Chesterfield Special School 'working hard to address challenges' after Ofsted inspection finds it still requires improvement

The inspection of Holly House Special School at Church Street North in Old Whittington was carried out in January and concluded that the school ‘requires improvement’ across all categories.

The school rating has remained the same since the last Ofsted inspection in April 2019.

The report, published on February 16 said: “Most pupils enjoy school and say they feel safe. Parents and carers are positive about the school. Some say the close relationships that staff build with their children are important to them. However, some parents would like to be more informed about the progress their children make.

“Although behaviour is starting to improve, it is not yet good. The number of low level incidents is high. Pupils’ learning is sometimes disrupted as a result. Leaders have recently provided more support to help teachers manage behaviour. Leaders do not tolerate bullying and act quickly to resolve it when it happens.

“The leadership team is relatively new to their role. Leaders have not had sufficient time to make the necessary improvements. While they are working at pace to improve the school, there is still much to do.”

Inspectors highlighted several areas that needs to improve, including the curriculum and behaviour.

The report said: “The curriculum does not consistently identify precisely what pupils need to learn and by when in all subjects. Pupils do not always get the chance to build on what they have learned before. A consistent approach to teaching early reading is not in place for those who are at the early stages of learning to read. Books do not always match the sounds that pupils know.

"Some pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning are not appropriate. Some engage in low-level disruption. This behaviour has a negative impact on other pupils’ learning.

“Some elements of the personal, social, health education (PSHE) programme and spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) curriculum are not taught in sufficient depth to ensure that pupils develop a secure understanding of the different topics that they study. Pupils are not yet gaining as strong an understanding of sex education, careers education and other cultures and faiths as they could.”

Headteacher Marc Hughes said: “I welcome the findings of the report and we’re working hard to address all the challenges we have faced since I became head teacher of the school in April 2022.

“I am proud that the report recognised Holly House as a happy and safe place for their children and that parents and carers were positive about the school. We’ve tried to make sure pupils feel safe by putting their mental health and well-being first and foremost.

“However, we also recognise there is more to do across other aspects of school life and we remain committed every day to making improvements where they are needed as quickly as possible with a focus on learning, the curriculum, attendance and behaviour.

“I am immensely privileged to be leading a strong and committed team of professionals who are focused on what is needed to see the school thrive across all areas, to build on the successes we’ve already achieved and continue our journey of improvement.”