Southbrook School

Southbrook School Bishop Westall Road, Exeter, EX2 6JB

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 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 achieve well given their starting points, gain several national qualifications, and are thoroughly prepared to choose the right courses when they leave school.  Teaching and learning are good because teachers have high expectations and provide interesting lessons which students enjoy.  Behaviour and safety are outstanding because students are taught to work together and respect each other, and staff are very skilled at managing any anxious behaviour.  The school works closely with parents and carers, local schools, colleges and the wider community to provide an outstanding range of learning experiences for students.  The new senior leadership team has successfully engaged staff in a collective drive to raise standards.  Leaders and governors are effective in ensuring that teaching and achievement are good and have a clear understanding of the next steps needed to improve the school

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 In a few lessons work is not set at the right level to help all students make fast progress and marking does not always help students understand clearly how to improve their work.  Students are not given enough help to improve their writing in some subjects.  Senior leaders and the governing body are not always able to check in detail how well the school is performing because improvement plans do not always have sharp enough targets for measuring success.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 14 lessons, two of which were joint observations with the headteacher, and a school assembly.  Meetings and discussions were held with the headteacher, staff and members of the governing body.  Inspectors met with a group of students, held informal conversations with students at break and lunchtime, and heard some students read.  The views of parents and carers were gained through eight responses to the online Parent View survey, analysis of the school’s own questionnaires for parents and carers, and discussions with a small number of parents and carers who visited the school. The views of staff were gathered from their questionnaire returns.  A range of documents were looked at, including the school’s plans for improvement, information on students’ progress, lesson plans, work in students’ books and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Andrew Redpath, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Fran Ashworth Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Southbrook is a special school which provides education for students with a wide range of needs, including moderate and severe learning difficulties, autistic spectrum conditions and behaviour, emotional and social difficulties.  All students have a statement of special educational needs and attend from Exeter and the surrounding area.  The proportion of students known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding made available by the government for pupils who are eligible for free school meals, are in the care of the local authority, or have parents or carers in the armed services) is above average.  In September 2012, the school became part of a foundation trust together with nine other local authority special schools.  The school has specialist status for cognition and learning and provides training in aspects of special education to local schools.  The school uses alternative education provided by The Breakthrough Transformation Trust,

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Information about this school

based at a school farm at Dartington in Devon, for young people who have complex behaviour and emotional difficulties.  Since the last inspection, a new headteacher has been appointed and several other changes have taken place in senior leadership positions.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise students’ achievement by:  using information on students’ levels of ability more consistently to set work that is suitably challenging for all students  marking work in more detail so all students know how to improve their work  sharing across the school the best practice that exists in teaching writing.  Provide sharper targets for measuring success in the school’s plans for improvement so that senior leaders and the governing body are better able to check the school’s performance.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Attainment is low overall due to students’ special educational needs. However, given their starting points, students make good progress and there is a trend of improvement. Over half of students leave with at least one A* to G GCSE pass and others gain Entry Level passes and work-related qualifications.  Results in art and design are outstanding with several students gaining higher grade GCSE passes.  Achievement in Years 7 to 9 is particularly strong. In the past, a few older students have not been entered for sufficiently challenging courses. This has improved recently, helped by the school arranging for more capable students to take additional GCSE courses at local secondary schools.  Students’ reading skills are developing well and many use their skills in phonics (letters and the sounds they make) confidently to read new words. Communication skills are taught effectively across the school, with visual prompts being used appropriately to help some students follow

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The achievement of pupils is good

instructions and make choices. While there are some very good examples of students improving their writing, particularly in English, these skills are not taught consistently in all subjects across the school.  The school’s information shows that there is no difference in the rate of progress made by different groups. Observations in lessons show that sometimes progress slows when work is not set at the right level for individual students in the class.  The school has targeted the funding it receives through the pupil premium to provide individual support to help raise standards in numeracy and reading. Early evidence using students’ reading scores shows that this is helping to quicken students’ progress and some are closing the gap with their peers. However, the school has not set clear targets for improvement in reading and so does not know how well it is using the pupil premium.  All students who left the school at the end of Year 11 found suitable destinations in colleges or

