Hamp Academy

Inspection of Hamp Academy Rhode Lane, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 6JB

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 22 and 23 June 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Hamp Academy has a calm and orderly atmosphere. Pupils are respectful and polite to one another. They enjoy learning in a caring environment and listen well to their teachers. Staff encourage pupils to think about others and the difference they can make through their actions. Pupils of all ages know and understand what it means to stay safe at school and in the community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff create an environment where pupils feel listened to and valued. They promote pupils’ health and well-being effectively, including for those with additional needs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have designed a curriculum that enables pupils to aim high and learn well. They focus strongly on pupils’ personal development. Pupils talk knowledgeably about important issues, such as diversity and equality. They challenge any form of discrimination and judge no one.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations for how pupils behave. Pupils know how to behave and understand right from wrong. Lessons flow smoothly with little disruption to learning. Bullying is rare. Pupils say staff deal with it quickly when they report a problem. Parents and carers support the school’s work. They praise the dedication and commitment of staff.

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better?

Leaders and staff are ambitious for pupils to succeed and to thrive emotionally and socially. Leaders are redesigning the curriculum. They have prioritised English and mathematics. In mathematics, pupils have many opportunities to develop their understanding of number and reasoning. Older pupils recall previous knowledge to learn new concepts. This helps them solve complex mathematical problems.

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better?

In most subjects, pupils progress through the curriculum well because they build knowledge in an order that makes sense. For example, in science and computing, leaders have put together well-designed and sequenced curriculums. This ensures that pupils know and remember more over time. However, this does not happen as well in some curriculum areas.

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better?

Where subjects are less well developed, leaders have not identified precisely enough what pupils need to know and by when. In geography and history, for example, pupils do not always remember and use the technical skills and knowledge they have been taught before. Consequently, pupils have a less secure foundation on which to build and deepen the next steps in their learning.

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better?

The school’s reading programme is effective. The youngest pupils decode words and develop fluency in reading successfully. The books they read are well matched to the sounds they are learning. Leaders use assessment effectively to check the progress 22 and 23 June 2022

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that pupils make. As a result, pupils who are at risk of falling behind have the necessary support to help them to keep up. Teachers choose class texts that are varied and broaden pupils’ knowledge and interests. They encourage pupils to read widely. Pupils talk with enthusiasm about the way teachers, ‘take you to another place and bring the characters alive’ in their daily reading sessions.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well. Leaders include pupils fully in the school curriculum. Staff provide tailored support to enable pupils to learn confidently and successfully. Leaders regularly check the support pupils receive to make sure it is effective.

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Pupils learn to be thoughtful, inclusive citizens of modern Britain. They learn about world religions and how to appreciate differences. Through the curriculum, pupils understand what makes a positive relationship. They talk confidently about diversity, equality and the importance of consent. Pupils told us, ‘it is okay to be different at Hamp.’ Pupils know how to look after their physical and mental health. They have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships.

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Staff are proud to work at Hamp Academy. They appreciate how leaders consider staff’s workload. Staff, including school leaders, feel well supported. They benefit from the shared training that being part of the trust provides. Governors know the school well and understand their responsibilities. They provide effective support and challenge for improvement.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff understand it is everyone’s responsibility to keep pupils safe. Training enables them to identify pupils who may be at risk. Staff are vigilant of safeguarding risks, including those specific to the local area. They use the school’s procedures to report concerns.

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Safeguarding

Leaders identify when pupils and families need additional help. They act quickly to provide the support that pupils and families need.

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Safeguarding

The computing curriculum ensures that pupils know what to do if they experience any harassment or abuse online. Pupils talk confidently about how to stay safe outside of school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, leaders’ curriculum design is not as effective as others. Teachers do not always build on what pupils know and can do in a systematic way. This means that pupils’ do not know and remember as much as 22 and 23 June 2022

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they could. Leaders need to ensure that there is a well-sequenced curriculum in all subjects so that pupils build on prior learning and deepen their understanding.  In some subjects, leaders’ use of assessment is not well developed. As a result, some pupils develop gaps in their knowledge. Leaders need to ensure that assessments systems check what pupils know and remember of the intended curriculum.

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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. 22 and 23 June 2022

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Date of previous inspection

4 and 5 December 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Bridgwater and Taunton College Trust.  The school does not 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.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, senior and curriculum leaders and governors. Inspectors also held discussions with the chief executive officer and director of education from the trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history, geography and religious education. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with senior and subject leaders, visited a sample of 22 and 23 June 2022

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lessons, spoke to teachers and talked to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector listened to pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5 read to an adult.  Inspectors reviewed safeguarding records, including the single central record of recruitment checks on staff.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in class and at breaktimes.  Inspectors reviewed responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments.  Inspectors considered responses to the surveys for staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Richard Vaughan, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Neil Swait Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 June 2022

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