The Nelson Thomlinson School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 17 October 2023

Pupils at The Nelson Thomlinson School are proud to live out the school's values in their everyday actions. They know and demonstrate the key school principles of acting in a responsible, thoughtful and decent manner. The atmosphere around the school is calm and purposeful. Pupils treat each other with respect and politeness. Pupils are safe and happy at this school. The school has high expectations for pupils' achievement. Pupils know that teachers expect them to try their best in lessons. They know that teachers will help them when they are not sure about something that they are learning. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. Sixth- form students also leave school well prepared for the next steps in their education, employment or training. Pupils value the wide range of extra-curricular activities available to them. The enrichment experiences on offer capture most pupils' interests. They include art, drama and music clubs. Pupils also benefit from sports clubs and specialist interest groups, such as chess or writing to a pen pal. Staff nurture pupils' wider talents through these activities and through the programme of personal development. The school is acting more quickly to ensure that incidents of bullying, when they occur, are addressed.

What the school should improve

• The culture of reading is not fully embedded across the school. Furthermore, some pupils in key stage 4 are behind with their reading knowledge. This means that some pupils do not read as widely and often as they could. In key stage 4, some pupils struggle to access the wider curriculum because they lack fluency in reading. The school should foster a culture of reading across the school. It should ensure that those pupils who are behind with their reading in key stage 4 are well supported to catch up quickly.
• The systems that the school, including governors, use to analyse patterns in pupils' attendance are underdeveloped. As a result, the school does not have all the information that it needs to identify and address persistent absence for some groups of pupils. The school, including governors, should refine its systems to monitor pupils' attendance.
• The school does not engage with parents and other stakeholders as effectively as it could. This has resulted in some parents having negative perceptions about how well the school manages pupils' behaviour, including bullying. Leaders, including governors, should reflect more carefully on how they engage with parents, and other stakeholders, to alleviate the concerns that they may have.

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