Cedar Hall School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 January 2025

Pupils are settled and happy at this school. It is a welcoming and inclusive environment in which to learn. Adults take the time to get to know pupils well. Pupils look forward to seeing their friends. They enjoy chatting to staff and each other during their social times. Staff are patient and clear in their expectations. Pupils respond well to this, paying close attention to what staff say in lessons. They behave sensibly around the school site. The school is ambitious for pupils. It wants them to do well academically and socially. However, the curriculum does not support pupils well enough to realise these ambitions. Pupils have access to a range of qualifications such as entry level certificates and GCSEs. The school is developing further its vocational offer. The school ensures pupils are well prepared for adulthood. Pupils learn how to cook and how to seek help from the emergency services should they need to. They access residential overnight stays and learn how to navigate everyday life, such as ordering food in restaurants. Older pupils lead assemblies and undertake work experience. Pupils make the most of opportunities available to them, including servicing the school's car and feeding the animals.

What the school should improve

• Some areas of the curriculum are in the early stages of development. Where this is the case, it is unclear how pupils build secure knowledge over time. This means pupils do not develop or retain an understanding of important knowledge in those subjects. The school needs to press ahead with its work to improve the curriculum and its delivery, considering when and how pupils will build on their knowledge over time.
• Adaptations to the curriculum and teaching lack precision. The information gained through assessment does not sufficiently indicate to teachers the gaps in pupils' knowledge. This hampers teachers' ability to build upon what pupils know and can do. Sometimes, pupils are not told what they need to do to improve. The school needs to ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to assess pupils' understanding effectively, thus helping pupils to improve their progress through the curriculum.
• There is variation in the expertise of leaders and therefore how effectively they undertake their roles. Consequently, their oversight of their areas is developing. The school needs to support leaders, developing their expertise so that they fulfil their roles effectively.
• Governors are not sufficiently holding school leaders to account for their decision- making and the quality of provision that pupils receive. In some circumstances they have not paid due regard to certain aspects of government guidance, nor undertaken all their monitoring duties, such as ensuring the website publishes the information that parents need to access. The governing body needs to revisit how it discharges its core responsibilities, so it holds leaders to account effectively.

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