Hadlow Rural Community School

Inspection of Hadlow Rural Community School Tonbridge Road, Hadlow, Kent TN11 0AU

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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 Previous inspection grade Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The headteacher of this school is Paul Boxall. This school is part of Hadlow Rural Community School Limited trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Philip Morris. 18 and 19 June 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a unique school with a land-based curriculum covering agriculture, horticulture and animal care. The school aims to develop pupils’ love of learning as well as their ability to be kind, caring, courteous and considerate.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are high expectations for pupils’ academic achievement. However, pupils’ performance in recent public examinations has been disappointing. In particular, the gap between the performance of disadvantaged pupils and their peers remains too large.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are safe in this school. A well-considered personal, social and health education programme helps pupils to understand how to stay safe and well. However, not all areas of the curriculum are as well planned or implemented.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils confirm that they have adults that they can talk to if needed. Bullying is rare and staff deal with any incidents swiftly. Relationships between staff and pupils are respectful. However, there are a small number of lessons where behaviour falls below leaders’ high expectations and is not managed consistently.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have thought carefully about enrichment opportunities, including sports, arts and public speaking. Pupils enjoy trips and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. They are proud to take on positions of responsibility, including prefects, sports leaders and anti-bullying ambassadors.

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better?

Pupils’ experience a variable quality of education, because of inconsistencies in the way subjects are planned and sequenced. In subjects where this is done well, there is a shared and consistent approach across all years. In land-based subjects, pupils learn confidently and with enjoyment. They build up their knowledge over time, with many undertaking qualifications in these subjects in key stage 4. In a small number of subjects, curriculum planning does not lead well enough towards clearly defined learning goals.

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better?

While most teachers exhibit strong subject knowledge, others are still developing their expertise in some of the subjects that they teach. Consequently, the planned curriculum is not always delivered well enough.

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better?

The school understands the need to improve pupils’ achievement, particularly for the disadvantaged. While leaders have taken various actions to address weaknesses, the impact of this work is not yet evident in improved examination results and the attendance of disadvantaged pupils.

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better?

Leaders are increasingly prioritising reading. They understand that confident reading is important to access the full curriculum. However, reading assessments focus too 18 and 19 June 2024

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much on checking reading ages. This means that they do not always identify specific barriers to pupils’ reading development. The promotion of reading across the curriculum is still developing.

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Pupils’ conduct around the school is generally calm, positive, and orderly. Relationships between staff and pupils are encouraging and supportive. Effective systems track and monitor attendance but are not sufficiently focused on specific groups, especially disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Therefore, some pupils do not come to school as often as they should.

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The personal development curriculum has been recently reviewed and updated. High-quality pastoral support fosters pupils’ understanding of diversity and cultural development. Pupils show tolerance and respect for different beliefs. They speak passionately about equality, diversity, inclusion and neurodiversity.

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The school prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain. It is fully committed to ensuring pupils make a positive contribution to society. Pupils were able to explain what is meant by democracy, the rule of law and individual liberty. Year 9 pupils talked confidently about protected characteristics and how they relate to the Equalities Act of 2010.

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Pupils are well prepared for their next stage of education. The well-considered careers programme is a strength of the school. Pupils have access to extensive careers information. This includes information on apprenticeships and vocational routes. Pupils benefit from work-experience opportunities, work-related learning and careers links within individual subjects.

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Leaders engage with staff, acknowledging and addressing the main pressures they face. Staff feel well supported regarding workload and well-being. They appreciate leaders’ approachability, especially the headteacher. Ongoing professional development is helping staff to develop their pedagogical practice.

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The school has faced significant challenges in recruiting staff in recent years. This has impacted on its capacity for improvement. Trustees and senior leaders are committed to improving outcomes and are working hard to achieve this goal. Nevertheless, this work is not currently leading to pupils’ achievement improving quickly enough. Plans to address areas for improvement are not always captured clearly enough in documentation, which impedes how effectively people are held to account for the impact of their actions.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 18 and 19 June 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum is not consistently planned and implemented across all subjects. This means that pupils do not build well enough on their prior learning to achieve the success they are capable of. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is planned and delivered consistently well, so that pupils, particularly the disadvantaged, achieve the standards they are capable of.  Some pupils who struggle to read are not always sufficiently supported to read confidently and fluently. This means that these pupils have difficulty accessing the learning intended in lessons. Leaders should ensure that support for these pupils is matched to their individual needs, so that pupils’ fluency, accuracy and confidence in reading improve.

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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). 18 and 19 June 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26 February 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Hadlow Rural Community School is a smaller than average 11 to 16 mixed school. The school provides land-based courses to meet the needs of the local rural economy.  The school is situated in an area with selective education. It is an active member of the West Kent Single Academy Trust Alliance.  Four pupils attend alternative provision at three registered education providers.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 18 and 19 June 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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 conducted deep dives in English, mathematics, geography and modern foreign languages. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders and visited a sample of lessons. They spoke with teachers, talked to pupils and looked at examples of their work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record and took account of the views of leaders, staff, pupils and parents. They considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding which puts pupils’ interests first.

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 Inspectors reviewed the policies provided on the school website. They looked at attendance records, behaviour logs, curriculum documentation and destination statistics. Inspectors held meetings with leaders, teachers and pupils. They spoke with the school’s advisor. The lead inspector met representatives of the board of trustees, including the chair of the board of trustees.  Inspectors looked at the responses to the Ofsted Parent View online questionnaire and additional written comments received from parents and carers. They considered the survey returns completed by staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Paul Metcalf, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Marian Feeley His Majesty’s Inspector 18 and 19 June 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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