Amberleigh Therapeutic School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 October 2023

Pupils thrive here. Throughout the school, there is a calm, nurturing environment. Before joining the school, pupils experienced difficulties in their social lives and struggled to build healthy relationships. However, the care from the school's therapeutic community helps pupils to overcome these challenges quickly. As a result, pupils build strong positive relationships with their peers and staff. Interactions with staff are warm and positive. Pupils value this. They know who to turn to if they have a concern. Pupils are confident any concerns will be resolved quickly. Leaders are ambitious for pupils. They know that many pupils have, in the past, struggled to manage their own behaviours. Leaders do not use this as an excuse. They set clear expectations for pupils' behaviour as well as their academic success. Pupils strive to meet leaders' high expectations. If pupils misbehave, staff and their peers challenge this in a calm, caring way. Pupils' behaviour rapidly improves during their time at the school. Pupils benefit from an extensive range of opportunities to enhance their wider personal development. The sense of community here is palpable. For example, each day, pupils cook lunch for the entire school community. Pupils take full responsibility for this work and approach this with pride.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, the school has not defined the precise knowledge that pupils will learn. Where this happens, teachers are not clear about the knowledge pupils are expected to learn, and do not always design lessons that support the aims of the curriculum. This holds pupils back. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is equally well planned across all subjects so that the knowledge to be taught is clearly defined.
• Teachers' use of assessment is not always as precise as it ought to be. They do not always identify gaps in pupils' knowledge when they join the school or identify gaps in knowledge as pupils progress through the curriculum. This is a barrier to learning. Leaders should ensure that teachers use assessment skilfully to accurately identify pupils' starting points and carefully monitor their progress through the curriculum.

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