Richmond Hill School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 25 March 2025

Every pupil at this school is valued as an individual. Staff know pupils really well and adapt what they are doing in class or elsewhere to help them be calm and happy. Pupils feel safe and can name people they would go to if they were upset or worried. All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). There is a strong focus on developing pupils' ability to communicate. Both verbal and non-verbal pupils make use of symbols to help them share their desires and needs. Many pupils also use these at home, and families value the increased ability to understand what their children want to say to them. The school also ensures that there are high ambitions for pupils academically, with an emphasis on learning to read for those who are ready to do so. If pupils need to leave the classroom when frustrated or upset, they have choices about where they go. If pupils find it hard to be with other pupils on a regular basis, staff take the learning to them. Many pupils develop strong social skills and become able to work as a group. All this means that the school is a settled and happy place.

What the school should improve

• There are some occasions where pupils are not given enough time to process what they have been taught or have been asked to do, before adults either step in to help or move on to the next activity. This means that, sometimes, pupils do not learn as well or are not as independent as they could be in those activities. The school needs to ensure that all staff have the skills to identify which pupils could be greater challenged and give pupils opportunities to process information and what they have been taught, so that they can demonstrate what they have learned and can do.
• In a small number of subjects, the way that staff use their knowledge of what pupils already know and plan for the detailed, sequenced steps towards the next learning is at an early stage. This means that pupils' learning in those subjects is sometimes not sequenced in the best order to help them learn. The school needs to ensure staff identify precisely what knowledge pupils need before moving on to the new learning and organise this in an order that supports pupils' learning effectively in all subjects.

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