Sir Peter Hall School

Inspection of Sir Peter Hall School Airfield Road, Bury St. Edmunds IP32 7PJ

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

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

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The headteacher of the school is Krishna Purbhoo. The school is part of Unity Schools Partnership, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by a chief executive officer (CEO), Tim Coulson CBE, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Christine Quinn. There is also an executive headteacher, Adam Dabin. 17 and 18 June 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils arrive at the school with poor experiences of education. Some pupils have low confidence because they have not been in a school for some time. The school changes pupils’ negative perspectives of themselves. Attending this school makes a positive difference to pupils’ lives.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Carefully thought through transitions help pupils settle into school life. Staff take the time to get to know the pupils’ individual needs. Well-considered support helps pupils to reflect on their behaviour and live up to the school’s high expectations. Staff quickly recognise if pupils are having a tricky time and put in place effective support. Consequently, pupils re- engage with their learning and build trust with staff and each other. Pupils gain confidence in their own abilities and what they can achieve. They gain relevant qualifications and experiences that support them for life beyond the school gates. Pupils progress well from their varied starting points.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A variety of high-quality experiences enrich pupils’ day-to-day curriculum. Pupils have opportunities that are interesting or new, for instance horse riding, attending film clubs and cooking. Sporting opportunities build a sense of team spirit and help pupils feel proud of their school and themselves.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The curriculum is ambitious for pupils. It covers a mix of relevant academic and vocational subjects suited to pupils’ needs and aspirations. This includes, for instance, opportunities to build pupils’ social and emotional resilience. The school works with different local providers to broaden its curriculum offer, for example with construction courses. In each curriculum area, the school has arranged key knowledge in a logical order. Staff understand what should be taught and when, taking into account pupils’ various starting points.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Staff recognise that many pupils arrive with substantial gaps in their knowledge and understanding. Staff check effectively what pupils know and can do. Most staff then choose well-chosen learning activities that support pupils to build their knowledge and make progress. There are times, however, when this is not the case. In these instances, pupils find learning more challenging, and this impacts their achievement and engagement with learning.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school rightly prioritises supporting pupils to build their knowledge in core areas, such as reading and mathematics. Staff spot pupils who need extra help and guidance with reading. Effective support is quickly put in place to stop pupils falling behind and to give them the important reading knowledge they need so they can access the curriculum.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school thinks carefully about how to help each pupil to thrive. Staff know and understand pupils needs, backgrounds and challenges. Staff make well-considered decisions to support pupils with their behaviour and learning. 17 and 18 June 2025

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Pupils are very clear about the school’s high expectations of behaviour. Staff are adept at putting effective support and interventions in place to keep pupils’ behaviour on track. Pupils are respectful to staff and trust them to deal with issues that may arise. The school is a positive community.

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The school works closely with pupils and their families to break down barriers around school attendance. Attendance is rising, particularly for pupils who did not attend well prior to starting the school.

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A further strength of the school is its provision for pupils’ personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. Pupils learn about key topics that are relevant to their lives. This helps to build pupils’ understanding of positive relationships and awareness of the world around them. The PSHE curriculum is reinforced by the wider enrichment activities that the school organises. Competitive sports, for instance, guide pupils to work as a team and celebrates both successes and losses. Food technology lessons enable pupils to learn about healthy eating and share meals with each other. A range of careers opportunities raise pupils’ aspirations and hopes for the future. Pupils are well prepared for life outside of the school.

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The trust took effective action to stabilise the school during a period of change in leadership. The school rightly reinforced important processes and procedures that support pupils. While most staff are onboard with leaders’ vision, a small number are unsettled by the pace of change. The school is already addressing staff concerns but recent work, for instance, to improve communication with staff is new.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There are times, when the school does not ensure that teaching supports pupils to learn new knowledge successfully. In these instances, pupils do not learn subject content as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that staff implement the school’s curriculum effectively.  Recent and rapid changes in leadership have been unsettling for some staff. Some staff are not always fully aware of the purpose of the changes that leaders make. This means not everyone is onboard or understands the important changes that positively affect pupils. Leaders should ensure staff get effective support to understand the school’s systems and processes to reinforce the schools’ strong values and practices. 17 and 18 June 2025

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How can I feed back my views?

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.

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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). 17 and 18 June 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Sir Peter Hall School is a special school for pupils aged 10 to 16 years that caters for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs.  Many pupils have faced significant disruption to their education prior to joining the school.  The school opened in September 2022.  The school uses the services of five unregistered alternative providers.  Some pupils access vocational provision at alternative providers as part of their full- time education.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Year 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical qualifications and apprenticeships. 17 and 18 June 2025

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with a range of leaders, including the executive headteacher, headteacher, the deputy headteacher and the trust’s executive director for special educational needs and/or disabilities.  Due to the specialist nature of the curriculum, inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics, PSHE and food technology. For each deep dive, inspectors met with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors reviewed curriculum documentation and pupils’ work in science, humanities

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Information about this inspection

and physical education.  Inspectors spoke with a range of pupils on both days of the inspection. Inspectors spent time with pupils at lunchtimes and breaktimes to observe behaviour and speak to pupils about school life.  The lead inspector held a meeting with those responsible for governance, including the chair of the local governing body and a trustee.  The lead inspector held a meeting with the trust CEO.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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.  Inspectors spoke to a range of staff over both days of the inspection and considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  The lead inspector considered the 16 responses made by parents to Ofsted Parent

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Information about this inspection

View, including the free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Damian Loneragan, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Michael Williams His Majesty’s Inspector 17 and 18 June 2025

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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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