Heltwate School

Overview

Heltwate School continues to be a good school, providing a secure and happy environment for pupils with severe learning difficulties. The report highlights that pupils are well supported through clear routines and positive staff relationships, allowing them to feel settled despite previous difficulties elsewhere. Leaders have adapted the curriculum to meet the varying developmental stages of pupils, ensuring they gain essential life skills and qualifications.

Strengths

• Pupils feel "settled and safe" due to "clear routines" and "positive relationships" with staff.
• The curriculum features "well-planned curriculum pathways" tailored to individual needs, helping pupils gain "necessary life skills, such as self-care or communication."
• Staff are "skilled in planning activities" and use strategies like "repetition, rhymes and songs" to develop communication and numeracy.
• The personal development programme is "enriching," offering experiences like swimming, kayaking, and career exploration to build independence.
• Adults ensure each pupil has an individual learning plan with targets "precisely matched to the needs outlined in their EHC plan."

Areas to improve

• Ensure pupils who can access aspects of the national curriculum are "consistently supported to do this" so they achieve as well as they are able, rather than focusing solely on EHC plan outcomes.
• Provide "appropriate support to all staff" so they feel confident in managing the behaviour of pupils who display "particularly challenging behaviours" and become dysregulated.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.