Holland Park School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 20 January 2026

This school is a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment where all pupils thrive. Leaders have an unwavering belief in ambition for everyone. Pupils understand that staff want the best for them. Across all year groups, pupils keenly describe the sense of belonging that permeates the school. There have been significant improvements at the school since it joined the United Learning Trust in January 2023. Pupils and staff speak about the culture shift that has happened and why they feel happy to come to school. Pupils build very respectful, working relationships with each other and with staff. Pupils learn to be responsible and reflect on their own actions. Staff and pupils value the restorative approach to behaviour, which results in a culture of kindness and care. Pupils feel safe and trust adults with any concerns or worries that they might have, knowing that staff will address these effectively and swiftly. This results in very positive behaviour and exemplary attitudes to learning. The school has extremely high expectations for pupils' attendance at school. Leaders follow up any absence robustly. This results in very high levels of attendance. Across the school and sixth form, pupils are eager to succeed. Pupils are highly motivated by their lessons and by the extensive range of enrichment activities on offer. There is a very strong focus on pupils' personal development. Staff teach pupils about the importance of topics such as mental wellbeing and consent. Pupils know that their voice matters and that staff will support them when they face challenges. Pupils, and students in the post-16 provision, benefit from a high-quality curriculum. This is delivered with consistent precision and skill by well-trained staff. Teachers are very well informed about pupils’ individual needs. This helps to ensure they make appropriate adaptations to teaching and resources. As a result, pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or have additional barriers to their learning achieve highly. Pupils are rightly proud of their work, especially in Art, where the outcomes are particularly impressive.

What the school should improve

• Leaders and those responsible for governance should sustain the effectiveness of their work in all areas. They should seek continued improvement, overcoming barriers and challenges, in order to drive a transformational impact for all pupils. This includes disadvantaged pupils, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are known (or previously known) to children's social care, and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.

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