Aurora Cedars School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 9 April 2024

Aurora Cedars School is characterised by the warm and trusting relationships between pupils and adults. Staff have carefully created an environment in which pupils are respected, listened to and valued. As a result, pupils feel safe and soon begin to flourish. Pupils joining the school often have had difficult previous experiences and disruption to their education. The school takes time to get to know its pupils and uses the individualised transition period to make sure that it understands exactly what pupils do well and what support they may need. As a result, by the time they attend full time, pupils get the right help from staff, alongside high-quality therapeutic support. The school has begun to adapt its curriculum to better match the needs of pupils. However, in some subjects, curriculum planning and implementation do not match the high ambitions of leaders. As a result, some pupils do not always achieve as well as they could. The school puts pupils' best interests at the heart of what it does. It has developed a strong personal development curriculum that makes sure that pupils are prepared well for their next steps. One pupil summed up the views of many by saying, 'I didn't have a future before I came here, now I have been given the skills and the tools to make a future for myself.'

What the school should improve

• Some areas of the curriculum are not yet fully developed. As a result, teachers are not always clear about the important knowledge that pupils need to know and remember in order to achieve well. The school should develop the subject expertise of all teachers so that they can deliver the curriculum effectively.
• Systems and processes to identify gaps in phonics knowledge on entry are not well established. As a result, some pupils do not receive the support they need to learn to read well. The school should continue to develop systems and processes to identify and support pupils at the early stages of reading so that all pupils can read fluently.
• Some of the areas for development in the quality of education have not been identified and addressed quickly enough. As a result, some pupils do not achieve as well as they could. The proprietor should make sure that leaders at all levels identify and act on any potential issues to make sure that the curriculum is ambitious and meets the needs of all pupils.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)