Hatton Park Primary School

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

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Mr Anthony Aguda Headteacher Hatton Park Primary School Hatton’s Park Longstanton Cambridge CB24 3DL

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Short inspection of Hatton Park Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 22 March 2018, 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 May 2014.

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Short inspection of Hatton Park Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the previous inspection. Since that time, much has changed at the school. You were appointed as the new headteacher soon after the May 2014 inspection. The school has grown in size and moved location twice to enable building work to be completed promptly and safely. You have managed these changes extremely well. You are an excellent role model for staff and pupils. Your high expectations are reflected in the quality of provision, the dedication of staff and the exemplary attitudes of pupils to their learning.

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Short inspection of Hatton Park Primary School

The many parents who completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and sent additional text messages, are overwhelmingly positive about the school, and especially about your leadership. Almost all would recommend the school to other families. Parents are rightly effusive about your commitment and determination to ensure that all pupils achieve the very best during their time at Hatton Park Primary School. The following comments from parents support the findings of this inspection particularly well:

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Short inspection of Hatton Park Primary School

 ‘staff at this school have the needs of every child at heart’  ‘a very supportive school that enriches children’s education in the classroom and through extra-curricular activities’  ‘the feel around the school and the children’s work shine as you walk through’  ‘the school’s values are extremely well integrated into everyday life’. You make the very best of the expertise of the other schools in the Cambridge Primary Education Trust, and of businesses and research centres in and around Cambridge, to enhance the curriculum and promote pupils’ academic and personal development. The trust is used very effectively to train staff and to develop their professional expertise and ambitions.

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Short inspection of Hatton Park Primary School

The pupils I met listed many good things about their school:

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Short inspection of Hatton Park Primary School

 they do ‘a lot of learning’  the ‘6Rs’ values (resilience, respect, responsibility, reflective, risk-taking, relationships) are very important to help them work hard  teachers encourage them to do better  the facilities are very nice  they love looking after the younger children in early years  the clubs and trips are really great.

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Short inspection of Hatton Park Primary School

During this inspection I saw how staff listen carefully to pupils and challenge them to improve their work. Pupils who need extra help are confident to ask for support. Additional adults in the classroom, or working in small groups, explain the work clearly to fill any gaps in learning.

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Short inspection of Hatton Park Primary School

At the previous inspection, the inspectors recommended that work for the most able pupils should be more challenging and that spelling should be improved. Spelling is given a high profile and has improved over time. Teachers are very aware of the needs of the most able pupils and plan their work with pupils’ abilities in mind. Pupils said that they are encouraged to choose tasks at a higher level of difficulty when they feel they can. Further work is required to develop writing because not enough pupils reach greater depth in this skill.

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Short inspection of Hatton Park Primary School

Your process to evaluate the school’s strengths and areas for further improvement is precise and accurate. The school development plan, for example, shows clearly when ‘writing assessment surgeries’ are held so that teachers can discuss their assessment of pupils’ writing. Subject leaders are given time to monitor their areas of responsibility. They must now consolidate the effectiveness of the trust’s new and bespoke assessment system to accelerate pupils’ progress and improve their outcomes further across subjects so as to meet the challenging targets that you and the governors have set.

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Short inspection of Hatton Park Primary School

Governance continues to be effective, as reported at the previous inspection. The academy trustees and governors bring a wealth of expertise to the school. They use their knowledge very well to support and hold leaders to account. The strategic plan for governance shows very clearly how the school advisory board ensures that Hatton Park Primary School contributes fully to the vision of the trust. Safeguarding is effective.

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Short inspection of Hatton Park Primary School

As the designated safeguarding lead, you ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. The single central record is kept up to date and all necessary checks are made when appointing staff. The school’s office manager is well organised and meticulous.

