Hatfield Academy

Hatfield Academy Hatfield House Lane, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S5 6HY

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Early years provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Despite recent improvements to the quality of teaching, it is not consistently good. Consequently, pupils’ progress is variable across year groups and subjects.  In a range of subjects, teaching staff do not always have the subject knowledge they need. Additionally, teachers do not assess pupils accurately in all subjects. As a result, too often, pupils’ work is too easy, particularly for the most able pupils. This hampers pupils’ progress.  Many senior and middle leaders are new to their role. They are at an early stage of leading improvements in their areas of responsibility.  The variability in the quality of teaching in history, geography and religious education (RE) means that pupils’ spiritual and cultural development are not promoted as well as they should be.  Too many pupils are regularly absent.  The quality of teaching in the early years is also inconsistent. Too often, activities are not well matched to children’s needs. As a result,

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

when working independently, some children struggle to sustain their concentration. This hinders their progress.  Leaders do not evaluate effectively the impact their actions have on disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes.  New approaches to teaching English and mathematics are recently introduced and, therefore, are not currently fully effective.  Leaders are in the process of improving the curriculum. However, pupils do not consistently build increasingly complex knowledge and skills in all subjects.  Where teaching does not meet pupils’ needs, their concentration drifts, they show a lack of pride in their work and, sometimes, low-level disruption occurs.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The new leadership team has secured vital improvements to the quality of teaching. Staff reflect leaders’ passion and are eager to provide the best possible education.  The executive principal, the trust and other partner schools have all played a key role in providing professional development for staff.  Leaders have established a caring, harmonious school community. Pupils’ social, moral and emotional development is well catered for. Consequently, pupils are polite, respectful and friendly.  Governance is effective. Board members hold leaders to account stringently.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that it is consistently good or better, and improve pupils’ outcomes in all subjects by ensuring that: – teaching staff have strong subject knowledge in all subjects they teach – teachers use accurate assessment information in all subjects to plan and adapt teaching to meet pupils’ needs – teachers plan work which challenges pupils, including the most able pupils – initiatives to support pupils’ language development are effective for pupils who speak English fluently – phonics teaching is effective and provides all pupils with frequent opportunities to practise early reading – teaching staff address pupils’ English grammar, punctuation and spelling errors effectively – pupils have frequent opportunities to develop their reasoning and problem-solving skills in mathematics – teachers address pupils’ underdeveloped responses in reading comprehension

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

activities.  Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by: – reducing the proportion of pupils who are regularly absent from school to bring this at least in line with the national average – promoting pupils’ spiritual and cultural development effectively – eliminating low-level disruption – ensuring that pupils take pride in their work.  Improve the effectiveness of the early years by ensuring that: – all adults are skilled in leading children’s learning, including through questioning and demonstration – teaching staff use accurate assessments to design suitably demanding activities – children have opportunities to consolidate and extend their reading, writing and mathematics skills independently – children find activities engaging and are able to sustain their concentration.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that: – senior and middle leaders receive further professional development to enable them

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

to take responsibility for improvements in teaching, learning and assessment in the curriculum areas they lead – leaders, including middle leaders, make thorough and timely checks on, and evaluation of, the difference they have made to the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes, including for disadvantaged pupils – the curriculum is well designed so that pupils acquire increasingly complex knowledge and skills, which are assessed accurately, as they move through the school.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 A new leadership team, which has been established over the past year, has been successful in securing crucial improvements to the education provided for pupils. With skill and determination, they have eradicated weak teaching. Despite improvements, the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes are not consistently good.  The majority of senior and middle leaders are new to their role. They have suitable knowledge and are enthusiastic about improving the quality of education. In a number of priority areas, leaders have introduced new initiatives. However, with the exception of the principal, leaders are only just beginning to check on the difference they have made to the quality of teaching. They are currently overly reliant on the principal in holding teaching staff to account for pupils’ outcomes.  Over time, leadership for disadvantaged pupils has not been effective. This has resulted in disadvantaged pupils’ attainment lagging considerably behind that of other

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

pupils nationally. Current leaders have plans in place to address this and are ensuring that funding is spent appropriately. However, they are not checking thoroughly on the difference this spending is making to pupils’ achievements.  Leaders have ensured that pupils are taught the full range of subjects in the national curriculum. However, they have, rightly, identified that the curriculum does not provide a coherent approach which ensures that pupils build increasingly complex knowledge and skills in all subjects. To remedy this, leaders are in the process of revising the curriculum.  Leaders have ensured that effective systems are in place to support pupils with complex special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders liaise with external specialists to ensure that effective adaptations and additional teaching are in place. Social and emotional support for pupils with a high level of need is particularly

