Ofsted have rated Peterhouse to be 'Outstanding' - Inspectors said "Peterhouse is a warm, welcoming and happy school. From their very first day, pupils and their families are made to feel part of the Peterhouse family. Staff go the extra mile every lesson, every day to make sure pupils achieve their potential.".

At Peterhouse, we aim to support not just the child but also their family.  The award verifier said "School staff fully understand the importance of parent partnership and adapt their approach to meet the needs of each family and work with them to strive for the best outcome for their child."

We aim for students to leave us as successful autistic adults, and offering Work Related Learning and Careers Guidance is a significant part of that.  The Quality in Careers award assessor said "Congratulations on achieving the Quality In Careers Standard which fully incorporates the Gatsby Benchmarks. This is an excellent achievement and recognises the quality and breadth of your careers provision."

Challenge Partners is a network of schools and trusts that collaborate and share best practice in order to enhance the life chances of all children.  The network's Quality Assurance Review 2019 states "The vastly experienced senior leadership team have developed a culture of high expectation and aspiration for pupils, many of whom have had previous difficulties with attendance and learning....Peterhouse staff provide effective, supportive and empathic support to pupils."

The Quality Assurance Review 2022 notes that "Effective, integrated therapeutic influence leads to students making strong progress in lessons. ... Teachers are skilled at tailoring their teaching to the learning needs of each student. ... Staff aspiration for students is evident in day-to-day provision.".  At this review, Tutorials were recognised as an Area of Excellence.

Wellbeing, for both pupils and staff, is one of our core values.  The Award Verifier in 2018 confirmed that "Wellbeing and good mental health clearly sit at the centre of the schools culture and values.... The environment of the school is welcoming and caring and there is strong ownership of the ethos and culture by all staff.... The school is rightly proud of its understanding of the needs of every student and holding this at the centre of its work."

We were successfully re-accredited for this award in 2022, with the Assessor stating "Staff, parents and pupils are clearly proud of their school and feel well supported in their wellbeing. All stakeholders talk positively about how they have been both individually and collectively supported by the school."

The Arts are used extensively and effectively throughout school.  This case study illustrates how Peterhouse achieved the ArtsMark Gold Award, noting "The creativity of Arts provision and development of life skills for our young people with Autism work side by side...Creating independence and developing skills and strategies for life shape our young people and the Arts provision often enables them to experience or explore new ideas with real 'personalised learning’ taking place."