Clervaux Garden School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 26 November 2024

Clervaux Garden School is set in extensive grounds. These are used effectively in order to give pupils daily opportunities to work the land, care for the animals and reconnect to nature and themselves. Pupils, who all have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have often not been in education for a considerable time prior to starting at the school. Staff recognise that this presents pupils with challenges as they re-enter education. They seek to find individual pupil's interests, then create learning around them. Pupils have many and varied opportunities to access a vast range of activities. These include working with the farm animals, growing and harvesting the crops, working in the blacksmith's forge or learning to make pottery. Staff are caring. They build positive relationships with pupils. Pupils say that they feel safe here and all adults in the school understand them well. The school's practical, skills and therapeutic education (PSTE) curriculum is used effectively in order to promote pupils' self-confidence. When pupils are ready, they then access academic learning. Pupils behave exceptionally well here. They recognise the importance of listening and following rules in order to use the tools in the farm or craft areas. At times, if pupils are finding it hard to manage their behaviour, staff are highly skilled in utilising the outside space to help pupils to calm and refocus.

What the school should improve

• Some pupils at the earliest stages of learning to read do not get sufficient opportunities to overcome gaps in their reading knowledge. This means that they lack fluency in reading and do not make swift progress. The school should ensure that it puts in place an effective programme of support to help these pupils achieve greater success.
• In some subjects, the school has not identified how important academic knowledge will be taught coherently through the school's chosen curriculum model. This means that the intended curriculum is not always implemented as leaders intend and gaps in pupil's knowledge are not checked. The school should ensure that the curriculum in all subjects specifies what pupils should learn and that lessons are designed to support pupils to build up academic knowledge as effectively as other knowledge taught through the wider curriculum.

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