The Harbour School described as 'stable' environment despite requires improvement Ofsted

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Major changes are being made at a specialist school following its latest Ofsted inspection.

The Harbour School, located in Tipner Lane, is a specialist school and alternative provision for students that have social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) developmental needs.

The school has received a ‘requires improvement’ Ofsted following its recent inspection which took place on December 3 and 4, 2024.

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The Harbour School, PortsmouthThe Harbour School, Portsmouth
The Harbour School, Portsmouth

A previous inspection back in 2023 resulted in the school receiving an ‘inadequate’ rating and the leadership have said they are ‘incredibly proud’ of the progress being made.

The Ofsted said: “This school is a lifeline for many pupils. For most pupils, the school is now a calm, stable environment where they can learn.

“Leaders have reorganised the school, redesigned the curriculum and stabilised staffing. A coherent and ambitious curriculum is now in place.

“This supports teachers in knowing what to teach and when and is driving improvements in the quality of education for most pupils. However, it is too early to see the full impact of the school’s actions.”

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The report said that the attendance needs to be improved and the school’s specialist provision should be celebrated as it supports students with ‘a history of disengagement’.

Nick Morley, who recently took on the leadership of The Harbour School, said: “We are incredibly proud of the strides we’ve made since our last inspection. Our school is now a calm and stable environment where most pupils can learn effectively.

We’ve successfully reorganised the school, redesigned our curriculum, and stabilised staffing, which has led to improvements in the quality of education for many of our students.”

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The inspection report said: “Reading has not been prioritised. There is no adequate provision in place to teach pupils the knowledge they need to read fluently. This means pupils at the earlier stages of learning to read are not yet getting the help they need and are underachieving.”

Pastoral support is a strength and staff at all of the sites provide ‘nurturing and specialist support for pupils’. ‘The school has also developed an ambitious personal, social, health and economic education.’

Mr Morley added: "We recognise that we are still in the early stages of our improvement journey. Many of our recent changes, including our new curriculum, have only just been implemented.

“Step 1 was to address the urgent areas and set out new processes that will support future improvement. Now, we're moving to Step 2: embedding these changes to become 'Good' in all areas."

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