Welcombe Hills School

Overview

The report states that Welcombe Hills School is a “happy school” where staff are dedicated and pupils behave well. However, the overall effectiveness is judged as “Requires improvement” primarily because the curriculum for some pupils is not well-planned or sequenced, and leaders have not monitored the school’s performance consistently enough to drive rapid improvement.

Strengths

• Staff know pupils well and work closely with families, creating a supportive environment where pupils “enjoy learning new things.”
• The curriculum for pupils with severe and profound multiple learning difficulties is “planned and sequenced well,” teaching important life skills.
• Sixth-form provision is “Good,” with students benefiting from tailored curricula, work experience, and visits to colleges.
• Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education effectively teaches pupils about safety, tolerance, and respect.
• Transitions into the school and between classes are managed carefully to help pupils settle.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must review the curriculum for the formal pathway to ensure it is “coherently planned” with clear knowledge sequences.
• A clear communication strategy should be implemented across the school, including in the early years, to support vocabulary development.
• Leaders need to ensure all staff have the expertise to deliver the phonics curriculum with precision.
• The trust must ensure leaders have sufficient oversight and skills to monitor improvements effectively.
• Leaders must ensure all pre-recruitment checks are conducted and recorded diligently to close gaps in records.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective,” noting that leaders are diligent in following up concerns, although there were some gaps in pre-recruitment records that leaders had not identified.