The Children's Hospital School

Overview

The Children’s Hospital School continues to be an outstanding school, providing an “exceptional standard of education and care” for pupils with medical and mental health needs. The report highlights a “heart-felt welcome” and a carefully designed environment where pupils feel “calm, settled and safe,” allowing them to thrive emotionally and academically.

Strengths

• Staff demonstrate “high levels of understanding and empathy” towards pupils’ social, emotional, and mental health needs, supported by a well-resourced therapy team.
• The curriculum is “personalised, broad, and balanced,” enabling pupils to make “striking progress” and often achieve qualifications such as GCSEs.
• The school’s approach to re-engaging pupils in learning and improving attendance is described as “exemplary,” with activities like ‘uplift’ sessions and outdoor learning enhancing self-esteem.
• Highly trained education, health, and therapy staff work collaboratively, underpinned by a culture of “research and reflective practice” and clinical supervision.
• Governors ensure statutory responsibilities are fulfilled and prioritise improvement, including enhancing mental health provision across the school’s four sites.

Areas to improve

• The report identifies no significant areas for improvement.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with inspectors noting an “open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.”