The Hawthorns Primary School

Inspection of a good school: The Hawthorns Primary School Northway, Woosehill, Wokingham, Berkshire RG41 3PQ

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Outcome

The Hawthorns Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel respected and valued. They enjoy coming to school and show kindness to each other and to the adults who work in the school. Pupils know staff will help them with their learning and broader needs if they require it. This helps them to feel safe at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. Pupils know what bullying is. They know what to do if they experience it. Pupils are sure that they would get good help from adults if bullying happened to them or one of their friends.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are determined that pupils do well and want the best for every child. Pupils are enthusiastic about their learning and take pride in their work. Pupils talk confidently about their learning. They say that lessons are good at making them think.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the wider opportunities that are on offer to them. They take their responsibilities seriously. Pupils enjoy roles such as ‘school councillor’ and being on the ‘green team’, helping to protect the environment. They really like participating in a wide range of interesting clubs such as learning to play the ocarina, a wind instrument from Mexico.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have designed a curriculum that is ambitious and well sequenced. They have identified the key knowledge they want pupils to know and remember. Staff are aspirational for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities ( SEND). Subject leaders make sure that these pupils can access the whole curriculum. Teachers throughout the school, including in the Reception classes, have good subject knowledge. This enables them to deliver the curriculum in a way that builds pupils’ knowledge and makes them curious to find out more.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Teachers revisit prior learning to help pupils remember things they have learned before. 28 and 29 June 2022

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This helps pupils to remember key and sometimes complex information. Staff check for any misunderstandings that pupils might have and address these immediately. This enables pupils, including pupils with SEND, to keep up with the school’s expectations in different subjects. Staff in the Reception classes help children to remember essential knowledge through rhymes, actions and songs.

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Leaders prioritise reading. The reading curriculum is structured carefully. Through well- planned training, leaders have ensured that all staff are skilled in teaching phonics. Staff teach phonics very soon after children begin in the Reception classes. Pupils across the school are taught to read well. Younger pupils learn to write words and simple sentences using their good knowledge of phonics. Older pupils are helped to understand the texts that they read together as a class and individually. Teachers give much thought to the books they want pupils to read. This helps pupils of all ages to practise their skills and want to read. Teachers are quick to spot any pupil who might be falling behind. Pupils who struggle to read receive extra support from well-trained adults. This builds their confidence and increases their fluency in reading.

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Teachers have effective strategies to establish what pupils know and can do. This is completed before staff introduce new curriculum content. Teachers usually use this information to inform the next steps in their teaching. Staff are quick to identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND. The information that the staff team gather and receive about pupils helps them to adapt learning for individual pupils. Consequently, pupils, including pupils with SEND, achieve well. However, there are occasions when teachers do not use information about what pupils know and understand sufficiently well. As a result, the work set for pupils is not always demanding enough. This means that pupils do not always learn as well as they could.

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The school is calm and orderly. There are positive relationships between pupils and with adults. Pupils are eager to learn and contribute well to lessons. They speak with enthusiasm about what they have learned. Pupils are confident and willing to share their thoughts and ideas. Their positive attitudes towards learning ensure that there is no disruption to lessons.

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Pupils have lots of chances to develop their personal skills. Assemblies and activities beyond the taught curriculum support these opportunities. For example, pupils can become ‘playground friends’. In this role, pupils help playtimes to be a happy time for everyone. Pupils develop into respectful and responsible young people.

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Leaders help staff to manage their workload effectively and take time to support them with their general well-being. Staff speak highly about the support and training that they receive.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All staff undertake regular safeguarding training. Leaders provide staff with frequent updates about pupils and safeguarding issues. This maintains a culture of constant 28 and 29 June 2022

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vigilance within the school. Staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They are alert to identify any signs that pupils may be at risk from harm or in some way vulnerable.

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Leaders constantly make sure that pupils and families receive timely and effective support. They ensure that external agencies are involved and challenged in their decision- making when necessary.

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Staff teach pupils how to stay safe and healthy. This includes how to stay safe online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, teachers do not use the information they have about what pupils know to inform what they teach next. As a result, pupils do not learn as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that the work pupils are set is consistently ambitious enough.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2013.

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How can I feed back my views?

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 . 28 and 29 June 2022

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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. 28 and 29 June 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.hawthorns.wokingham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 3 May 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was appointed in April 2020.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator and eight governors, including the chair of governors.  A telephone conversation was held with a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 28 and 29 June 2022

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 A range of documentation relating to safeguarding was scrutinised by the inspector. He also spoke with pupils, school leaders and the staff about safeguarding.  Pupils spoke with the inspector about their learning and behaviour.  The inspector took account of the 185 responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses. He also took account of the views of staff through the 65 responses to the staff survey and the 244 responses to the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Richard Blackmore, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 June 2022

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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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