Hagley Primary School

Hagley Primary School

Address: Park Road, Hagley, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY9 0NS Unique reference number (URN): 116678

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Personal development and wellbeing Exceptional

The school's work to develop pupils as confident, caring and responsible young people is remarkable. It reaches every pupil, including those who need it most. Pupils grow in maturity from the very start. The programme for personal, social and health education is taught with real skill and builds carefully, and precisely, year on year. The youngest children learn to talk sensibly about their bodies and feelings. This develops so that by the time they leave, pupils discuss equality, difference, relationships and growing up with striking maturity and respect. Pupils value learning about these topics in ways that are appropriate. Pupils speak knowledgably about difference, saying that kindness and respect are for everyone. Parents and carers are kept well informed about this learning. Pupils' high engagement is palpable.

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Personal development and wellbeing Exceptional

Pastoral care is a standout feature. The school's therapeutic approach to pupils' wellbeing is embedded, externally recognised and shared with other schools. Support is tailored to individual pupils, drawing on significant staff expertise. Staff support pupils living with loss, trauma or other difficult circumstances exceptionally well. Pupils are supported to understand and manage their feelings so that they not only cope but flourish. Families describe children who once struggled as now arriving at school happy. Clubs, trips and experiences are wide ranging and, importantly, deliberately designed so that no pupil misses out. Leaders provide special opportunities for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These include archery, outdoor education sessions and dance. The proportion of pupils participating in and benefiting from these sessions is high.

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Personal development and wellbeing Exceptional

Pupils take on meaningful leadership, standing for election to a wide range of roles through a structured democratic process with speeches and secret ballots. Pupils understand that leadership means serving others. The school's outdoor play approach has transformed breaktimes into a calm, inclusive and imaginative part of the day, shaped by pupils' own ideas and enjoyed across year groups. Together, these experiences prepare pupils extremely well for the next stage of their education and for life in modern Britain.

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Achievement Strong standard

Pupils achieve well. By the end of Year 6, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is above the national average, with a significant number of pupils reaching the higher standard. Children in the early years and pupils across the school build secure foundations, and pupils leave well prepared for secondary school.

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Achievement Strong standard

Pupils' work shows that their knowledge and skills are developing well over time, often to a high standard. Pupils talk confidently and knowledgably about their learning. Staff's targeted support for pupils has a clear impact. Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make positive gains through the curriculum from their starting points. Pupils who struggle with their learning catch up, over time, to reach the standard expected for their age.

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Achievement Strong standard

The school's disadvantaged pupils are a small group, and many face additional barriers to learning. Staff support pupils well. Leaders keep a close eye on any gaps in pupils' knowledge and act on these promptly. Pupils achieve well and are prepared for each next stage of their education.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Pupils' attendance is above the national average. It has improved over time, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, whose attendance now exceeds the national figure and whose persistent absence has fallen markedly. Leaders track pupils' attendance daily. They understand the reasons behind each pupil's absence and combine high expectations with warm, personalised support. Some pupils face significant barriers to regular attendance. The school's flexible arrangements, pastoral help and a welcoming environment have helped these pupils to attend more regularly. They consider school to be a safe place where they want to be.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Pupils' behaviour is a real strength. The school is calm, orderly and purposeful. Pupils are respectful, kind and welcoming. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. Low- level disruption is rare. They understand the school's shared high expectations and pupils live up to them. Where a pupil needs extra help to manage their behaviour, leaders work closely with families and other professionals with success.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders have built a broad and ambitious curriculum, and they have thought carefully about the order in which knowledge is taught so that pupils build on what they already know. Since the last inspection, leaders have developed each curriculum subject in its own right while making deliberate links between those subjects so that pupils connect their learning across the curriculum.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Reading is a high priority. Skilled staff teach phonics consistently and well. They check often what pupils know and can do. Teachers make sure that those pupils who need to catch up to where they are expected to be, including some older pupils, practise their reading skills regularly. Pupils develop a genuine love of reading. Teachers adapt their teaching and classroom resources skilfully so that pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, take a full part in lessons alongside their classmates.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Teachers know their curriculum subjects well. Leaders check carefully that the curriculum is taught as it is intended. Staff receive high-quality training to keep their expertise up to date. Work in pupils' books across a wide range of curriculum subjects shows the breadth and suitable challenge of the curriculum offered. Pupils take pride in their work.

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Early years Strong standard

Leaders have created a warm, well-organised early years where children get off to a secure start. Following the opening of the school's nursery, leaders have closely aligned the Nursery and Reception so that children experience a smooth transition from one to the next. Staff receive high-quality joint training and share high expectations across both year groups. Leaders continue to improve the provision through their own careful evaluation.

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Early years Strong standard

The curriculum is carefully sequenced across the two years, with a strong emphasis on developing children's communication, language and vocabulary. Staff communicate with children skilfully, modelling rich language and the art of conversation. Staff extend children's play without taking it over. A shared system of signs and pictures helps every child to communicate and participate, including those who need additional support with their learning.

