Pield Heath House RC School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 13 July 2022

Leaders and staff strive to support all pupils to reach their potential. They help pupils to gain the tools they need to lead successful adult lives. Leaders ensure that teaching, therapeutic and behavioural teams work in tandem to meet pupils' bespoke goals. Pupils enjoy coming to school and making friends. They care for each other. For example, pupils openly applauded their classmates when they succeeded in a challenging task. Pupils are safe. They appreciate the strong and trusting working relationships they build with adults. This gives them a sense of security. Well-trained staff help pupils to understand their feelings and the impact of their actions on others. Should bullying occur, for example, staff take a restorative approach. They support everyone involved to develop strategies for improved social interactions. Pupils benefit from opportunities that give them a sense of community and belonging. All pupils celebrate their birthdays with their peers, teachers and support staff. Some sixth-form students organise meals in a restaurant to celebrate their birthdays. Pupils marked and celebrated the recent Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Sixth- form students worked together on preparing a leavers' prom. Pupils raise funds for charity, such as by organising coffee mornings.

What the school should improve

• Not enough staff have the expertise and resources they need to deliver the school's phonics programme effectively. This means that pupils who are at the stage of learning to read using phonics are not supported to become confident and fluent readers as quickly as they could. Leaders should ensure that enough staff gain the expertise to teach phonics effectively and that the books they give pupils to practise their reading are well matched to the sounds they know.

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