Hadrian Primary School

Inspection of Hadrian Primary School Baring Street, Hadrian Primary School, South Shields, Tyne and Wear NE33 2BB

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Outstanding 2 and 3 November 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say they enjoy coming to school every day. One pupil, echoing the views of others, commented that ‘teachers are the best because you can talk to them and they care for us.’ The care shown by staff helps pupils to feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are highly motivated. They take pride in their school. They are pleased to contribute towards the school community by becoming prefects. Leaders are ambitious for every pupil, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In most subjects, the curriculum is well planned for everyone to achieve.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave exceptionally well. Bullying is rare. If it does happen, adults deal with it effectively. Children learn how to form positive relationships right from the start in Nursery. Pupils look out for anyone who needs help, in or out of lessons. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say they feel proud to represent the school in the many sports and music festivals on offer. Pupils in Year 5 and Year 6 help to organise breakfast club. Parents, carers and pupils enjoy ‘Funky Fridays’, where everyone gets to start the day disco dancing. This helps to promote physical and mental well-being.

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better?

After a period of staffing turbulence, some relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have worked well to manage staff absence and appoint new staff. Leaders and teachers are enthusiastic about providing an ambitious curriculum for all pupils, including in the early years. In most subjects, it is clear how pupils will gain new knowledge and skills. The curriculum in English and mathematics is strong. For example, children in the early years learn to spell words by recognising the sounds in them and representing the sounds with letters. As pupils get older, they learn to spell more complex words to express their ideas well in writing.

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better?

Leaders have developed most foundation subjects well. Some subjects, such as music and physical education (PE), are more developed than others. The PE curriculum enables pupils to remember knowledge and skills they need for new learning. For instance, pupils remember circuit training skills before learning new boxing techniques. In some curriculum subjects, pupils do not have strong knowledge of subject-specific ideas. For example, from their study of mountains in geography, pupils can name some types of mountains. However, they cannot link their knowledge to mountains in different parts of the world. Leaders have not made clear the specific subject knowledge they want pupils to learn. Leaders are currently improving this aspect of the curriculum.

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better?

In most subjects, such as mathematics, teachers use assessment well in lessons to check pupils' understanding. This helps teachers know when pupils are ready to 2 and 3 November 2022

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move on. However, some of the systems for assessment in the foundation subjects do not show how well pupils have understood subject-specific content, such as weather and climate in geography. Sometimes, pupils’ recall of knowledge is inaccurate. Teachers do not always correct misconceptions, so pupils do not achieve as well as they could.

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The programme for teaching phonics is effective. Children in Reception learn letters and the sounds they make. This helps children learn to read. Teachers identify and support pupils who need extra help. Some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and cannot read fluently. A few pupils are not given the right help they need to learn the letters and sounds they need to catch up. Sometimes, the books pupils read do not match the sounds pupils know. This hinders their progress.

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Staff support pupils with SEND well. They identify pupils’ specific needs and make sure teaching and resources support pupils well. There is a team of staff with expertise to support pupils’ mental health. They use their expertise to inform staff when pupils need extra help. As a result, pupils with SEND thrive.

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Behaviour is outstanding. In the early years, children get off to a strong start because routines are well established. Children play and learn well together. Relationships between staff and pupils are very strong. Staff have high expectations for every pupil. Pupils show high levels of maturity and self-control. They concentrate extremely well and work hard.

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Pupils’ personal development is a strength of the school. For example, pupils have a strong understanding of faiths and cultures different to their own. Pupils learn about democracy by voting for members of the ‘Pupil Parliament’. They are proud to serve the school community by becoming ‘Mini Police’. Pupils learn to become good citizens by running and managing their own food bank. Pupils enjoy attending the many clubs on offer, such as football, boxercise, and guitar.

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Governors know the priorities of the school. They work well with the local authority to help them check the accuracy of the information from leaders. As a result, governors hold leaders to account effectively. Staff are proud to be part of this happy school community. They appreciate the care and concern that leaders have for their professional development and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders carry out checks to ensure that all adults who work in the school are safe to do so. They ensure that staff understand how to identify and report concerns to keep pupils safe. There are clear and effective systems for reporting safeguarding concerns. Staff know how to check on pupils’ mental health and well-being. Leaders act on concerns immediately. Leaders work well with other agencies to get pupils support when they need it. Staff make sure that pupils know the risks they may face as they get older. Pupils know how to stay safe when they are online. 2 and 3 November 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, such as geography, leaders have not clearly defined the most important subject-specific knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn. As a result, teachers are not clear about the essential knowledge pupils must learn. Leaders should ensure that teachers are given guidance, so that they can prioritise important knowledge and skills in their teaching across all subjects.  Some pupils at the early stages of reading have gaps in their phonics knowledge. For a few of these pupils, their progress is hindered because they do not receive the right support to help them catch up. Some pupils struggle to read and catch up quickly as a result. Leaders must make sure that all adults who teach pupils to read are sufficiently trained to do so.  The system for summative assessment in foundation subjects, does not enable teachers to gain detailed information of how well pupils have gained subject-

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

specific knowledge over time. Leaders need to make sure that assessment systems check the most important knowledge and concepts pupils need to know, so that teachers have a clear picture of the depth of pupils’ subject knowledge.

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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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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. 2 and 3 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10229028 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 16 June 2008, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There have been significant changes in staff, including subject leaders and early years, since the start of COVID-19.  The school runs two breakfast clubs for pupils who attend the school.  The school does not use alternative provision for its current pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded 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 met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, special educational needs coordinator, subject leaders and other members of staff. The lead inspector met with those responsible for governance, including the chair of the governing 2 and 3 November 2022

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body. The lead inspector met with the local authority service manager for education and standards who has worked closely with the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography, music and PE.  For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour both in lessons and at breaktimes and lunchtimes. They gathered pupils’ views form both formal and informal discussions.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s self- evaluation and improvement plan.  Inspectors checked the school’s single central record, met with the school’s two designated safeguarding leaders and reviewed safeguarding information.

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 The lead inspector discussed the school’s records on attendance and behaviour with the headteacher.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s parent survey, Ofsted Parent View. The inspectors also took account of the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Kathryn McDonald, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Lee Wilson Ofsted Inspector 2 and 3 November 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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