School Hawthorn Primary School is in Llandaff North in Cardiff. There are currently 270 pupils on roll aged 3 to 11, including 61 children who attend the nursery part-time. There are seven single-age classes from reception to Year 6. The rolling average of pupils eligible for free school meals over the last three years is around 24%. This is above the national average of 19%. The school identifies 25% of pupils as having additional learning needs. This is slightly above the national average of 21%. Most pupils speak English as a first language and very few speak Welsh at home. A few pupils come from a minority ethnic background. A very few pupils speak English as an additional language. The headteacher took up his post in September 2013. The last inspection was in March 2010. Further information is available from the Welsh Government My Local School website at the link below. http://mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk/Schools/SchoolSearch?lang=en 1 A report on Hawthorn Primary School January 2018 Summary The school provides a warm, nurturing environment for pupils. It gives high levels of care so that nearly all pupils feel safe and happy. Pupils make varying degrees of progress as they move through the school, although many achieve good standards in Years 2 and 6. Most pupils with additional learning needs make good progress from their starting points, but pupils of higher ability do not achieve as much as they could. Although there is some good teaching, the overall quality of teaching is adequate and needs improvement. Throughout the school, there are inconsistencies in teachers’ expectations about what pupils can achieve. In the foundation phase, approaches to teaching and learning vary too much in their effectiveness. Across the school, staff provide many interesting learning experiences that pupils enjoy, particularly the wide range of topics that they study, but there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to learn independently. The headteacher has a clear vision for the school that staff and governors share. The senior leadership team identifies relevant areas for improvement accurately and there have been recent improvements in important aspects of the school’s provision. However, leaders do not challenge shortcomings in the quality of teaching and learning robustly enough. Inspection area Judgement Standards Adequate and needs improvement Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Good Teaching and learning experiences Adequate and needs improvement Care, support and guidance Good Leadership and management Adequate and needs improvement 2 A report on Hawthorn Primary School January 2018 Recommendations R1 Improve the progress and standards achieved by more able pupils throughout the school R2 Increase all pupils’ capacity for independent learning across the curriculum R3 Develop the confidence and skills of leaders at all levels to challenge shortcomings in the quality of teaching and learning R4 Ensure consistency in the application of the principles and practices of the foundation phase What happens next The school will draw up an action plan, which shows how it is going to address the recommendations. Estyn will review the school’s progress.