Finch Woods Academy in Halewood has recently received a positive Ofsted report. The school was judged as a ‘Strong Standard’ for Leadership and Governance, with Achievement, Attendance and Behaviour, Curriculum and teaching, Inclusion, Personal development and wellbeing all judged to be as “Expected Standard”.
Finch Woods Academy is part of Manor Hall Academy Trust and is a special school for pupils aged 9–16 with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs.
Inspectors noted that:
- Leaders have transformed the school rapidly and with clear purpose.
- Improvement planning is sharply focused on the right areas.
- The professional development offer is coherent, personalised and valued by staff. This is helping to improve consistency in the quality of teaching across the school.
- The Trust has invested heavily in stabilising leadership, strengthening safeguarding, improving curriculum structure and securing better outcomes for pupils.
- Staff understand the complex barriers that pupils face and adapt teaching and support accordingly so that pupils can remain engaged in learning.
- Overall, leaders’ work ensures that pupils are well prepared for their next steps in education, employment or training.
- Leaders have remodelled the curriculum so that it is logically sequenced, ambitious and grounded in pupils’ starting points.
- Leaders check the quality of teaching with increasing rigour.
- Leaders root the school’s inclusive culture in a detailed understanding of pupils’ complex social, emotional and mental health needs.
- Leaders work closely with families and a wide range of professionals, including educational psychologists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists, to shape provision that meets pupils’ complex needs.
- Leaders provide a well‑designed personal development programme that reflects pupils’ social, emotional and mental health needs and helps them succeed in later life.
- A rich range of experiences helps pupils develop their talents and interests.
- Pupils talk with pride about what they have achieved and the confidence they have gained.
Cllr Sean Donnelly, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “This is a great report. Pupils receive a warm welcome each morning which helps them to settle and feel ready to learn. It was also noted that relationships across the school are consistently positive.
“It was also good to hear the voice of the child highlighted in the report with pupils speaking confidently about the adults at the school, who they trust and who help them feel safe and that pupils are well prepared for their next steps in education, employment or training.
“Well done to everyone at the school for this outstanding report.”