Gilded Hollins Community School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 12 July 2023

Pupils at Gilded Hollins Community School are confident and happy. They enjoy attending school each day. The overarching school value of respect emanates from staff and pupils alike. Parents and carers appreciate the efforts of staff to make their children feel welcome. Pupils, and children in the early years, feel safe at school. They say that they have an adult they can talk to if anything is worrying them. Leaders and staff have high expectations of pupils' achievements. Pupils try their best in lessons; they benefit from a high-quality curriculum and achieve well. Staff encourage pupils to have a voice. Pupils enjoy giving their opinions and debating important issues. For example, members of the school council have recently drafted a child-friendly version of leaders' anti-bullying policy for pupils. Pupils understand which behaviours constitute bullying. Leaders deal with incidents of bullying swiftly and effectively. Pupils care for one another. The pupil-run 'kindness corner' provides a quiet space at social times for those who may feel overwhelmed. Staff teach pupils how to behave well. During lessons, pupils display keen attitudes to their learning. The behaviour of most pupils is praiseworthy. Pupils are proud of their many sporting achievements and trophies. A high proportion of pupils participate in a range of extra-curricular clubs. Pupils who attend the gardening club have recently harvested a crop of potatoes. Other pupils gladly join in with ballet, choir and computing club.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, leaders do not check on whether the curriculum is being delivered by staff as intended. From time to time, this hinders leaders in supporting some staff to deliver learning for pupils. Leaders should ensure that subject leaders are equipped well to provide staff with the support that they need to deliver curriculums with confidence.
• In some subjects, leaders have not ensured that teachers use the information available to them to successfully adapt learning for some pupils with SEND. This hinders how well some of these pupils achieve in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that teachers use the information they have about the needs of pupils with SEND to design learning that meets their needs.

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