Hinckley House

Inspection of Hinckley House Rectory Lane, Market Bosworth, Nuneaton CV13 0LS

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Inspection dates: 16 to 18 September 2025

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Overall effectiveness Good

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Hinckley House is a cohesive school where everything is underpinned by positive relationships. Pupils know that they are expected to be ‘ready, responsible and respectful’. Staff consistently model and exemplify these values. Pupils do their best to follow this lead. The school has high expectations of pupils’ achievement. It develops a forensic understanding of pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to enable this. As a result, from their relative starting points, pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school. This is reflected in their positive attendance rates. They appreciate their attractive, grade two listed building. They value the outdoor areas, including the multi-use games area. They make good use of the wide range of play equipment available. Pupils enjoy the recognition that they receive for doing the right thing. They are eager to earn the ‘reward points’ on offer. They look forward to exchanging these for rewards from the school’s shop. The weekly ‘celebration assembly’ motivates pupils to do their best.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Provision for pupils’ personal development is a strength. The school provides pupils with a wide range of experiences, activities, trips and visitors that help them to learn about, and prepare for, life beyond the school.

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better?

The school is meticulous in its approach to pupils’ SEND. It uses a wide range of information, including that contained in education, health and care (EHC) plans, to develop a precise understanding of each pupil’s needs. It uses this to accurately identify the help and support that pupils need. Education staff and clinicians work in partnership to provide bespoke provision. The school keeps a close eye on how well pupils’ needs are being met. It responds quickly where changes are needed. From their starting points, pupils achieve well.

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better?

The school’s curriculum is well-organised. Across all subjects, it makes clear what pupils should know and remember at each stage of their education. The school carries out detailed checks on pupils’ knowledge on admission. Teachers use this information to make sure that lessons are closely aligned to what pupils know. However, the school has not ensured staff have the level of subject expertise they need. This means that teaching, at times, does not identify and address misconceptions.

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better?

Many pupils join the school at an early stage of learning to read. The school’s phonics programme makes clear the sounds that pupils are expected to know. Sounds are taught in a logical order. The school accurately checks on pupils’ starting points and their progress through the programme. As a result, pupils quickly begin to catch up in reading. 16 to 18 September 2025 The school knows each pupil well. It knows what motivates them to behave well and what doesn’t. As a result, pupils typically respond well to adults. Any pupils who struggle receive expert help. The recently improved behaviour policy is implemented consistently. However, the school does not use the full range of information that it has to check on its effectiveness. As such, the school does not have a fully rounded understanding of the impact its work has on pupils. This is typical of a small number of areas of the school’s work.

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better?

The school’s programme for personal, social and health education (PSHE) is well- organised. It helps pupils to understand their feelings and emotions. This is further enhanced by the schools’ ‘life skills’ programme that helps to prepare pupils for life beyond the school. The school provides many experiences to develop pupils’ talents and interests. The student council plays an important part in bringing around improvements, including to school uniform and the lunchtime menu.

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better?

The school has built and galvanised a dedicated staff team that puts pupils’ interests first. The proprietor has strong oversight. It provides the school with a good balance of challenge and support. However, the school has not yet fully established the role of middle leaders. This work is at an early stage of development. As such, not all leaders have a clear understanding of their role.

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better?

The proprietor has ensured that the independent school standards (the standards) are met. The full range of necessary information, including the school’s safeguarding policy, is available on the school’s website. The school’s site promotes pupils’ welfare, health and safety. Effective policies and procedures are in place, including for first aid, health and safety, fire safety, behaviour and bullying. The school risk assesses the activities in which pupils engage. The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The role of middle leaders, including subject leaders, is at an early stage of being developed. As such, the school has not yet ensured that leaders, at all levels, have the knowledge and skills necessary to carry out their roles. The school should ensure that it continues to develop middle leadership so that all leaders understand and apply their role, and that this impacts positively on pupils’ achievement.  The school has not consistently ensured that all staff have the depth of subject expertise across the curriculum. This can result in misconceptions not always being identified or resolved effectively. The school should ensure that teachers’ 16 to 18 September 2025 subject knowledge is consistent across the breadth of the curriculum and that this is used to check on how well pupils are getting on.  The school does not always use all the information it has available to check on the impact of improvement strategies. This means that, in these cases, the school

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

does not have a fully rounded view of how well initiatives are working and where adaptations are necessary. The school and proprietor should ensure that staff have the expertise to use the information that it holds to evaluate the impact of its actions.

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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. 16 to 18 September 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 151122 DfE registration number 855/6062

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School details

Inspection number 10395742 Type of school Other Independent Special School

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School details

Email address hinckley-house@witherslackgroup.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected 16 to 18 September 2025

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Information about this school

 The proprietor of the school is Witherslack Group. This company runs a number of independent special schools and children’s homes across the country.  The school is located at Rectory Lane, Market Bosworth, Nuneaton CV13 0LS.  The school opened on 26 November 2024. A small number of pupils were admitted in January 2025. The school currently has 31 pupils on role. The number of staff has grown proportionately.  The school provides full-time education for pupils between the ages of five and 11 years. All of the pupils have an EHC plan.  The school admits pupils with primary needs of social, emotional or mental health, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.  The school does not use the services of any alternative provisions.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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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 that 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.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the deputy headteachers, curriculum leaders, behaviour leaders, the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) and groups of staff and pupils.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, humanities and PSHE. To do this, they met with curriculum leaders, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and met with teachers and pupils.  The lead inspector met with representatives of the proprietor body.  Inspectors took account of the responses to the Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil

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Information about this inspection

surveys.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and 16 to 18 September 2025 considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors reviewed school documents, including those relating to behaviour and attendance, leaders’ plans for improvement and documentation relating to the Independent School Standards.  Inspectors spoke informally to pupils at breaktimes, in the dining hall and in the school grounds.

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Inspection team

Vic Wilkinson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Mark Anderson His Majesty’s Inspector 16 to 18 September 2025 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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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