Hillcrest Shifnal School, Shropshire, rated Good in all areas by Ofsted

Students and staff at Hillcrest Shifnal School, Shropshire, are celebrating having been officially rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted in all areas, including: ‘Effectiveness of leadership and management’, ‘Quality of teaching, learning and assessment’, ‘Personal development, behaviour and welfare’ and ‘Outcomes for pupils’.

Hillcrest Shifnal School is an independent specialist school, which is run by Hillcrest and is part of Outcomes First Group. The school provides education, care and therapeutic services to children aged 7 to 19 with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

Ofsted praised new head teacher David Coles saying, “The recently appointed head teacher has brought about many positive changes to the school’s work” and “Leaders have improved the quality of the school’s curriculum. It now provides a wider range of opportunities for pupils to study interesting subjects and to attain worthwhile qualifications.”

Improvements in teaching, learning and assessment and pupils’ behaviour were noted as “having a noticeable impact on the progress that pupils are making” and that “Pupils recognise and welcome these positive changes.”

Teaching at key stage 3 and 4 was also highlighted by inspectors as being “as effective as it is in the primary phase…..with outcomes improving quickly.”

It continued to say “Primary pupils make strong and sustained progress in a range of subjects. Some make very impressive progress and make up lost ground very rapidly” and secondary aged pupils “are making good progress towards qualifications in English, Mathematics, Science, Art and Vocational awards. An increasing number of pupils are experiencing success in GCSE courses.”

Behaviour also got the thumbs up from Ofsted who said, “Pupils behave well most of the time. Most enjoy lessons and show pride in belonging to the school’s community.”

Praise concluded with a note that post-16 provision had “improved” and was “effective” with “appropriate courses and pastoral care help to prepare students well for life after school.”

New head teacher David Coles is delighted. He commented, “From my first day in the role I had a positive vision for the school and I couldn’t be more proud of everyone here for their commitment to each young person and in the developments that have been made that will be beneficial to us all.

“It has been a great team effort and we look forward to the bright future ahead of us all at the school. May the fantastic work continue.”

Sam Millward, Operations Manager, said: “This overall rating is absolutely fantastic and is a true reflection of the values and attitudes of every single member at the school who have had a part to play in achieving this brilliant result. A huge well done to all of you.”

Committed to empowering individuals to learn, achieve and succeed, the school provides a person centred approach to education and ensures every pupil is given the care, support and guidance to reach their full potential.

To read the full report, please see here.