Tudor Grange Primary Academy Hockley Heath

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Tudor Grange Primary Academy Hockley Heath continues to be a good school.

The principal of this school is Louise Porter. This school is part of Tudor Grange Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Claire Maclean, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Peter Rock.

There is also an executive principal, Sarah Deakin, who is responsible for this school and three others.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their learning at this school. They feel happy and safe in school.

One pupil commented, 'Teachers are good at this school. We can... go to them with any problems or worries and they will help. Lessons are fun.'



The school has high aspirations for all pupils to achieve their potential. Pupils work hard and reach these high expectations. This includes those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and the disadvantaged.

The school expects these groups of pupils to achieve as well as all other pupils.

Pupils have many responsibilities which help them to grow in confidence and independence as they progress through school. They care for others, have high ambition and have a sense of purpose.

The curriculum extends beyond the academic. Pupils go on many visits. They take part in a wide range of clubs.

Many pupils take part in sporting competitions.

Pupils behave well in lessons and around school. Pupils know and follow the behaviour rules.

They agree they are fair. Staff consistently apply the behaviour rewards and penalties policy. Pupils and staff agree that behaviour has improved.

If pupils sense unfairness about behaviour rules they speak with staff. The staff listen and make appropriate changes.

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

Children get off to a superb start to their education in the early years.

The nursery and Reception classrooms are magical places where children learn and play. Staff focus well on the development of communication skills and early language. Children interact well with staff.

This enables children to make good progress in the early years.

Reading is a high priority in this school. Recently, the school introduced a new scheme for the teaching of phonics.

Staff received high-quality initial training to deliver it. Pupils are now reading with fluency and confidence. Staff help any children falling behind in their phonics to catch up rapidly.

The lower phonics outcomes last year are now a thing of the past. Adults encourage pupils to read with expression. Storytime brings texts to life for pupils.

The books read by staff and their classes are diverse and well matched to pupils' interests. Staff make links to other subject areas while reading.

The curriculum is well planned, progressive and sequenced.

It identifies what pupils should know and be able to do in each year group and each subject. This is helping pupils to know and remember more as they progress through school. Opportunities exist for pupils to recall prior learning or deepen their thinking in all subjects.

However, sometimes opportunities to extend pupils' knowledge of vocabulary go unexplored in some subjects. The school has worked hard on improving mathematics. In lessons, pupils have opportunities to develop their fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills.

A few pupils are unsure of key mathematical knowledge, which hinders their learning.

Pupils with SEND are well identified in school. They benefit from the quality support received for their extra needs.

The support is helping pupils with SEND to thrive in their learning. The school works well with external agencies to provide any specialist support needed.

Attendance is high priority at this school.

There is robust oversight of pupils' attendance. It is closely tracked and analysed. The school then uses a wide range of strategies to support and encourage regular attendance.

Likewise, behaviour incidents are forensically analysed to identify and act on any emerging trends.

There are many opportunities for pupils to widen their development beyond the classroom. Recently, pupils who are 'agents for change' organised a successful cultural day.

This celebrated the diverse range of cultural backgrounds of pupils. Staff and pupils speak about it with a sense of pride and achievement. Pupils are respectful and tolerant of those who are different.

Pupils understand fundamental British values and know how they help them to live their lives.

The school is well led and managed. Governors and trustees understand and fully undertake their responsibilities.

The school receives effective levels of support and challenge from the trust. The school is considerate of staff workload and mindful of staff well-being. The school provides more support when requested.

The school has a good relationship with parents. A parent commented, 'A lovely local school, full of children from the village. Fabulous staff, learning resources and events! I would recommend this school to anyone in the local area.'

This comment is typical.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some pupils do not have a clear enough understanding of key knowledge and vocabulary in some subjects.

This reduces their ability to remember and successfully build on what they have learned previously. The school should place greater emphasis on fully embedding key knowledge and making sure that pupils understand important subject vocabulary.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

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 would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which 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.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2014.

Also at this postcode