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

strong. However, approximately a fifth of pupils in the school are identified as needing support for less complex additional needs. As the quality of teaching is variable, the support for this group of pupils is not always effective. As a result, the progress they make from their starting points is not consistently strong.  The principal has introduced systems to hold teaching staff to account for pupils’ outcomes. Staff are now clear about what is expected of them. Where the quality of teaching falls short of leaders’ expectations, staff are given support which ensures improved practice.  Leaders, including trustees, are accurate in identifying the priorities which require improvement. They are accurate in their evaluation of the school’s current position and the improvements already secured. They have clear plans in place and are suitably ambitious for pupils’ achievements.  Previously, a high staff turnover has slowed the rate of improvement. Through

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

engaging with the trust and partner schools, including the executive principal’s school, the principal has ensured that staff are well trained and take a lead on their professional development. As a result, staffing is now stable, almost all staff say that they feel valued and that staff morale is high. Leaders’ uncompromising yet compassionate approach is reflected in the enthusiasm and commitment shown by the staff team.  Leaders have ensured that the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium funding is spent effectively. A specialist PE teacher provides training for teachers and high-quality lessons for pupils. Funding is also used well to increase pupils’ participation in extra-curricular clubs and competitions.

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Governance of the school

 Members of the transition management board (TMB) are knowledgeable and have a range of suitable expertise. Along with trustees, they have played an important strategic role in ensuring that crucial improvements to school’s effectiveness have been secured.  Members of the TMB are adept in holding leaders stringently to account for the school’s effectiveness. They challenge leaders appropriately on a range of issues, including the quality of teaching, pupils’ outcomes, behaviour and attendance.  Leaders provide a wealth of information to the TMB. Alongside the trust executive board, members of the TMB validate leaders’ evaluations using external reports. As a result, they have a clear understanding of the work still to be done.  TMB members and trustees are fully aware of their responsibilities, including in relation to safeguarding.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders have established a firm culture of safeguarding in the school. Staff have positive relationships with pupils and this creates a nurturing atmosphere. Pupils who shared their views with inspectors said that they feel safe and happy in the school. They have confidence in members of staff to support them with any worries which may arise.  Staff are clear about their responsibilities in keeping children safe. Staff with designated responsibility for safeguarding have a detailed understanding of families whose circumstances make them vulnerable. Staff work effectively with external agencies and make timely referrals where necessary. They are tenacious advocates for their pupils.  Leaders have invested in expanding the staff team to include members with expertise in supporting pupils with social and emotional needs. A range of therapeutic work is

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Safeguarding

tailored to the needs of identified individual pupils. This is often successful in ensuring that pupils acquire strategies to manage their own behaviour and, hence, avoid exclusion.  Pupils are taught how to stay safe in a range of contexts. They benefit from lessons on internet safety, road safety and stranger danger.  Appropriate measures are in place to check that staff are suitable to work with children. Records in respect of this are well maintained.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Leaders’ high expectations, along with focused training and development for teaching staff, have resulted in crucial improvements to the quality of teaching. However, leaders are accurate in their evaluation that further work is needed before teaching is consistently good.  Although teachers’ subject knowledge has been strengthened, particularly in English and mathematics, it remains underdeveloped in a number of subjects. This means that, in some year groups, teachers are not able to plan activities which present sufficient challenge for all pupils, particularly the most able pupils. Consequently, pupils’ progress is hindered and too few pupils reach the higher standards of learning.  Leaders have identified that some pupils struggle to articulate their views, thinking and learning. This acts as a barrier to their learning across the curriculum. Leaders have ensured that pupils who are new to the English language have additional teaching and

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

acquire language well. Leaders have also introduced initiatives to support pupils who are already fluent in becoming more articulate. These are at an early stage of implementation and are, therefore, not fully effective across year groups.  Leaders have introduced a structured approach to the teaching of writing. This has ensured that writing lessons are now sequenced effectively to build up pupils’ skills. Pupils in most classes then have frequent opportunities to apply their skills to extended pieces of writing. Although pupils’ writing shows progress, this is not maximised. This is because teachers do not consistently address pupils’ basic errors in English grammar, punctuation and spelling. In writing across a range of subjects, pupils then repeat these errors.  Teachers are becoming increasingly adept in identifying and filling the gaps pupils have in their mathematical knowledge, which are the result of previously weak teaching.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

