Mary Hare School

Overview

Mary Hare School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection. The report describes a nurturing environment where pupils with hearing impairments and additional needs feel they belong and are supported by staff who are highly attuned to their individual requirements. The school continues to provide high-quality education with strong leadership and effective safeguarding arrangements.

Strengths

• Pupils are described as "welcoming, friendly and confident communicators" who demonstrate "excellent conduct" and positive attitudes towards learning.
• The curriculum is "ambitious and well sequenced overall," with activities precisely adapted to meet pupils’ special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
• Staff are "well trained" in therapeutic approaches and behaviour management, ensuring pupils are supported skilfully when they find it hard to regulate their behaviour.
• There is a strong focus on vocabulary development, resulting in pupils being "confident and accurate readers" despite many arriving with limited vocabulary exposure.
• Governors and school leaders provide "effective leadership," balancing challenge and support to ensure the best possible provision for pupils.

Areas to improve

• The school should ensure that knowledge in a small number of foundation subjects is clearly defined and sequenced, as staff currently lack clarity about what pupils need to know and in what order.
• Checks on pupils’ understanding in these specific subjects are not as effective as they could be; teachers need to precisely identify knowledge gaps to provide targeted support.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.