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Short inspection of Hatton Park Primary School

Pupils are taught how to keep safe. They clearly explained how to manage risks, such as when using the internet and social networking sites. You record and follow up any concerns that you may have about individual pupils. You liaise effectively with families and external agencies to ensure that pupils get the help that they need. Some parents are particularly complimentary about how you, personally, and other staff have helped them at times of crisis in their life or when their children had to cope with serious health issues.

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Inspection findings

 In addition to safeguarding, my first line of enquiry was to check the progress of pupils who receive additional funding. This was because some pupils, in previous cohorts, were not yet achieving as well as others in the school and nationally. Work scrutiny shows that current pupils who are disadvantaged are given many opportunities to develop their skills and understanding across subjects. Funding is well targeted to fill any gaps in learning. Teaching assistants use their knowledge of pupils well to match the work to their ability. Governors carefully check the progress of different groups of pupils. The low attendance and lateness of a few pupils are dealt with effectively.  My next line of enquiry was to look at the depth and breadth of the curriculum. This inspection confirms the positive views of many parents and pupils, who said that the rich curriculum, enhanced through the many clubs and extra-curricular

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Inspection findings

activities, is a strength of the school. Subjects, such as science, are allocated the time required to ensure good coverage of topics. Learning time is not wasted, because of the excellent behaviour of pupils. The effectiveness of the personal, social, health and citizenship education (PSHCE) programme is demonstrated very clearly in pupils’ excellent personal development. Pupils said that they like their PSHCE lessons.  Educational experiences, which include the making of high-quality art, design and music work, visits to a pharmaceutical company, a chemistry workshop in a university, and the many visitors to the school raise the expectations of both staff and pupils. Specialists, such as in dance and French, deepen pupils’ knowledge further. The curriculum offers many opportunities for pupils to develop as good citizens. They mentioned in particular the way they are involved in making decisions, the fundraising events and the excellent range of performances, sport

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Inspection findings

and physical education activities. The Year 6 pupils said that they feel well prepared for secondary school.  I also checked whether standards in writing were good enough. This was because too few Year 6 pupils achieved greater depth in writing in the 2017 results. Work scrutiny shows that pupils who have high prior attainment are given many opportunities to develop their knowledge across subjects. The effective work done in mathematics is a good example of how staff reflect on their teaching, develop their methodology and work well together to raise standards.  Subject leaders, however, need to check the breadth and depth of writing further, including the quality of handwriting, so that it is more consistently good. There is more work to be done to embed the school’s assessment practice and accelerate pupils’ progress in subjects other than English and mathematics.  Considering the change of headteacher and the growth of the school, I wanted to

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Inspection findings

verify the effectiveness of leadership. You have established very close working relationships with leaders across the trust. The importance given to the training of staff, the clear career path for teachers, your openness to external reviews and your excellent understanding of the changing needs of the local community indicate that the school has the capacity to improve further.  The assistant headteachers, other senior leaders and the trust’s executive headteacher support you well to meet the key priorities of the school’s development plan. The staff I met clearly enjoy their work. Those who responded to the staff questionnaire said they were proud to work at the school.

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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

 actions taken to improve pupils’ writing become quickly effective so that more pupils achieve greater depth in this skill  subject leaders check whether pupils’ work is assessed accurately and that staff apply the school’s assessment policy effectively to raise standards across the curriculum.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the chair of the board of trustees, the executive headteacher of the multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Cambridgeshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I spoke with you, the assistant headteachers, two special educational needs coordinators and some subject leaders. I met two members of the governing body, one trustee, the executive principal and the school’s improvement adviser. You joined me on visits to classrooms where we looked at pupils’ work. I spoke with pupils and staff throughout the day. I observed pupils in lessons, before school and at breaktimes. I considered 108 responses to the online questionnaire for parents, Parent View. I also took account of 73 text messages and one letter sent by parents. Five staff completed Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Information about the inspection

I read school documentation, including the school development plan, the strategic plan for governance, your own review of the school’s effectiveness and information related to safeguarding and pupils’ progress.

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