24 September
Aurora Hanley School recognised for ‘Outstanding’ education
Aurora Hanley School in Bucknall has received the highest possible grading by education watchdog Ofsted – for the third time in a row.
The school teaches young people aged six to 19, who have a range of communication needs typically associated with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC). Our 90 pupils, some of whom had disjointed schooling before joining, come from a catchment area mainly covering Staffordshire, Stoke and Cheshire.
Grading the school as ‘Outstanding’, the inspectors said that by placing “considerable emphasis on understanding each pupil and their specific needs”, pupils were able to flourish at Hanley.
The inspectors praised the school’s curriculum, which they said had been designed with “significant care to ensure there is ambition for all pupils”, and said the way the school taught reading and tracked individual competency encouraged “confident and fluent readers”.
The inspectors were also impressed with the way the school adapts its curriculum to deliver personal, social, health, and economic (PSHE) education to its pupils, describing the provision for pupils’ personal development as being of “exceptional quality”.
The Ofsted report graded:
- The quality of education: Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes: Outstanding
- Personal development: Outstanding
- Leadership and management: Outstanding
- Overall effectiveness: Outstanding
The report recognised that how Hanley provided for its pupils’ Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) was “a significant strength of the provision” and helped “pupils and students to achieve exceptionally well”.
They praised pupil behaviour, said staff perform to a “high level”, and felt the school’s “leaders at all levels have high expectations for all aspects of the provision”.
“This vision is fully realised,” they concluded.
School Principal Tracy Whitehurst welcomed the grading and said that to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ grading required a tenacity among the leadership team to drive the school forward.
She said: “We’re always looking at ways to improve. We’re continually reviewing our practices and are happy to embrace new strategies. We continue to achieve because we’re never satisfied.”
"We not only look to meet standards but we aim to go above and beyond." Tracy Whitehurst, School Principal.
The inspectors’ report included feedback from parents and carers who spoke “very highly of the school and how it engages with them about their children’s education” - and from pupils, one of whom told the inspectors: “This school has changed my life”.
“This school has changed my life” Pupil at Aurora Hanley School
Headteacher Julie Martin said: “We’re delighted at the outcome of the inspection. We have a wonderful team and fabulous students and this really is a reflection of their hard work.”
