Kirkleatham Hall School

Overview

Kirkleatham Hall School continues to be a good school where pupils thrive due to staff’s “extremely detailed knowledge” of each individual and strong, caring relationships. The report highlights that pupils behave exceptionally well, move around the school with respect, and trust adults who skilfully address their behavioural and communication needs.

Strengths

• Staff have “strong, caring relationships” with pupils and rise to the “high aspirations” adults hold for them.
• The curriculum is “highly ambitious” and carefully planned to help pupils build knowledge sequentially, with advice from therapists woven into daily teaching.
• Reading is a key focus, with a programme designed to “transcend individual learning barriers” and provide sensory experiences linked to meaning.
• Leaders promote personal development effectively through enrichment activities such as residential trips and workplace visits, preparing older pupils well for adulthood.
• Staff report being “overwhelmingly positive” about the support they receive for workload and well-being.

Areas to improve

• The curriculum is not well matched to the ability of a small proportion of pupils, meaning they are not making as much progress as they could.
• The school needs to complete its review of curriculum adaptations for these pupils to ensure their needs are met in a timely way.
• A very small number of pupils are given books to read that are not well matched to their reading ability.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with pupils trusting adults and knowing they can contact staff if they have concerns.