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Early years Strong standard

Reading and early writing are taught well. The outdoor area is used purposefully, with children developing independence, confidence and resilience. Children share, take turns and talk eagerly about what they are learning. Children settle well into Nursery. Staff manage children's transitions carefully to Reception and then on to key stage 1.This helps children to be fully prepared for each stage of their learning.

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Early years Strong standard

Care arrangements, including those for children with medical needs, are appropriate and well established. Staff ensure that every child takes full part in school life. Children who are disadvantaged or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified early and supported well to achieve highly.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Staff know their pupils very well. They are quick to recognise when a pupil needs extra help and they put support in place swiftly, seeking professional advice when needed. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), those who are disadvantaged and those known to social care learn the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. Those pupils who need additional support in lessons receive extra help from staff, short movement or calming breaks or specific resources. These adaptations work well.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders use the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils thoughtfully, aiming to provide support for learning or widen their experiences in the way which will benefit this group of pupils the most effectively. Targeted use of this funding to improve the attendance of disadvantaged pupils resulted in their attendance rate rising to above the national average and continuing to improve.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Pupils who are, or have been, in care are fully included in school life and receive relevant support, where it is required. The school's small specialist group helps pupils who found starting school very difficult to settle back into learning before returning to their class. Leaders remain ambitious for every pupil, and they know that helping disadvantaged pupils to write as well as their classmates is where their focus now lies.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders know their school's strengths, understand its community well and have clear systems to check how well their actions are making a positive difference. Leaders set high expectations for all pupils and staff alike. Their work over time to further develop and enhance the curriculum has impacted positively on staff expertise and pupils' achievement. Leaders are visible and approachable so that parents, carers and pupils can get to know them well. Staff are proud to work here. They feel well supported and value the opportunities that they are given to further develop. This includes accessing high-quality training and gaining qualifications that help them grow professionally. Leaders are mindful of workload and wellbeing. They adjust demands where they can. Staff describe being part of a genuine team. Leaders have also invested in developing expertise across the school so that responsibility is shared widely and school improvements are sustained. Leaders and staff

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

increasingly support other schools. This reflects the school's strengths and capacity to share their effective practice.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Those responsible for governance are knowledgeable and rigorous. They use the progress of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities as the primary measure for their monitoring. Governors ensure that they fully understand any information that they receive from school leaders. They offer both support and challenge to leaders and review their own effectiveness honestly. They commission external checks on their work to ensure its impact on school improvement is tangible. The local authority holds the school in high regard.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils are happy at this school, and they feel safe. They arrive each morning settled and ready to learn, they are greeted warmly by staff, and they get on quickly with their early morning tasks. Pupils are polite, confident and welcoming, stopping in corridors to say good morning and to check if visitors need anything. They are proud of their school. When asked what they like best, many say they enjoy learning across the curriculum.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy a wide range of curriculum subjects and talk enthusiastically about their reading, educational visits and lessons. They read widely and often, and they make progress through the curriculum from their different starting points. Pupils speak with excitement about finishing reading one book and choosing the next. Pupils who need extra help to read, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are supported well and catch up quickly to their peers. By the time they leave, pupils are very well prepared for secondary school.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils belong here. They form warm friendships across year groups and older pupils look out for younger ones. Pupils take on many roles, from ambassadors to prefects. They understand that these jobs are about being responsible and helping others. Break times, through the school's outdoor play approach, are calm, active and imaginative. Whether building in the mud kitchen, playing table tennis, or making crafts together, pupils describe these as among the best parts of the day. Pupils who need the most support, including those known to social care, are cared for with real skill and remain fully part of school life.

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Lead inspector:

Aliki Constantopoulou, His Majesty's Inspector

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Team inspectors:

Russell Hinton, Ofsted Inspector Sally Snooks, Ofsted Inspector Heather Simpson, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

Pupils behave well in lessons, around school and at play. They say that bullying is rare, but if it did happen, adults deal with it. Pupils feel listened to, are treated fairly and feel valued. Pupils attend regularly, and those who once found school difficult, now want to attend.

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Next steps

Leaders and those responsible for governance should continue their effective work in monitoring and adapting provision for disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and vulnerable pupils so that gaps in achievement, particularly in writing, continue to close over time.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

The chair of the board of governors in this school is Rebecca Core.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with governors, including the chair of the governing body. They spoke with the headteacher and other school leaders, staff and pupils, and parents and carers.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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About this inspection

The school opened its own nursery in September 2025.

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About this inspection

Headteacher: Vanessa Payne This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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About this inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 30 June 2026

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational needs support at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English indices of deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (final) 80% 74% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (final) 38% 47% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 33% 44% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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national average

2024/25 (final) 63% 63% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (final) 67% 60% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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average

2024/25 (final) 63% 59% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

2024/25 (final) 50% 61% Close to average

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average

2022/23 (final) 50% 59% Close to average

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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