Harlescott House School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 19 September 2023

Pupils join Harlescott House School after significant periods of disrupted education. Staff understand this and prioritise getting to know the pupils and building strong relationships. This puts pupils at ease and helps them to settle in and feel safe. Pupils are happy to come to school. All pupils have an education, health and care plan (EHC plan). Leaders understand the pupils and ensure that their needs are met right from the start. Pupils learn how to manage their behaviour. When pupils struggle to manage their behaviour, well- trained staff support them to regulate their behaviour effectively. This helps pupils to re-engage in their learning more quickly. The curriculum is carefully designed to allow pupils to learn and succeed. Leaders are ambitious for pupils. Pupils achieve a wide range of academic awards that help build their confidence in subjects across the curriculum. There are a wealth of opportunities for pupils to develop their passions and interests. For example, pupils play golf and learn to prepare a range of meals. They are able to watch the local football team and visit a range of cultural and religious sites. These opportunities help to prepare pupils for life beyond school.

What the school should improve

• Occasionally, teachers plan learning activities that are not well matched to what the pupils need to learn. When this happens, pupils can struggle to understand and achieve the intended learning. Leaders should ensure that teachers match learning activities precisely to what they want pupils to learn to enable them to successfully achieve the desired learning.
• While leaders are ambitious for pupils, this is not fully evident in the curriculum content and sequencing in some subject areas. As a result, pupils' learning does not always build purposefully towards ambitious end points. Leaders should continue to refine the curriculum so that ambitious end points are clearly identified in every subject to help pupils achieve their full potential.

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