Progress Schools - Hamilton Square

Overview

The report states that the school’s overall effectiveness ‘Requires improvement’, noting that while ‘some aspects... have improved greatly since the last inspection’, most improvements to the quality of education ‘have only just begun’. Pupils, many with special educational needs and adverse educational histories, benefit from a ‘calm and harmonious’ environment where they learn to manage their emotions, though their academic achievement remains uneven.

Strengths

• ‘Behaviour and attitudes’ are rated ‘Good’, with pupils following ‘well-established routines’ and developing strategies to ‘recognise and manage their own emotions’.
• ‘Personal development’ is rated ‘Good’, supported by a ‘comprehensive programme’ of personal, social, health and economic education and opportunities like work experience.
• The curriculum in English, mathematics and science is ‘logically ordered’ and staff ‘typically deliver them as intended’.
• Leaders have taken action to improve staff well-being and reduce workload, with staff appreciating the ‘clarity that they now have about their roles’.
• Safeguarding arrangements are ‘effective’.

Areas to improve

• The curriculum is ‘underdeveloped in some subjects’, leading to a lack of clarity about what pupils should know and remember.
• Staff ‘lack the subject-specific knowledge to teach some of subjects’, resulting in uneven learning and achievement across the curriculum.
• Staff do not always use assessment information effectively to address gaps in pupils’ knowledge or match learning activities to their starting points.

Safeguarding

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