Newfield School

Newfield School Oldbank Lane, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB1 2PW

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Students are well prepared for the next stage in their education or training. Effective arrangements are in place which enable students to exercise as much choice as possible about what happens to them when they leave school.  Students make good progress in their communication, reading, writing and mathematical skills. Progress in their personal and social development for the vast majority is good and is occasionally outstanding.  Teachers plan activities carefully for each individual student which they will find engaging and enjoyable. Teaching assistants contribute well to students’ good progress.  Students work hard to live up to the high expectations set for them to ensure that their behaviour is never less than good. They feel very safe and secure.  The curriculum is well organised and enriched by many visits and visitors and by many experiences beyond the school day.  Partnerships with local schools and colleges

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

have a good effect on achievement. Partnerships with parents are excellent.  Students make good progress in the sixth form because they spend an increasing amount of time preparing specifically for their chosen destination.  The headteacher is ambitious for the school. Management of the quality of teaching is excellent and this has ensured that the school has improved rapidly since the last inspection.  The governing body understands clearly what is happening in school and contributes well to the leadership of the school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 A minority of students with profound and multiple learning difficulties do not always achieve as much as they are capable of.  The school does not make full use of information about nationally expected progress when considering how well its pupils are doing.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors took account of the school’s procedures for gaining an accurate view of its performance and looked at the development plan, minutes of meetings, records of lesson observations, targets set for teachers, and documents that track students’ progress.  The inspectors observed 11 lessons including three jointly with members of the leadership team. Inspectors held discussions with staff, a member of the governing body and a member of the local authority. A phone call discussion was held with the Chair of the Governing Body.  The inspectors spoke with students and parents and the lead inspector took account of four responses from the on-line questionnaire (Parent View).

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Inspection team

Pauline Hilling-Smith, Lead inspector Additional Inspector John Ashley Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The majority of students have either severe or moderate learning difficulties. The rest of the population is equally split between students with profound and multiple learning difficulties and students with autism. A minority of students have complex medical conditions.  The majority of students are boys.  All students have a statement of special educational needs.  A majority of students do not have English as their home first language.  A majority of students are from Asian backgrounds.  The proportion of students eligible for the pupil premium is above average.  The school holds National Autistic Society Accreditation and Inclusion Quality Mark Flagship status.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the progress of students with profound and multiple learning difficulties so that their progress is consistently good by:  ensuring that teachers always use what they know about what students with profound and multiple learning difficulties have achieved in a lesson and plan what they need to learn next based on this.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the percentage of outstanding lessons by further training for staff in:  teaching students with profound and multiple learning difficulties  assessing the progress of students with profound and multiple learning difficulties.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the quality of leadership and management even further by:  ensuring leaders make better use of the information about progress of students nationally so that they can compare it with the performance of its students more accurately.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 All students are working well below the levels expected nationally when they start at the school because of their disabilities and special educational needs. The vast majority of students make good progress when compared to pupils with similar starting points.  Students make good and sometimes outstanding progress in personal and social development, especially in their ability to make choices.  Their progress in communication and reading are strengths because of the special techniques staff use with the students to help them learn.  Individual students’ talents in English and mathematics are nurtured carefully and all students leave with certificates at the appropriate level.  Children in the early years make good progress because staff know the children and their families very well.  There are still some inconsistencies in achievement, notably in mathematics and in Key Stage 2. This is based on prior slower progress. However, these are being rapidly ironed out.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students who receive support from pupil premium funding and those from Asian backgrounds learn at the same good rate as other students. There is no difference between the achievement of boys and girls. However, pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties do not always make the progress they are capable of because targets set for them in lessons are not always as specific as they need to be.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The majority of teaching seen during the inspection was good and some of it was outstanding. Teaching enables most students to make good progress and a few to make outstanding progress in their personal development.  Students make good or better progress when they spend most of the lesson working on tasks at just the right level of difficulty and when they are supported at just the right level. In an outstanding art and design lesson, the class teacher and other staff used quiet voices and low lighting, and gave exactly the right amount of support to enable students to succeed. This was accomplished through an excellent understanding of how well all the students were learning.  Students make good progress when they have opportunities to apply their skills, for example on the many theme days or when they learn in the community or in other schools and colleges.  Teaching assistants contribute a lot to the achievement of the students either through good

