The Lioncare School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 5 November 2024

The Lioncare school provides pupils with a fresh and welcoming start when they join. Many pupils have experienced a disrupted education in the past. Consequently, they struggle to trust adults to provide the help they need. Kind, nurturing staff quickly forge caring, professional relationships with pupils. The school works in partnership with parents, carers and professionals to provide consistency of care. Pupils quickly learn that making mistakes are opportunities to learn. As they settle into school life, they grow in confidence and ambition, excited for their potential in the future. Staff have high expectations of what pupils will achieve. Pupils learn important life skills such as independent travel, being safe in the community and learning to cook healthy meals. Learning outside of the classroom helps pupils to learn important skills such as growing food or recording music in a local music studio. The school works extremely well with parents and carers and professionals. This ensures that pupils receive the specific help and education they need to support their well-being and development. Staff treat pupils with the upmost dignity and respect. Pupils have the space and support that they need to regulate their feelings. Most pupils behave well because, generally, staff are consistent and clear in their expectations.

What the school should improve

• Staff are not always aware of the gaps in pupils' literacy knowledge and skills. This means that pupils do not always receive the additional help that they need to learn to read well. The school must ensure that all staff have the knowledge and information they need to develop pupils' literacy skills to enable all pupils to access the full curriculum.
• Some teachers do not adapt learning to meet the specific needs of some pupils. As a result, these pupils do learn as much as they could. The school must ensure that staff have the expertise they need to structure learning so that all pupils learn and achieve well.
• The school does not consistently review and share updated school policies in a timely way. This means some parents and carers are not provided with the most up-to-date information that they need about their child's provision. The school must ensure that the processes for reviewing and sharing policies are systematic, to enable all stakeholders to be aware of the school's processes and systems.

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