, development plans, safeguarding information and data on pupils’ progress and achievement.

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