Melrose School

Overview

Melrose School is rated as ‘Good’ across all inspection categories, maintaining its previous standing. The report describes a setting where ‘positive working relationships between staff, pupils and their families is championed’, creating an environment where pupils feel safe and supported. Leaders have designed a curriculum specifically to help pupils, many of whom have had negative prior educational experiences, to ‘re-engage with learning’ and prepare for adulthood.

Strengths

• Subject curriculums are ‘sequenced and well ordered’ so that knowledge and skills build progressively, with teachers possessing the subject knowledge to address errors.
• Staff use ‘nurturing and supportive strategies’ informed by therapeutic professionals to prevent pupils from becoming emotionally dysregulated, resulting in ‘mostly calm and orderly’ classrooms.
• The school offers extensive broader opportunities, such as vocational subjects and activities like horse riding, which help develop pupils’ ‘resilience, confidence, independence and strengthen relationships’.
• Leaders work effectively with other professionals to provide individualised provisions, including a ‘significantly increased’ therapeutic offer that benefits all pupils.
• Personalised plans address attendance barriers, helping many pupils whose attendance ‘improves over time’ as they build trust in the staff team.

Areas to improve

• The school must ensure a ‘consistent pedagogical approach to teaching and learning’ so that all staff have the resources and expertise to address gaps and misconceptions swiftly.

Safeguarding

The report states that ‘the arrangements for safeguarding are effective’.