Horizon School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 June 2023

Pupils who come to Horizon are re-engaged in education and learn how to behave in the classroom. Most pupils successfully return to mainstream schools after their time in the school. They benefit from comprehensive liaison with their schools, supporting staff to know how to help them behave. Pupils at the Dragonfly unit are well supported to continue with their secondary or post-16 education. Pupils feel welcomed and valued. They enjoy coming to the education unit. Pupils successfully continue learning, including sitting the GCSEs that they would have been doing in their mainstream school. Pupils learn core content in English and mathematics to fill gaps they have in previous learning. The curriculum includes other subjects, such as science, but the way that pupils learn about different cultures or ways of life is not as well planned out. Pupils on the secondary site currently have limited access to physical education due to site limitations. Pupils are mostly well behaved. There are a very small number of pupils who still struggle to control their behaviour. However, behaviour is much improved from in the past. The number of suspensions has dropped substantially. Pupils are in class and learning.

What the school should improve

• The planned curriculum varies in quality between subjects and sections of the school. It does not ensure that all pupils experience a broad and balanced curriculum in their time at the school. It does not allow for pupils who spend a longer period at the school than the standard timeframe. This means that pupils do not all receive a good-quality education. Leaders need to ensure that the curriculum is complete, and that staff have the skills to deliver it.
• Staff are not trained in delivering a phonics programme. This means that pupils experience weak modelling of phonics and there is not a high-quality catch-up programme for older pupils who are at the early stages of reading. Leaders need to ensure that the new phonics programme is fully embedded, and that staff are adequately trained in its delivery.
• Some members of staff are too quick to help pupils with their work. Some pupils are not developing their ability to work independently without an adult as well as they should. Leaders need to make sure that staff teach pupils the strategies to begin to complete work with less help.

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