Consequently, pupils typically develop secure number and calculation skills. However, in some year groups, pupils do not have frequent opportunities to develop their reasoning and problem-solving skills.  Despite significant improvements to the teaching of phonics, it is not fully effective. Some pupils have insufficient opportunities to hear and rehearse sounding out and blending. Additionally, lower-attaining pupils do not have frequent opportunities to apply their phonics knowledge by reading to adults. Therefore, some pupils do not develop early reading skills as well as they should.  Leaders have implemented a new way of teaching reading comprehension skills this academic year. Teachers now pose pupils appropriate questions aimed at developing a range of skills, including inference. Some pupils demonstrate a deep understanding of what they have read. However, some pupils give underdeveloped answers which are

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

unaddressed by teachers. This hampers the progress for some pupils.  In some areas of the curriculum, for example science, history and geography, leaders are at the early stages of developing their approach to assessment. This means that teachers are not able to plan work which is matched to pupils’ needs. As a result, teaching in these subjects often represents a lack of challenge.  Pupils are motivated by regular first-hand experiences which enhance their learning. In line with the trust ‘promise’, leaders have put in place a programme of educational visits and workshops. These are effective in providing pupils with a context for their learning and in forming links between subjects. For example, Year 2 pupils studying the Great Fire of London visited a fire station to learn about the work of modern-day firefighters and fire safety.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Teachers’ expectations of the care pupils take with their work are variable. As a result, in some year groups, pupils do not take pride in their work. Where this is the case, their progress is hindered and their work is not well presented.  Leaders have ensured that assemblies and follow-up lessons cover a wide range of pertinent issues. For example, pupils are given opportunities to discuss, debate and reflect on issues such as body image in the media, carbon footprint and autism awareness. However, the extent to which pupils develop their understanding of these issues is dependent on the quality of teaching they receive. As this is variable, in some year groups, pupils do not develop the depth of understanding of which they are capable.  Leaders are beginning to focus more attention on pupils’ spiritual and cultural

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Personal development and welfare

development. For example, Year 5 pupils are trialling starting their day with mindfulness activities to clear their minds ready for lessons. Additionally, teachers have trained their colleagues on strategies to celebrate the diversity which exists in the school. However, the shortcomings in the teaching of history, geography and RE in some year groups mean that pupils’ spiritual and cultural development is not supported as well as it should be.  Pupils benefit from opportunities to develop their leadership skills. For example, pupils are trained as young interpreters, playground leaders and school council representatives. Consequently, they are confident, responsible and demonstrate a clear sense of belonging to the school community.  A significant proportion of pupils benefit from the positive start to the day which breakfast club provides. Similarly, the variety of extra-curricular clubs on offer, for

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Personal development and welfare

example sewing, photography and sports clubs, supports pupils’ personal development well.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Although pupils are keen to learn, when teaching does not meet their needs effectively, they lose concentration, and some engage in low-level disruption.  Leaders have secured improvements to pupils’ attendance rates and have brought this almost in line with the national average. They have achieved this through introducing rewards for pupils for attending well, which have raised the value placed on attendance. Leaders also work closely with parents and carers where attendance is low or falling. Despite this work and the resultant improving attendance rates overall, the proportion of pupils who are regularly absent is much higher than the national average and is not reducing quickly.  The support for pupils’ social, emotional and moral development is a strength of the school. As a result, pupils are well-mannered and considerate of others. They conduct

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Behaviour

themselves well and the atmosphere in school is calm. Instances of bullying and derogatory language are infrequent. When they do occur, leaders’ follow-up work is thorough and effective.  Leaders have introduced tailored support for a small number of pupils who struggle to manage their own behaviour. This has considerably reduced the frequency of behavioural incidents and, hence, the use of exclusion.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 In 2018, the published outcomes at the end of key stages 1 and 2 were poor. A legacy of weak teaching meant that a high proportion of pupils moved on to the next stage of their education without the knowledge and skills they needed. Improvements in the quality of teaching have secured better progress for current pupils, although this is not consistently strong across year groups and subjects.  Leaders have focused heavily on ensuring that teachers’ assessments of pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics are accurate. Teachers now use this information to identify pupils for additional teaching. For some pupils, this results in strong progress. However, as the quality of teaching is not consistently good, pupils’ progress in these subjects remains variable.  The shortcomings in the quality of teaching in subjects such as science, history, geography and RE mean that pupils in some year groups do not retain knowledge

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

effectively. Similarly, because assessment systems are not established in these subjects, teachers are not able to plan work which is sufficiently challenging. Consequently, pupils, particularly the most able, rarely deepen their learning as they should in these subjects.  The new approaches leaders have introduced to the teaching of reading, writing, speaking and mathematics are supporting increasing proportions of pupils to reach the standards expected for their age. However, this remains low in some year groups. Additionally, the proportion of pupils, including the most able pupils, reaching the higher standards of learning in writing is low across most year groups.  Like other pupils in the school, progress for pupils with SEND and for disadvantaged pupils is variable. In some year groups, both groups of pupils show low attainment where teaching is not effective in supporting them to catch up. In 2018, at the end of

