Holme Court School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 1 July 2025

Many pupils join Holme Court with negative previous experiences of education. Clear and precise induction processes ensure the school quickly helps pupils to settle in. Pupils behave well and are very happy here. They arrive eager to start the day and begin learning. Pupils value staff taking the time to know and understand them as individuals. This helps to motivate pupils to work hard during their lessons. Pupils develop both their independence and resilience. They keep going even when they find work difficult. This ensures pupils achieve well and reach the high expectations the school has of them. Pupils value the wider opportunities the school provides for them. Visits to the pantomime, outdoor pursuits centres or a local animal shelter help to enrich the curriculum on offer. In-school sessions, such as workshops from West End performers, help to ignite pupils' interests and ambitions for their future. Pupils develop a strong sense of why supporting those who are less fortunate than them is important. Litter picking in the park, or fundraising to purchase a community defibrillator, are examples of this. All of this instils the immense pride pupils feel as members of the Holme Court family.

What the school should improve

• In a few subjects, the school has not precisely identified the important knowledge pupils need to learn or the order they need to learn it in. In these subjects, pupils do not build on their knowledge or make links between prior learning and current learning as well as they do in others. The school should ensure it clearly identifies the knowledge pupils need to learn, and the order they need to learn it in, across all subjects.
• The school, and the proprietor, have not established a systematic approach to evaluate the impact of its work across key areas. This means leaders do not consistently have the information they need on where to target future school improvement priorities. The proprietor should ensure there are clear systems in place to accurately evaluate all areas of the school's work. This is so leaders at all levels better understand where improvements need to be made.

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