Hawthorns Primary School, Durrington

Inspection of Hawthorns Primary School, Durrington Poplar Road, Durrington, Worthing, West Sussex BN13 3EZ

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 6 and 7 October 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this small, caring school. Everyone is welcomed at Hawthorns. This means that pupils feel happy and safe. One boy who spoke with inspectors said: ‘Everyone is different, but everyone is treated equally.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils are positive about learning, but not all. Children in early years and pupils in key stage 1 behave well. However, some pupils in key stage 2 sometimes lack concentration and are easily distracted. As a result, behaviour is not yet consistently good and it sometimes gets in the way of learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that it is quite rare for children to be unkind to each other. When it happens, it is dealt with quickly by staff. A parent who spoke with inspectors during the inspection confirmed this by saying: ‘Bullying used to be a problem here, but since the new headteacher came it is nipped in the bud.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a wide range of clubs. These include clubs for football, gymnastics, dance, drama and cooking, and the ‘green fingers’ club where pupils help to improve the school grounds. One pupil excitedly told the lead inspector that he could not wait to go this club after school.

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better?

The headteacher and her senior leadership team have made improvements to many aspects of the school since they took up their posts just after the previous inspection. The curriculum is one of the areas that leaders have developed. Each subject is planned well because leaders have given careful thought to what they want pupils to learn and when. This means that pupils get better at subjects as they move through the school. Children in Nursery and Reception get off to a good start. As a result, they have the knowledge they will need for future learning. For example, pupils in key stage 1 have a good knowledge of geography because of what they learned in early years.

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better?

Subject leadership across the school is not yet consistent. This is because some subject leaders need further development. Teaching is not always successful in ensuring that the curriculum is taught well enough in every subject. This is because some teachers’ understanding of good practice in teaching is still developing. This means that some lessons are not tailored well enough to meet the needs of all pupils. Consequently, some children become distracted and behaviour deteriorates.

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better?

Reading is important at the school. There are many opportunities for children in Nursery and Reception to listen to stories, poems and nursery rhymes. This helps to instil a love of reading in pupils from an early age. A well-planned phonics programme means that pupils learn to read quickly. Books are closely matched to the sounds that pupils know. Careful monitoring helps leaders to identify pupils who are not keeping up with the programme. These pupils are supported well through additional phonics sessions. The school has a range of high-quality books, which 6 and 7 October 2021

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means that pupils can read books that are interesting and engaging as they become more fluent. Pupils are given incentives to read daily, and many achieve this goal. One pupil described the benefits of reading by saying that: ‘Teachers encourage us to read more, so we have more describing words to use in our written stories.’

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified well here. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is experienced and knowledgeable and has made significant improvements to the provision for pupils with SEND. This means that pupils receive the help they need. One parent who spoke with the lead inspector said: ‘The SENCo goes above and beyond for children.’ Despite this, teaching is not always tailored so that it meets these pupils’ needs well enough in lessons.

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The personal development of pupils is a strength of the school. Leaders have begun to change the culture at Hawthorns. They have done this by ensuring that pupils are fully involved in all parts of school life. The ambassadorship programme encourages pupils to get fully involved at the school. This leads to pupils taking ownership of projects and becoming more responsible. For example, a Year 6 pupil was in the middle of setting up a guitar club for pupils who wanted to play the instrument.

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Governance has been strengthened since the previous inspection. Support from the local authority has had a positive impact on governance. Governors know the school very well and have clear roles and responsibilities. They are committed to improving the school further. As a result, they provide plenty of challenge to leaders at the school, as well as supporting leaders’ well-being and mental health.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a high level of care that permeates the school. Staff know pupils and their families well. They receive the appropriate safeguarding training. This means that they recognise the signs that could mean a pupil is at risk of harm or is being harmed.

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Safeguarding

Effective systems and processes mean that staff can quickly alert the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) if they are concerned about a pupil. This leads to swift and appropriate actions being taken by the DSL.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and those responsible for governance regularly monitor all aspects of safeguarding at the school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers’ pedagogical knowledge is inconsistent across the school. This means that the planned curriculum is not delivered well enough to meet the needs of all 6 and 7 October 2021

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pupils. Leaders should ensure that subject leadership is strengthened, and that the appropriate training is provided to teachers so that their pedagogical knowledge improves.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 6 and 7 October 2021

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.hawthornsprimaryschool.co.uk

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Date of previous inspection

13 and 14 March 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher and her senior leadership team have been appointed since the previous inspection in March 2018.  The chair of the governing body, along with most of the other governors, have been appointed since the previous inspection in March 2018.  The early years provision consists of a Reception class and Little Owls Nursery. The Nursery is in a separate building on the school grounds. It provides places for two- and three-year-olds.  The Nursery has been temporarily moved into the school building because of flooding.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 6 and 7 October 2021

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This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders, and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors did deep dives in reading, mathematics, physical education and geography. They discussed the curriculum with leaders, staff and pupils, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and listened to pupils read.  Inspectors visited the early years provision, including the Nursery.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, staff, pupils and those with responsibility for governance, including the chair of the governing body. They met with representatives of the local authority.  Inspectors met with the SENCo to discuss the provision for pupils with SEND.  Inspectors considered the 13 responses to the confidential staff survey. They talked to parents and carers before the school day and took account of the 16

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responses to Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors viewed the school’s website and policies, met with the DSL, spoke with pupils and staff, scrutinised school records of the safeguarding checks carried out on adults working at the school, and spoke with governors. Inspectors also scrutinised child protection records.

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Inspection team

Shaun Jarvis, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Debra Anderson Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 October 2021

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regulates and inspects to 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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