Horton Lodge Community Special School

Overview

Horton Lodge Community Special School continues to be a good school, where pupils are happy and thrive within a strong community of support. The report highlights that staff work closely with parents and agencies to meet individual needs, fostering independence and communication through a specialist curriculum. While the school has made many positive changes since the last inspection, there are specific areas regarding curriculum sequencing and phonics delivery that require refinement to ensure consistent progress for all pupils.

Strengths

• Pupils are well cared for by experienced staff who understand their individual needs and view behaviour as a form of communication.
• The curriculum is aspirational with clear end points, particularly in mathematics, and successfully promotes communication, independence, and movement.
• Staff are highly skilled in planning for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, using individual specialist plans and effective communication strategies.
• There is a sharp focus on reading, with pupils enjoying stories and a wide range of books, supported by ambitious leadership.
• Relationships between staff and pupils are positive and respectful, with staff using their knowledge of families to support pupils effectively.

Areas to improve

• In some curriculum areas, the school has not explicitly defined the knowledge, skills, and vocabulary or the order in which pupils will learn them, limiting progress.
• There is variability in how the structured phonics programme is delivered, which slows reading progress for some pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.