Brentwood School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 4 February 2025

Pupils love attending this school. Their smiles fill the corridors with joy. From when they arrive in Year 7, until they leave the sixth form, pupils are supported and cared for by staff who understand their varied needs and abilities exceptionally well. Pupils thrive here. All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school ensures that this does not limit its ambition for what pupils can achieve. Pupils learn eagerly. They rise to meet the school's high expectations. For many, this includes building the skills that help them to successfully move on to appropriate further education or employment. Pupils learn about and respect each other's differences and feelings. This helps them to treat each other with understanding and kindness. They develop a close bond with staff and firm friendships with their peers. Staff manage any incidents of challenging behaviour effectively to minimise disruption to learning. Pupils benefit from a rich variety of experiences that help them to expand their interests and develop independence. For instance, they enjoy trips to the gym and cinema. Some pupils represent the school in disability sports tournaments. Pupils were proud to showcase their enterprise projects at the recent Christmas market.

What the school should improve

• On occasions, some staff do not make effective use of pupils' assessment information when they design learning. At times, this means that lesson activities do not fully support the intended learning for pupils. This slows the progress that some pupils make towards the objectives in their EHC plans. The school should work with staff to ensure the better use of assessment information so that lesson sequences firmly take into account what pupils already know and can do.

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