Bohunt Horsham

Inspection of Bohunt Horsham Bailey Road, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 6AP

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Inspection dates: 31 October and 1 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Georgette Ayling. This school is part of Bohunt Education Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Neil Strowger, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Raymond Morton. 31 October and 1 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils rise to the school’s high expectations because they understand that a positive environment is beneficial for everyone. As a result, they behave well and are considerate. Pupils are taught how to debate and discuss. They use these skills in lesson discussions and to make the most of ‘pupil voice’ activities to express their views.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from how well teachers know what each individual needs in order to achieve well. Staff use the school’s innovative technology to make sure that all pupils receive the help and feedback they need to improve their learning. Pupils recognise this and are consistently keen to improve their knowledge.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value how the school helps them understand their own well-being and how to stay safe. They consider staff to be caring and are confident that staff will help when needed. Pupils are encouraged to be ambitious in considering their aspirations for their life beyond school. This includes useful careers sessions, which pupils look forward to.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s enrichment programme is developing as the school grows. Pupils participate in a wide range of clubs and activities, including sports and cultural events. Pupils can recollect fond memories of performances and trips that they have enjoyed.

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better?

This is a new school that has been growing quickly. The school’s dedicated headteacher, the staff and the trust are collectively determined to make sure that the school retains its highly positive culture as it grows. The school’s development has been carefully planned, and the systems and processes in place to support this are effective. Pupils who joined the school when it first opened are proud of how the school community has remained kind and supportive. They are supported by staff who share the school’s founding values of high expectations and ambition.

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better?

Pupils achieve well in their lessons. Teachers consistently check how much pupils know. They are good at using the school’s digital classroom technology to identify which pupils need additional help. Pupils like the immediate feedback they receive in lessons and following assessments. Curriculum leaders use different information to identify where teachers need further guidance or training. This means that leaders, along with the trust, help teachers to strengthen their teaching practice. This includes specific training on how to ensure that the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are carefully identified and that they benefit from any adaptations made to their learning.

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better?

The planned curriculum helps pupils to develop and use their subject knowledge as active citizens in the world beyond school. An example of this is pupils confidently using their scientific understanding to make sense of articles in the news or on social 31 October and 1 November 2023

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media. Planning of the knowledge that pupils need, and how they will practise using it, is secure. This means that in most subjects, pupils’ learning builds during their time at the school. However, in a small number of subjects, the teaching of the curriculum is more variable. This is because the curriculum is not as well understood by staff. The school recognises this and continues to support all staff through regular training.

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Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe through tutor time sessions and focus days. Planning and sequencing of relationships and sex education and health education are age appropriate. The school is continuing to ensure that all aspects of personal, social, health and economic education are as well considered to ensure that pupils feel prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Pupils’ attitudes towards school are exceptionally positive. Attendance is strong, and the school is committed to helping every pupil to attend regularly. Pupils and parents and carers consider the school to have a ‘family feel’. They are very positive about how well staff know pupils. One pupil remarked, ‘Teachers are passionate about making sure that we are okay.’ Pastoral care teams are quick to provide guidance and support as soon as these are needed. Pupils know whom to talk to if they have any concerns. This results in calm and cooperative interaction that helps everyone learn.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There is variation in how well the school’s curriculum is implemented in a small number of subjects. This means that pupils are not always learning as much as they could. The school must continue to develop teachers’ skills and understanding of the curriculum as it is embedded across the school.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 31 October and 1 November 2023

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 31 October and 1 November 2023

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school opened in September 2019 and is part of Bohunt Education Trust.  Currently, the school has pupils in Year 7 to Year 11. From September 2024, the school will begin to admit primary-age pupils.  The school currently uses three registered and four unregistered alternative education providers.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 11 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 31 October and 1 November 2023

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 This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator, curriculum leaders and other staff.  The lead inspector met with trustees and representatives of the local governing body, including the chair of governors.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in English, mathematics, science, history and modern foreign languages. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors examined a range of documentation provided by the school, including leaders’ self-evaluation and improvement plans.

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View. They also took into consideration the responses to the confidential staff and pupil surveys, as well as speaking to staff and pupils throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Ed Mather, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Julia Mortimore Ofsted Inspector 31 October and 1 November 2023

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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