New Horizons Learning Centre

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 20 February 2024

The priority at New Horizons Learning Centre is to support pupils to learn how to manage their social, emotional and mental health needs. Many pupils have struggled to cope in mainstream settings due to the complexity of these needs. Parents and carers speak highly of the transformation they see in their children once they settle and understand the school's expectations. Parents describe how well staff understand their child and how enthusiastic staff are to ensure that pupils are well prepared for their next steps. The school works hard to do everything possible to ensure that pupils develop a sense of self and are optimistic for their futures. Pupils enjoy school, particularly practical activities such as science experiments and art projects. At times, incidents of challenging behaviour occur. Staff manage these in a calm and consistent way. At the heart of the school's long-term aim is to support pupils to learn how to cope with their anxieties and how to communicate positively. Pupils recognise that, over time, staff do all they can to help them to learn how to become independent, confident young people.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the curriculum does not clearly set out what the vital components of learning are in order to meet the ambitious learning goals set. This makes it hard for staff to ensure that pupils learn and remember the most important parts of the curriculum. The school needs to identify the key learning in each subject and for each year group.
• The school has prioritised the development of a phonics curriculum. However, the reading curriculum beyond phonics is not as well developed. It is not clear how pupils will improve their understanding of what they read. The school needs to ensure that the reading curriculum goes beyond phonics and develops pupils' comprehension skills.

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