Elemore Hall School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Senior leaders have effectively improved the quality of education since the previous inspection. High expectations of what pupils can achieve and behaviour are shared and supported by all staff.

The quality of teaching has improved and is now good. This has resulted in pupils' good academic progress and personal development. Governance has improved.

Governors now provide strong support and effective challenge to leaders. Pupils' social and emotional well-being are at the heart of the school's work. Staff nurture, praise and encourage pupils.

Strong relationships support pupils to feel safe and grow in confidence. Pupils are respe...ctful towards staff and their peers and show pride in their achievements. Behaviour is good and, in some cases, improves significantly as pupils move through the year groups.

Pupils conduct themselves well around school. In classrooms, teachers create calm learning environments. Where difficulties arise, staff are adept at calming the situation quickly.

Pupils' attendance often improves when they join the school. Although leaders have successfully improved attendance, it remains stubbornly below average. Persistent absence is also still too high and this impacts negatively on the achievement of some pupils.

Pupils' progress in English is particularly good. Teaching ensures that pupils clearly know what they need to do to improve. Although pupils are given good opportunities to write in a range of subjects, the standard of spelling, punctuation and grammar evident in pupils' written work in some subjects does not always reflect what they are capable of.

The curriculum is broad and balanced and contributes well to pupils' academic progress and personal development. Opportunities for pupils to explore, to reason and to investigate in science and across the wider curriculum are well developed and are greatly enjoyed by pupils. However, in mathematics, opportunities for pupils to use and apply their reasoning and problem-solving skills are sometimes overlooked.

Pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education. At the end of Year 11, all pupils move on to a college place or an apprenticeship suitable to their aspirations. Leaders collect a lot of information about the achievement, behaviour and attendance of each pupil.

They use this information well to ensure that provision and support are appropriately tailored to individual needs. However, they do not use it effectively to identify any trends or variances in pupils' performance, such as for different groups.

Information about this school

Elemore Hall School has planned places for 86 secondary-aged pupils who have an education, health and care plan for social, emotional and mental health needs.

Pupils can join the school at any time between Year 7 and 11. There are significantly more boys than girls currently on roll. The wider curriculum offers provision to all pupils both after school and in the evening.

The school has 25 residential places available to pupils four nights a week between Monday and Friday. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are eligible for pupil premium funding is over 80%. This is considerably higher than the national average.

Most pupils are of White British heritage. Seven pupils attend off-site alternative education at PACC, which is based at another Durham local authority special school. One pupil is currently receiving home tuition and a further pupil is receiving education through the home and hospital service.