Gillford Centre

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 19 January 2023

Pupils told inspectors that the Gillford Centre is a safe place where staff look after them well. If pupils have any worries, they know that an adult will always help them. The large majority of pupils enjoy coming to school. Pupils benefit from the positive relationships that they have with their teachers and support staff. Teachers help pupils to learn more successfully and to improve their behaviour when they join the school. Leaders and other staff expect pupils to work hard and behave well. Most pupils meet these expectations, which helps them to achieve well. Pupils' behaviour in class and around school is mainly good. Sometimes, pupils misbehave, which is typically because of their needs. This can result in their learning being interrupted. However, teachers have effective ways of managing pupils' behaviour and calmly bringing them back to their work again. Bullying sometimes happens. When it does, leaders are good at sorting it out. Pupils have opportunities to enjoy many activities that help to broaden their experiences. For example, they visit places of interest, such as a local fire station or a Buddhist temple. They can take part in competitive sport when they play football against neighbouring schools. They also enjoy hikes in the nearby countryside.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, leaders have not been clear enough in deciding what pupils will learn and in which order they will learn it. As a result, pupils do not build up their knowledge as strongly as possible. Leaders should ensure that the knowledge that pupils need to acquire in these subjects and the order in which staff will teach it are carefully designed so that pupils' learning develops securely.
• A few pupils for whom reading is difficult find their reading books too hard to read fluently. This is because teachers have not provided these pupils with reading books that match their knowledge of phonics. Leaders should ensure that teachers give these pupils reading books that are aligned more closely to their phonics knowledge so that they can become fluent and accurate readers.

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