Stafford Hall School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 10 March 2026

Staff at Stafford Hall School greet pupils warmly each morning. Clear lines of communication between staff and pupils' chaperones, taxi drivers and parents and carers help to ensure that pupils are safe. All pupils at the school have an education, health and care plan. Pupils have various special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff effectively support and tailor the curriculum to pupils' learning needs. This allows pupils to enjoy their learning. Pupils make progress from their very individual starting points. These bespoke pathways support pupils to be ready for the next stage of their learning journey. Positive relationships between pupils and staff are integral to ensuring that pupils have a sense of belonging. Lunchtime is a joyful experience. Staff and pupils eat alongside each other. Adults engage in purposeful conversation, using every opportunity to reinforce the school’s behaviour expectations. Adults skilfully help pupils to manage their own behaviour. They intervene sensitively to support pupils to make suitable choices. The school provides pupils with a safe sensory space. For example, the environment has equipment such as soft crash mats, large inflatable exercise balls and textured materials. It effectively supports pupils to manage sensory overload, reduce anxiety and improve focus. Pupils understand the different forms of bullying, including cyber-bullying, and have adults they trust who they would talk to. Most pupils attend regularly. They take an active role in shaping and improving the school environment. For example, pupils are planning to design an accessible garden area for use at social times. This begins to foster leadership and responsibility. Pupils enjoy using the library in the outdoor space. It contains books that appeal to all reading levels. For example, it includes picture books, current authors and non-fiction texts. This promotes pupils' love of reading.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should continue to review and adapt their strategies to improve pupils’ attendance.
• Leaders should further improve the implementation of their handwriting curriculum to ensure that all pupils write with increased accuracy.
• Leaders should continue their work to ensure that staff's expertise in phonics teaching develops, to further support pupils who are at the early stages of reading and writing.

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