Hilltop School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Pupils make good progress in their personal development, communication, and literacy and numeracy skills. The majority of teaching is good and outstanding.

Pupils enjoy learning. They are listened to and their views inform well-planned personal learning programmes that are carefully tailored to meet their complex needs. Pupils' behaviour in lessons and around the school is good.

Pupils feel safe at school and are well cared for and supported. The school's strengths in these areas have been maintained since the last inspection. The school is exceptionally well led by a visionary headteacher and senior leadership team.

They work e...ffectively together with staff and governors to develop teaching and students' achievement across the school. The well-planned curriculum provides a good range of opportunities to develop pupils' interests, aspirations and skills for independent living, employment and recreation. Highly effective partnership working supports pupils' emotional health and well-being, learning and development.

Students aged 14-19 are superbly well prepared for independent living and future employment. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Teaching, while good overall, does not ensure that work is matched precisely enough to ensure that all pupils make rapid progress in their learning. Adult support in lessons is not focused sharply enough on learning to ensure all pupils make swift progress.

Teachers' feedback to pupils in lessons does not always help them to understand how to improve. The irregular attendance of some pupils is a barrier to improving their learning and achievement. School data are not analysed swiftly and carefully enough to identify where further intervention is required.

Information about this school

All pupils have a statement of special educational needs, with the greatest proportion experiencing severe and complex learning difficulties; just under a third experience profound and multiple learning difficulties and over a third of pupils have autistic spectrum conditions. A small number of pupils have complex medical needs and degenerative medical conditions. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds with a small number of pupils from other White and Asian heritages.

The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for pupil premium funding is above average. This is government funding that the school receives for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, those who are in local authority care and the children of military personnel on active service overseas. Small groups of sixth-form pupils attend alternative provision at Rotherham Community Arts and Technology College and work-based learning with a range of local employers.

A small number of young children attend the early years setting at Maltby Redwood Primary School for part of the week. Since the last inspection the school has joined in federation with Kelford School; both special schools share the same Executive headteacher and, since September 2012, share the same governing body. The school holds specialist status in communication and interaction.