Mount Tamar School, Plymouth

Ofsted's report card from its 20 January 2026 inspection grades Mount Tamar School on 6 areas: 1 needs attention and 5 urgent improvement. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Personal development and wellbeing - Needs attention. "Pupils do not develop a secure understanding of the fundamental British values that underpin life in modern Britain."

Achievement - Urgent improvement. "Pupils do not secure essential knowledge of reading, writing and mathematics during their time at the school."

Attendance and behaviour - Urgent improvement. "Attendance has been poor for several years and shows no sign of improvement."

Curriculum and teaching - Urgent improvement. "The school's curriculum is broad, but it is not ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)."

Inclusion - Urgent improvement. "Despite the school being a specialist setting for pupils with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, it is not successful in reducing these barriers for pupils."

Leadership and governance - Urgent improvement. "The arrangements for governance have not served the school well."

Safeguarding standards were NOT met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "• Leaders must reduce the risk of injury to pupils and staff by learning from incidents of poor behaviour and adapting the provision so that pupils' needs are understood and met fully. Leaders should ensure that staff are supported to anticipate and manage physical behaviours effectively. • Leaders should develop procedures that allow pupils to raise concerns in the school. They should gain a detailed understanding of what makes pupils feel unsafe and take the actions necessary to restore pupils' confidence. • Leaders must improve the attendance of all pupil groups. They should ensure that attendance is recorded accurately, with a particular focus on pupils who split their time between sites, those with temporary arrangements to attend school part time and those who access their education through alternative provision. • Leaders must establish high expectations of pupils' behaviour and social interactions. This includes teaching and upholding clear boundaries and ensuring that responses to any disrespectful or disorderly behaviour are consistent. • Leaders must ensure that teaching is informed by the clear identification of pupils' learning and developmental needs. They should ensure that staff know how to adapt the curriculum and their teaching to enable pupils to work towards their individual, long-term goals. • Leaders should provide a curriculum that is designed to quickly close the gaps in pupils' knowledge of communication, including reading, writing and speech, and mathematics. They should support staff to develop the secure subject knowledge that they need to teach these elements of the curriculum effectively. • Leaders should prepare pupils effectively for life in modern Britain by developing pupils' knowledge and understanding of different cultures and religious traditions. They should develop pupils' respect for women and for other people with characteristics that are protected by law. • The trust should ensure that there is sufficient leadership capacity to urgently and effectively tackle the important weaknesses that have been identified in the school. Leaders should ensure that recent improvements to essential systems are embedded and sustained".

The nearest other special schools to Mount Tamar School are Mount Tamar School (under 0.1 miles); Mill Ford School (0.8 miles, Outstanding); Brook Green Centre for Learning (1.2 miles, Outstanding); and Woodlands School (2 miles, Good).

Mount Tamar School is run by its own single-school academy trust.

11 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Mount Tamar School (as of April 2026): 27% would recommend the school, 46% say their child is happy there and 17% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child is happy at the school (46%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (17%).

Of the 19 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 63% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 32% to a further education college.

75.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, and 0% speak English as an additional language, according to the 2026 school census.

Almost every pupil at Mount Tamar School has an education, health and care plan (115 of 115 in 2026). The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is St Budeaux Victoria Road Rail Station, about 820 metres away (roughly a 10-minute walk).

22 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Marine Academy (n-bound), 190 metres away.

In 2024/25, Mount Tamar School issued 250 suspensions, 231.5 for every 100 pupils, and no permanent exclusions.