A SOUTHAMPTON school has been praised for its leadership and education in a recent watchdog report.

Hope Community Hall, at Central Hall on St Mary Street, has been given an overall 'good' rating following an Ofsted inspection on February 15 and 16. 

All five categories inspected by the team were rated 'good', said the report, which was published on April 4. 

Inspectors described the school as a "welcoming and supportive place" where pupils "thrive despite learning in temporary classrooms".

Pupils are said to "enjoy" going to school and "appreciate" the staff as well as "warmly accepting the diversity in the school". 

One pupil told inspectors: "‘When children arrive without speaking English, we help them."

Staff were found to "equip pupils with knowledge and experiences" to help raise their aspirations.

Leadership and staff keep a "strong focus" on improving pupils’ communication and developing their vocabulary, the report found. 

Reading is prioritised by leaders at the school. 

Struggling readers, including those new to speaking English, are given support to help them keep up.

Inspectors noted that in mathematics, staff follow "well-structured" plans to help pupils recap prior learning before moving on to new content.

However, inspectors did note that in some subjects leaders’ curriculum thinking is "not precise enough" and said that governors do not have "a strong enough oversight" of the whole curriculum.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo.

Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website.

You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more.

Don't take my word for it - subscribe here to see for yourself.

Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by joining our Facebook group - Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents

Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated Facebook group - Hampshire Court and Crime News