Henderson Green Primary Academy

Inspection of Henderson Green Primary School Earlham Grove, Norwich, Norfolk NR5 8DX

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The headteacher of this school is Clair Gribble. This school is part of The Heart Education Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Hazel Cubbage, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Laura Myles. 24 and 25 April 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well looked after, safe and have positive relationships with adults. Adults care deeply about pupils and want the best for them. Despite this, pupils receive a mixed quality of education. They do not develop the detailed knowledge and skills they need to get them ready for the next stage of their education journey. Although recent improvements are starting to pay dividends, too many pupils do not currently learn well. This includes the youngest children in early years, where many are not well prepared for their move to Year 1.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. Whether in class or in the playground, they love laughing and playing with their friends. They share playground equipment together and enjoy one another’s company. The dinner hall is a buzz with upbeat and friendly chatter, with adults joining in with gentle humour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provide pupils with a range of wider opportunities. From karate to bush craft, pupils experience a range of activities, trips and visits. They are guided to understand, and value, the differences between themselves and others. Newcomers to the school are welcomed with open arms by pupils, who quickly go on to become friends.

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better?

The school has been through a turbulent time. Frequent changes in staffing and leadership mean that for too long, pupils have not received the education they deserve. Things have now steadied. The school is on the up. While there are many ‘green shoots’ of improvement, much work is needed to establish the positive changes that have been made.

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better?

In the past year, the school has put in place an ambitious curriculum. Some subjects are more established than others though. In subjects such as geography and art, more pupils are now learning well. Older pupils have a well-developed understanding of plate tectonics, helping them to explain, for example, how volcanoes are formed. There are, however, inconsistencies in the quality of education pupils receive. Many older pupils have significant gaps in their knowledge because of weaker provision in the past.

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better?

While improving, not all teachers have sufficiently well-developed subject or pedagogical knowledge to teach the curriculum well enough. They do not always provide effective adaptations to help pupils fill gaps in their understanding that have emerged. This means that not all pupils develop detailed knowledge and skills across the curriculum. While this is the case, leaders provide high-quality training for staff to help them sharpen their practice. Teachers are committed and are working hard to bring about improvement for pupils; leaders manage staff workload well.

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better?

Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn well. This is not the case for all pupils with SEND, where some still do not receive 24 and 25 April 2024

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precisely tailored provision to meet their needs. While pupils with SEND have their needs accurately identified, not all activities or interventions are precisely designed to help pupils to access and remember more of the curriculum.

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Pupils experience a range of carefully selected texts to help them develop a love of reading. Children in Reception benefit from the very recently introduced ‘structured story time’ where they are supported to learn new words. There remain a number of pupils who do not have the phonic knowledge they need to be able to read well. These pupils receive the right support to help them catch up, which many of them are doing rapidly.

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Children in Reception have only very recently started to learn a high-quality curriculum. Their learning is now linked to key story books that have been chosen to motivate the children in this class. The curriculum is organised and clear. However, in the past, their learning has been disjointed. This means many children lack the foundational knowledge and skills they need to be well prepared for Year 1.

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Pupils are keen to learn. They try hard in lessons and do their best. Most pupils now attend school regularly. While a small number still do not, leaders are doing all they reasonably can to improve this.

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Pupils benefit from a well-established personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum. They learn about different religions, understand right from wrong and develop a strong moral compass. Pupils know that being different matters. Trips to the local university provide opportunity for pupils to see what is on offer to them as they grow older.

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Trustees have faced considerable challenges. There have been many changes to the school’s leadership. Many leaders are new and need time to establish the many changes that have been made. The systems and processes leaders use to monitor and evaluate the quality of the school's work are in the very early stages of development. Currently, there are aspects of the school’s work where leaders do not know what is working well, or how much pupils are learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The support that some pupils with SEND receive lacks precision. Adults are not always clear what these pupils need to know and be able to do. This means some activities or interventions that pupils undertake are not precisely matched to their needs. These pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school should ensure 24 and 25 April 2024

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that teachers receive the information and training they need to help them adapt activities more precisely to meet the needs of pupils with SEND.  Some aspects of the curriculum are relatively new. Not all teachers have sufficiently well-developed subject or pedagogical knowledge to teach the curriculum well enough. This means pupils do not learn as well in these developing subjects. The school should continue to provide training and support for teachers to ensure they deliver the ambitious curriculum to the standard leaders expect.  The curriculum in the early years has been in place for a very short time. This means children in the early years have not received a carefully designed curriculum for some time. They are not all sufficiently well prepared for year 1. As there is now stability in leadership and staffing in the early years, the school should provide these staff with training and guidance to ensure they deliver the

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early years curriculum to a high standard.  The systems and processes leaders use to monitor and evaluate the quality of the school's work are in the very early stages of development. There are aspects of the curriculum where leaders do not know what is working well, or how much pupils are learning. The school should fully establish systems for monitoring and evaluating key aspects of the school’s provision so leaders have a clear oversight of how well pupils learn.

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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' is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school's pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 24 and 25 April 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 20 and 21 November 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Heart Education Trust, which also oversees three other local schools.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The headteacher was not present during the inspection. The school is currently being led by an acting headteacher in her absence. The acting headteacher joined the school at the start of the summer term. The new substantive deputy headteacher also joined the school at this time.  The trust has been working in partnership with the Unity Schools Partnership since the autumn of 2023, an agreement brokered through the department for education’s trust and school improvement offer. The plans for the trust to join Unity Schools Partnership are in the final stages of completion. 24 and 25 April 2024

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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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s educa- tion provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pan- demic 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 acting headteacher, deputy headteacher, a range of other school staff, including the special educational needs coordinator, and trustees. Inspectors also met with the CEO of The Heart Education Trust and the CEO of Unity Schools Partnership, along with trust leaders from Unity Schools Partnership.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography and art. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with pu- pils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.

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Information about this inspection

 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and consid- ered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documents, including behaviour logs, attendance records, pupil records, records of trustee meetings, school development plans and school self-evaluation documents.  Inspectors considered the responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey and Of- sted’s staff surveys. The pupil survey was not used in this inspection, but inspec- tors spoke to a wide range of pupils both formally and informally during the in- spection.

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Inspection team

Nathan Lowe, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Carol Dallas Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 April 2024

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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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