St Philip's School

Overview: St Philip's School is a special academy converter school that provides education for pupils aged 9 to 19 with a range of additional needs. The school has a good overall effectiveness, with a focus on developing pupils' independence, personal development, and safeguarding. Pupils are happy and kept safe, and they enjoy positive working relationships with staff and their peers.

Strengths:

• Pupils are happy and kept safe, with positive working relationships with staff and their peers.
• Leaders have high expectations for what pupils can achieve, and they have developed well-established, clear and appropriate routines.
• Pupils experience an extensive range of opportunities that are designed to support their personal development, including visits to the theatre, restaurants, sporting fixtures, art galleries, and museums.
• Leaders work well with a range of specialists, including educational psychologists, occupational therapists, and art and drama therapists, to support pupils with their additional needs.
• The curriculum is well sequenced, with pupils revisiting concepts and practising important skills to embed key knowledge and increase their confidence.

Areas to improve:

• Some teaching does not build in checks to find out if pupils have secured the knowledge that they need before moving on to new learning.
• Some pupils at the earlier stages of reading do not get sufficient time to practise their decoding and blending skills, reducing the development of their reading fluency.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with staff trained to recognise the signs that a pupil may be at risk of harm and reporting any concerns immediately. Leaders have forged strong relationships with local safeguarding partners and use this to secure the right support for pupils and families.