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The quality of teaching is good

support, for example in physical care, or by leading learning in a specialist area such as French.  Students very much enjoy their learning and parents say that their children are really keen to get to school.  The school has made adjustments to the teaching of students with profound and multiple learning difficulties, for example by extending work with the senses in the Studio. This is having a good effect on their progress. However, teachers do not routinely identify what each student has achieved in a previous lesson to pinpoint precisely enough what the student is to learn in the next lesson.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Students are welcoming and try very hard to live up to the high expectations set for them. Their desire to work hard and their attitudes to learning are exemplary. This helps them to learn well and make good and sometimes better progress in their personal and social development.  Staff are consistent and highly skilled in maintaining a very positive atmosphere at all times. For example, in the dining room the maturity with which students eat their meals is achieved because all students are calm as a result of their needs being met very well.  Students’ confidence grows rapidly because they experience success and feel safe and secure. They support each other as well as they can and are patient if they need to be because they know that they will receive support if necessary.  They learn to keep themselves and others safe when they are out in the community. For example, they understand that they must wait and look for traffic before crossing the road.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Bullying is not an issue as students accept and understand each other’s differences exceptionally well.  The vast majority of parents say that they are very pleased with the communication, respect and care the school gives to their child.  The curriculum for personal, health, social and emotional development is at the centre of what the school does. As students progress through the school they build up an ever increasing understanding of how, for example, to keep themselves healthy and fit.  Students contribute to school rules and individuals adhere closely to any ‘deals’ or contracts they make to ensure they follow the rules.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher is an exceptional leader. He is pivotal to the very rapid improvement of the school. He is very ably supported by three deputy headteachers and a deputy head for business services.  An in-depth leadership structure has been carefully built since the last inspection and successfully communicates a strong vision. The headteacher and deputy headteachers work well as a team. They are ambitious for the achievement of the students and are very successful in driving improvements.  However, they do not yet make full use of the nationally published information showing the progress of students with a similar starting point by comparing it with the students in the school.  The staff support each other well. All staff are committed to the achievement of the students. They ensure that additional funds, such as the pupil premium, are used to good effect, for example by providing additional staff during experiences in the community.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has an accurate view of its own performance. Plans made are effective because everyone, including members of the governing body, contribute to them.  Procedures to ensure the identification of standards reached by pupils are now exactly accurate.  The curriculum meets the needs of the students very well. It is well organised and makes the most of many learning experiences out in the community and in partner schools and colleges. It is enriched by many after-school activities and visits and visitors.  The multi-faith tree in the Atrium exemplifies good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development because it holds symbols of each faith which have been blessed and placed there by the faith leaders in the community in a service attended by the students.  The local authority supports the school well through an adviser with specialist knowledge who knows the school well. She has worked with governors to ensure that arrangements to check the

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The leadership and management are good

performance of the headteacher have a good effect on school improvement.  The leadership of teaching and performance is highly effective. Procedures to check the quality of teaching are extensive and thorough.  Partnership with parents is outstanding. Making sure that parents are fully involved in the achievement of their children is seen as a priority.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has a good knowledge of what is happening in school and knows that this is a good school. Governors manage the budget effectively and are clear about how the pupil premium is being spent. They can identify the positive effect that this is having on those students who are eligible for additional funds. They are involved in arrangements to check the performance of staff and know about the quality of teaching. The Chair of the Governing Body particularly ensures that the governors’ contribution to safeguarding is very strong.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 132051 Local authority Blackburn and Darwen Inspection number 402533

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Special School category Community special Age range of pupils 2–19 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 131 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 32 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Paul Lee Headteacher Geoff Fitzpatrick Date of previous school inspection 21 October 2009 Telephone number 01254 588600 Fax number 01254 588601 Email address newfield@blackburn.gov.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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