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

each key stage, disadvantaged pupils’ attainment was considerably lower than that of other pupils nationally.  Although phonics teaching is not fully effective, it has improved considerably this academic year. Pupils, including lower-attaining pupils, now have suitable strategies to decode unfamiliar words. This contrasts with 2018, when approximately only half of pupils reached the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 The early years leader was new to the school in September 2018. She has swiftly identified the priorities for improvement and has begun to strengthen the quality of teaching. However, this process has been slowed by changes in staffing and the need to establish a new staff team during the autumn term. Consequently, although improving, the quality of teaching is not consistently good.  Children enter the early years with skills and knowledge below those typical for their age. Due to the shortcomings in the quality of teaching, children’s progress is not maximised and too few reach a good level of development.  Adults have worked hard to ensure that the indoor and outdoor learning areas now offer children a wide range of activities. However, adults do not use their assessments effectively to plan tasks for children. As a result, the activities on offer for children to access independently are not consistently well matched to their stage of development.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

Typically, activities are not demanding enough, particularly for the most able children. This hampers children’s progress.  Leaders have identified that adults are not consistently effective in questioning children and demonstrating activities to extend children’s learning. Although training is in place for this aspect of teaching, inspectors found that this remains a priority.  The opportunities for children to develop their reading, writing and number skills when choosing their own activities are limited. This hinders their progress and means that a considerable proportion of children are not ready for the demands of the Year 1 curriculum when they leave the early years.  Leaders have ensured that children have adult-led sessions focusing on developing their speaking skills. These are often led by a language specialist and are effective in broadening children’s vocabulary. However, when children are leading their own

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Early years provision Requires improvement

learning, their talk is not stimulated effectively by adults or by the activities on offer.  Adults have focused on developing teaching in relation to children’s interests. During the inspection, many children were enthused by a pirate theme. They enjoyed making flags and pretending to sail on pirate ships. However, because activities are not well matched to all children’s needs, some children find it difficult to sustain their concentration. Instead, they flit between activities and some become boisterous. This limits their academic and personal development.  Positive relationships exist between adults in the early years and parents. Parents appreciate the recently introduced weekly opportunity to join Reception class for juice, toast and reading. Leaders have strengthened communication systems between home and the school. This has enabled both parties to share information about children’s learning and interests more readily.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 A considerable number of children have not attended a nursery. Therefore, Reception class is their first experience of an educational setting. This year, approximately a third of children joined Reception mid-year. Adults have established a nurturing, caring atmosphere in the early years where children are well looked after. As a result, children settle well into Reception class and all welfare requirements are met.

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Principal Katy Beech (Principal), Jim Garbutt (Executive Principal)

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School details

Email address enquiries@astreahatfield.org

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Hatfield Academy is larger than the average-sized primary school. It opened in May 2016 when it joined the Astrea Multi-Academy Trust (previously called Reach4).  A transition management board (TMB) has responsibility for governance. The TMB reports to the trust executive board.  The executive principal holds the same role at another local primary school.  The predecessor school was inspected in July 2015 and its overall effectiveness was judged inadequate.  Just over half of the pupils are disadvantaged. This is more than double the national average.  Pupils represent thirteen different ethnic groups. The largest group is White British heritage, which includes approximately half of the pupils. Approximately 10% of pupils are of Asian or Asian British-Pakistani heritage.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average. A small but significant number of pupils who join the school are new to the

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Information about this school

English language.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is above average but the proportion with an education, health and care plan is below average.  The school runs a breakfast club.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in a range of subjects in classes across all year groups. Most of these observations were carried out jointly with leaders.  Inspectors looked at pupils’ work and listened to them read. They observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school, including at playtimes and lunchtimes. They gathered pupils’ views about the school through formal and informal discussions. They also considered the 27 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.  Inspectors met with senior and middle leaders, the chief executive officer of the trust, the chair of the transition management board and the executive director of education for the trust. They met with a group of staff and took account of the 24 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans, minutes of governing body meetings, safeguarding documents

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Information about this inspection

and monitoring records of the quality of teaching and learning. Inspectors also evaluated information relating to pupils’ outcomes, behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors gathered the opinions of parents at the start of the school day. They also took account of the views of 15 parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and the three free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Karine Hendley, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Larissa Thorpe Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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Inspection team

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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