Horizon Academy

Overview

Eko Pathways is a small special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs, judged as ‘Good’ overall. The report highlights that pupils receive “personalised, high-quality support” in small classes, helping them grow in confidence and prepare for future education or work. Personal development is rated ‘Outstanding’, reflecting the strong focus on pupils’ well-being and readiness for next steps.

Strengths

• Pupils are “happy in school” and behave well, with staff skilled in helping them “manage their emotions”.
• Leaders provide “well-targeted phonics teaching” to address reading difficulties, ensuring pupils practise with “fluency and accuracy”.
• The curriculum in core subjects like mathematics, English and science is “delivered well”, with staff expertise translating goals into effective practice.
• Pupils benefit from a broad range of enrichment activities and clubs, such as robotics and horse-riding, which allow them to “take on responsibility”.
• Leaders carefully assess pupils’ needs before they join, gathering information from multiple sources to remove barriers to learning.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure the new curriculum is delivered consistently across all subjects, particularly in a “small number of the foundation subjects” where staff confidence varies.
• Staff training should continue so that pupils “learn and remember the intended knowledge and skills” in all areas, not just core subjects.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with leaders working closely with external agencies and staff receiving frequent training to identify risks and report signs of abuse.