Benton House School, Benton

What it's like to be a pupil at Benton House School

Pupils have wonderful relationships with staff at Benton House School. They enjoy school, feel safe and eagerly anticipate activities such as 'wake up, shake up' every morning. Breakfast routines provide a calm start to the day where pupils excitedly speak to staff about, for example, their interests and hobbies. In lessons, well established routines allow pupils to focus on learning and they are eager to participate in lessons which range from English to cooking to forest school. They benefit from an ambitious and evolving curriculum which is typically taught well. The school makes appropriate adaptations to remove barriers to learning and wellbeing for pupils, all of whom have an education, health and care plan. Regular trips to the beach are a particular highlight for pupils. Their active participation in learning means pupils are able to achieve well across the curriculum. Pupils love coming to this school and their attendance is very high as a result. Behaviour around the school is superb. Pupils are well supported by staff who know them incredibly well and are therefore able to support each pupil in the most appropriate ways. This leads to remarkable improvements in pupils' behaviour and attitudes to school. The school's personal, social, health and environment programme's focus on respectful relationships helps pupils to develop friendships. Bullying is incredibly rare. Pupils value the positions of responsibility they are given. For example, pupils on the school council have helped to develop the garden area in the school grounds and pupils learn about the importance of ensuring that everyone's voice is heard. Pupils are helped to develop skills of independence, for example by learning how to look after themselves and keep themselves safe in the community. They learn about possible careers across all ages in the school. When it is time to leave Benton House School, leaders ensure that there is well developed programme of transition to support pupils' next steps.

What Ofsted says the school should do next

• Leaders should continue to embed high-quality teaching across all subjects and phases, supported by a precisely defined professional learning programme to support staff's subject-specific knowledge and pedagogy.

Benton House School excels at creating a warm, inclusive environment where every pupil feels known and supported. Staff work effectively with families and external agencies to provide personalized support, resulting in remarkable improvements in pupil behavior and attendance. The ambitious curriculum includes engaging activities, trips, and enrichment that help pupils build confidence and develop skills for life after school.

Safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified and managed.

Golden time activities, kick boxing, forest school, spa activities, cookery club, beach trips, assemblies, enterprise activities, careers program, author visits, RNLI visits, fire brigade visits

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