Hallmoor School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 December 2023

These are very exciting times at Hallmoor School. Inspirational leaders, caring staff and an exciting curriculum are driving improvements. Communication and independence are priorities. This is a community focused on helping young people find their voices and their place in modern-day Birmingham. Relationships are kind, caring and supportive. Pupils were excited to welcome the inspectors into school and to wish them a great day. They told inspectors that 'everyone is welcome at Hallmoor'. Staff act quickly to support when pupils need help to remain calm, regulated or focused. Consequently, behaviour is calm across lessons and at other times. Pupils are happy and content. This is because the school treats pupils with kindness and care. Autism, sensory processing, language, communication and other varying needs could make learning harder for pupils at Hallmoor. However, staff, parents and carers work together to overcome any barriers caused by those needs. Pupils are valued as individuals, and this inspires learning. An impressive range of subject options and school clubs enrich pupils' hobbies and ambitions. The choir is one of many strengths. Here, pupils find their voice, sing tunefully and sign clearly.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, curriculum leaders have not yet had sufficient opportunities to monitor the impact of their new curriculums. This means they are not yet able to know what changes might need to be made to the curriculum or what additional training might be needed for some staff. The school needs to ensure that all subject leaders have the opportunity to review the curriculum's implementation in their subjects so they can evaluate what changes might need to take place.
• In some classes, staff do not consistently implement the school's agreed communication strategies. This means that in some cases, pupils' progress with speech, language and communication needs is limited due to difficulties in understanding the information presented to them by class teams. The school needs to ensure that all staff consistently implement the preferred and agreed communication systems for each child so the pupils can understand and respond to what they are learning in class.
• In some classes, all staff members do not consistently implement the reading curriculum. This limits how quickly pupils learn to read and understand what they have read. The school should ensure that staff have the necessary training and resources to teach reading in ways that quickly give pupils the reading skills and fluency they are capable of attaining.

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