A Brighton school for the deaf has maintained a good rating from Ofsted for its residential provision.
Hamilton Lodge School, in Walpole Road, Brighton, caters for deaf children aged five to 19, using British Sign Language as the main form of communication.
The school’s 27 residential pupils, who live at the school from Monday to Friday, and head teacher Billy McInally were visited by Ofsted in March.
Ofsted rated the residential school as good in the overall experiences and progress of children and young people, how well children and young people are helped and protected and the effectiveness of leaders and managers.
The report said: “Children benefit from attending the residential provision. They make progress with their communication skills and, in turn, develop their self-esteem and confidence.
“Deaf culture is celebrated and children’s families are supported to engage successfully in the hearing world.
“Children have access to a range of activities. In particular, several children spoke with enthusiasm about basketball.
“The school’s multidisciplinary team provides good, well-informed assessments and interventions to meet children’s needs and help them make progress.
“There is a sense of partnership between the school, families and professionals.”
The report said that, to improve, the school should ensure that agency staff received the same supervision and support as permanent staff.
Other improvements to be made were the school’s recruitment policy and paperwork and the fire drill procedures.
The inspection took place from Tuesday 21 March to Thursday 23 March.
To read the Ofsted report in full, click here.
