This is a good school. Pupils who come to Hartwell have often struggled to cope in their previous setting. Many have not attended their previous school for some time. Once settled at Hartwell, pupils attend well. Pupils are generally calm around the school and behave well in lessons. Each pupil has their own key worker, whom they can speak to if they are worried about anything. Pupils feel safe and trust adults in the school to help them. Pupils enjoy the small classes and the wide range of subjects they study. Leaders check what pupils know and can do. Each pupil has a ‘pathways’ plan that describes their individual needs. Teachers use this information well. There are a lot of activities aimed at developing pupils’ confidence and social skills. These activities include rockclimbing, guitar lessons and yoga with llamas. Leaders recognise how important it is that pupils become independent readers. Primary-phase staff teach phonics well and this helps younger pupils develop as readers. However, staff who teach older pupils are not confident in teaching phonics. This means that older pupils who are still at the early stage of reading are not getting the help they need to become independent readers.