Herefordshire Pupil Referral Service

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 6 December 2022

Pupils say that attending Herefordshire Pupil Referral service has transformed their life. They value the small group setting, the respectful environment and how well they are prepared for their next steps in education. Leaders are determined that their pupils will leave the school able to flourish. Pupils try their best to meet these expectations. Pupils join this school because they have experienced difficulties in the past. They settle in quickly and soon start to do well. Pupils say that the school is welcoming of them and that staff understand them well. As a result, pupils say that they are accepting of each other's differences. They say that bullying does not happen because staff deal with any concerns they may have. Pupils behave well in lessons. They want to do their best. Staff act quickly when pupils experience difficulties and pupils are confident to ask for help. Pupils contribute to their local community. Pupils at key stage 3 hold weekly coffee mornings and events with older neighbours. Pupils at key stage 4 support people with learning disabilities at the local Aspire Centre and some pupils work in the community café. Pupils value these experiences.

What the school should improve

• In some subject areas, the curriculum is not as well sequenced as it needs to be. This means that, in some subjects, the gaps in pupils' knowledge are not always addressed quickly enough. Leaders should make sure that the curriculum is well planned and sequenced in all subject areas.
• There is not a systematic reading programme in place to support pupils to become more proficient readers. This means that some pupils do not develop their reading fluency or reading comprehensions skills and so they do not do as well as they could in subjects across the curriculum. Leaders should develop and implement a suitable programme for improving reading for pupils who need this help.

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