Hill View Junior Academy

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Hill View Junior Academy Queen Alexandra Road, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear SR2 9HE

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Outcome

Hill View Junior Academy has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Hayley Sutton. This school is part of the Vision Learning Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Claire Smith, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Michael Foster.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Hill View Junior Academy is a vibrant and happy place to learn. Pupils achieve well and are well prepared for their next steps in education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have strong, positive relationships with staff. They appreciate the help they get in lessons and talk about other things on their minds when they need to. Pupils know that if things do go wrong, staff are there to help.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures that pupils participate in the wider life of the school. There is a great range of opportunities that promote pupils’ personal development very well. Pupils enjoy the trips and clubs they get to be involved with. Highlights include a range of sporting activities and various musical performances. Pupils can take up an array of leadership roles, such as digital heroes, prefects or library assistants. Pupils contribute greatly to the warm, inclusive culture that exists in the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave superbly well in lessons and understand the high expectations that all staff have for them. They enjoy collecting their rewards from the ‘Hill View Boutique’ for doing good work and contributing to the life of the school. Pupils delight in playing together and appreciate the rich environment both inside and outside of the school building. 7 and 8 January 2025

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

The school has ensured that curriculum planning is ambitious for all pupils. The school benefits from the work of the trust. Pupils’ learning is carefully sequenced. Teachers have a strong understanding of the subjects they deliver and the important knowledge that they want pupils to learn.

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

Pupils experience an effectively delivered curriculum that helps them to know and remember more. Pupils can make clear links to prior knowledge across a range of subjects. Their work shows that they use prior learning to do more difficult things. However, on some occasions, teachers move pupils on before their knowledge has been checked. This leads to some pupils not having a secure understanding of what they need to have learned.

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

Those pupils at an early stage of reading get the support they need. Carefully considered assessment is used to decide on the right interventions. This support helps them access all subjects in the curriculum. As a result, these pupils catch up with their peers.

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

The school has rightly placed disadvantaged pupils at the heart of its improvement strategy. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are taught the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. Pupils with SEND receive the support they need. They are increasingly doing well. Further strategies to support disadvantaged pupils have been introduced recently, such as more detailed reviews of targeted support. These are showing positive signs of helping. However, the impact on pupils’ progress over time is not clear.

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

The personal development curriculum is comprehensive and responsive to the needs of the pupils. It takes account of the issues they may face in their day-to-day lives. Pupils learn about topics in an age-appropriate way in their weekly lessons. Staff also seize opportunities in other subjects to help pupils to understand themselves and their impact on others. For example, they discuss online safety, fundamental British values and mental health in ways which help them beyond school. Pupils talk highly of how they have been helped to expand their horizons and become more resilient.

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

Pupils are specifically taught the school values. Pupils actively demonstrate these. They self-regulate well at break and lunchtimes. Leaders have sought to enhance pupils’ experiences at every point during the school day. Pupils appreciate this and know their voice is listened to. They take ownership of making things better for each other. Pupils enjoy coming to school and gladly attend. The school does all it can to remove barriers to attending well and being an active member of the school community.

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

Directors, governors and the trust understand how the school needs to improve. They receive clear information about leaders’ actions. They share the same wholehearted focus on pupils’ development. Leaders at all levels engage with staff on workload and well- being. Staff appreciate the steps taken to support them personally and professionally. 7 and 8 January 2025

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Pupils’ understanding is not always checked well enough before moving on to the next part of the curriculum. As a result, some pupils are not able to build their knowledge effectively over time. The school should ensure that teachers check pupils’ understanding consistently well to enable pupils to build on what they already know.  Some of the processes to support disadvantaged pupils are at the earlier stages of implementation. As a result, the impact of this support for pupils is not yet secure over time or consistently helping them progress through the curriculum. The school should ensure that all actions to help disadvantaged pupils are having the desired impact to prepare them for their next stage of education.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Hill View Junior School, to be good for overall effectiveness in December 2012. 7 and 8 January 2025

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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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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). 7 and 8 January 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 10 and 11 March 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school is part of Vision Learning Trust.  The school uses two alternative provisions for pupils, one of which is unregistered.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspector held discussions with the headteacher, other senior and middle leaders, and the special educational needs coordinator.  The inspector held discussions with the CEO, the chair of directors and members of the local governing board. 7 and 8 January 2025

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 The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspector reviewed the personal, social, health and economic education curriculum plan and spoke with leaders.  The inspector looked at records and spoke to staff in relation to behaviour, bullying and attendance.  A range of documentation was scrutinised, including leaders’ plans to improve the school and their self-evaluation of the school’s work.  The inspector took account of responses to Ofsted’s pupil and staff surveys, as well as Ofsted’s parent survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Richard Wakefield, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 7 and 8 January 2025

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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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