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good because teachers typically have high expectations and use their subject knowledge to plan lessons which contain a good variety of activities. This helps students to try their best and to learn well. Good examples occur when students use instruments to make rhythms in music, conduct an experiment on light in science, use cards to learn addition in mathematics, or score their results in a range of fitness activities in a physical education lesson.  Good use of questioning helps to promote students’ speaking and listening skills. Students also learn to discuss their ideas when they work in pairs or in small groups.  Examples of outstanding teaching were observed, for example, in an English lesson when students acted out scenes from a set text. Students were encouraged to discuss each other’s work and teaching assistants gave just the right level of support so students did as much as

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The quality of teaching is good

possible on their own. Students were absorbed throughout and made rapid progress in their learning.  Students are often organised in smaller groups for part of a lesson. This makes good use of teaching assistants’ skills and maintains the pace of learning for all students.  In a small number of lessons students make slower progress because the work set does not provide the right level of challenge for all students. This can result in work being too hard for some students who then need too much help from the teaching assistant to finish it. Also, some of the more capable students do not have sufficient opportunity to look at the topic in more depth or to develop their own ideas.  Teachers check students’ progress regularly against levels of the National Curriculum. There are some very good examples of this information being used carefully to set small but challenging targets which are then linked to the marking of students’ work. Occasionally marking lacks detail

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The quality of teaching is good

on how students might improve their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Students really enjoy coming to school and taking part in the wide range of clubs, trips and musical performances. They display extremely positive attitudes to learning and mix freely around the school. They arrive on time to lessons and their attendance is high when compared with other special schools.  Parents and carers are extremely positive about how the school keeps their children safe and recognise that behaviour is outstanding. Students report how friendly the school is, that bullying is rare, and how the individual support they receive has helped them to improve their learning since they joined the school.  Some students find the behaviour of a few other students irritating, but feel safe and think staff deal effectively with any problems. Occasional incidents of misbehaviour do occur, often linked to students’ communication and learning difficulties. Staff manage these skilfully to ensure they

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

do not interfere with the learning of other students.  Students eagerly discuss their ‘points’ at the end of lessons, which are awarded for effort and achievement and enable students to gain certificates and trips out for their class.  The personal, social and health education programme gives students a good understanding of how to keep safe and make healthy choices. Topics include cyber-bullying and relationships education, which is taught in single sex groups with help from the school nurse.  Students have many opportunities to take on responsibilities and contribute to the life of the school. For example, they run the school tuck shop, help with fetes or participate in the school council.  Older students’ independent skills are developed very well through the work experience placements and part-time college courses. They are trained to become independent travellers whenever possible.  Safeguarding and child protection arrangements meet statutory requirements. The school works

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

closely with the alternative education provider to ensure any pupils who use it are attending and are safe.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and senior leaders provide strong leadership. They have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for further development and are continually looking for ways to improve its performance.  Teaching is monitored regularly and linked to targets for improving teachers’ performance. Links with partner schools in the foundation trust are used effectively to support the professional development of staff, for example through joint training on the needs of children with an autistic spectrum condition.  Staff at all levels help to create an open and welcoming school where students and parents and carers feel welcome. The school works very closely with parents and carers, which helps to raise attendance and enables students with complex needs to settle and feel valued.  The range of subjects taught, supplemented by the trips, visits and clubs, is very successful in supporting students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. These include cultural

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The leadership and management are good

theme days, school shows and residential trips to environmental and outdoor pursuits centres.  Several positive changes have been introduced recently which have improved students’ learning, for example: the strengthening of links with local schools, colleges and the community; guidance for students when they leave; and the reorganisation of trips to enable more students to take part.  Some of the work being done to improve numeracy, reading and writing or to raise the achievement of students who receive the pupil premium lacks clear targets for measuring success.  The local authority School Improvement Partner has discussed the school’s performance with the headteacher and governors and provided useful reports on the school’s overall performance.  The governance of the school: The governing body has a clear vision for the school. It possesses a broad range of skills and has received appropriate training to ensure that all its responsibilities, including safeguarding,

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The leadership and management are good

are carried out effectively. The budget is used prudently and the governing body has reviewed senior leadership positions and teachers’ allowances to improve the school’s performance. The governing body is aware of the quality of teaching across the school and is involved in the management of staff performance. It receives detailed information on students’ attainment and understands how use of the pupil premium is helping some students to catch up.

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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 113634 Local authority Devon Inspection number 403788

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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 Foundation special Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 109 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr John Sanders Headteacher Ms Bronwen Caschere Date of previous school inspection 8 October 2009 Telephone number 01392 258373 Fax number 01392 494036 Email address admin@southbrook.devon.sch.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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