Minerva Independent School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 6 February 2024

Minerva Independent School is a safe learning environment for pupils who have had a previously disrupted educational experience. The school helps break this pattern. Transition into the school is well planned and managed. Pupils re-engage successfully with their education. They benefit from supportive relationships with staff. Pupils get calm and consistent help with their mental health and well-being. As a result, they attend well and enjoy school. Expectations are high. Pupils are taught by effectively trained staff. The curriculum fills gaps in pupils' learning, particularly in English and mathematics. Pupils enjoy learning. They find their lessons interesting and relevant. This helps them to achieve well. Classrooms are focused. Pupils behave well and take pride in their learning. They maintain this throughout the day. Pupils learn to tell right from wrong, such as through discussing actions and their consequences. They develop kindness and respect. Pupils are friendly and polite with adults. There is a broad programme for personal development. Pupils go on trips to places of worship and the Houses of Parliament. On a trip to the zoo they meet staff and learn about working with animals. Pupils learn about other cultures. These varied experiences prepare them well for life beyond school.

What the school should improve

• In a few areas, the curriculum planning does not precisely connect current with long-term learning. This means pupils sometimes do not make the rich connections they could with prior and future knowledge. Pupils do not build up knowledge quite as well as they otherwise might. The school needs to ensure all parts of the curriculum identify the links between different aspects of learning. This will help pupils develop a richer web of connected knowledge.
• Leaders do not have robust processes in place to check on the quality of all areas of the curriculum. This means they do not always address any areas for improvement as effectively as they might. Leaders need to put in place rigorous quality assurance processes for all areas of the curriculum so that they know which areas need to be improved.

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