Hadrian School

School report Hadrian School Bertram Crescent, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear , NE15 6PY

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  Hadrian School has maintained its outstanding provision since its previous inspection in 2007.  Although all pupils start at the school with standards that are well below those expected for their age, they make outstanding progress and leave the school having closed the gap significantly with pupils of similar ages in mainstream schools.  The standards on entry to the Early Years Foundation Stage are also well below those expected, but progress here is outstanding because of the excellent and stimulating provision and the quality of teaching.  Teaching is outstanding because it provides a rich range of safe, secure and extremely worthwhile learning experiences for all pupils.  Staff know their pupils extremely well and provide well focused and individualised learning support throughout the school.  The pupils’ behaviour is outstanding because of the trusting and very effective relationships

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

that exist in all parts of the school.  The senior staff know the strengths of the school extremely well and they are adept at providing timely and appropriate support.  The governing body is fully committed to the school’s vision for continuous improvement. They know and support the school very effectively.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was carried out at short notice.  Inspectors observed 11 part-lessons, which included 12 class teachers and a number of teaching assistants. The headteacher joined an inspector for two lesson observations and was observed giving feedback to one of the two teachers seen. All teachers were offered, and almost all received, feedback from inspectors.  The lead inspector looked at the Ofsted online questionnaire, ‘Parent View’, prior to and during the inspection. In total, there were 41 online responses. Additionally, two letters and one email were received and all were evidenced as part of this inspection. The collective findings from these responses were summarised with senior staff and were briefly shared at the formal feedback meeting at the end of the inspection.  A range of documents was read and some joint and separate meetings held with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, assessment coordinator, the teacher responsible for the Early

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Information about this inspection

Years Foundation Stage, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body and a local authority officer.  During lesson observations inspectors listened to a small number of pupils reading aloud to their class or individually to an adult providing in-class support.  Inspectors also spoke with pupils and staff during lessons.  Inspectors read and evidenced 46 paper-based questionnaires returned by staff at the school.

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Inspection team

Brian Blake, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Michele Crichton Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Because Hadrian School caters specifically for pupils with complex, severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties, in addition to a small number with moderate learning difficulties, it is significantly smaller than the average-sized primary school.  All pupils require specialist extra help with their work, with all of them financed through their statement of special educational needs. This proportion of pupils is well above average.  Students eligible for free school meals, those who have been in care more than six months and those whose parents are currently serving in the armed forces are eligible for additional funding called the pupil premium. The proportion of these students currently at the school is 55%, which is higher than average.  The school is experiencing a changing population, with a significantly increasing number of pupils with complex health needs as well as profound and multiple learning difficulties.

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Information about this school

 The school intends to achieve Trust status in September 2013.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 The governing body must ensure that it publishes clear details on the school website of the effects of the pupil premium grant on the educational attainment of those pupils at the school in respect of whom this grant funding was allocated.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils can join the school at different times during the school year, but the common feature of all is that they start with skills and abilities well below those that are usual for their age.  Taking account of their individual starting points, the pupils make much better progress than expected for similar pupils. As a result, by the time they leave the school the gap in achievement between them and others of their age in mainstream schools has narrowed significantly.  These lower than expected starting points also apply to the children when they enter Nursery, but during their time in the Early Years Foundation Stage their progress is outstanding because of the excellent teaching, stimulating environment and highly personalised and focused activities.  This outstanding progress is due to the excellent support and quality of teaching that all pupils receive and, in particular, to the exceptionally close monitoring and tracking of the pupils’

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

progress throughout their time in school.  Given that the pupils’ levels of attainment are well below average for their age, they do not achieve an average point score which allows a comparison to be made against national averages. However, school-generated data show those pupils who benefit from extra funding through the pupil premium make outstanding progress, which is equal to others in the school. Overall, therefore, there is no discernible difference in their achievement.  Every opportunity is taken to promote key literacy and numeracy skills, especially reading. For example, the pupils make a very positive contribution to, and use of, the school paper, the ‘Hadrian Herald’. Specific guided reading activities used throughout the school are helping the pupils to gain greater confidence and ability to access information that aids their learning and progress in lessons.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching is always consistently good or better, and this quality underpins the excellent progress being made by the pupils.  All adults who work with the pupils have high but realistic expectations of what every individual can achieve, either in the lesson or in the longer term. These expectations are not only related to improving the pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding, but also the broader social, emotional and behavioural aspects of their personal development.  The school collects a range of information about pupils’ ongoing progress when in and out of school, with opportunities for parents to contribute and share in their children’s successes. This link between teachers and parents was highly praised in Ofsted’s online inspection questionnaire.  Lesson planning is of high quality but best where there is explicit reference to the targeted learning needs of individual pupils.  In all lessons teachers and other support staff continuously emphasise the pupils’ further

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

development in their use of essential reading, writing, number and communication. This on- going reinforcement and adult support in these important areas is helping the pupils to gain in confidence and to apply their learning to new challenges, both in and out of school.  Teachers use praise to very good effect, which makes a significant contribution to the pupils’ enjoyment of, and enthusiasm for, their work.  Teachers have positively embraced new technology to aid their teaching and to engage the pupils in targeted aspects of their learning, for example in the use of smart technology tablets in recording the pupils’ movements and work in lessons.  Teachers readily engage the pupils in practising a range of different communication skills to enhance and reinforce their learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The outstanding quality of working relationships throughout the school underpins the very high levels of enjoyment, interest, attendance, behaviour and safety of the pupils. These very positive relationships are both recognised and highly praised by parents.  The closeness of links between staff, pupils and parents ensures that the pupils are safe when in school and that any incidents of challenging behaviour are dealt with quickly and without them adversely affecting the pupils.  The pupils have very good self-awareness and are polite and courteous to staff and visitors. The overwhelming majority have a natural enthusiasm to engage in some type of discussion in lessons, reflecting their very positive attitudes to work.  All reasonable actions are taken by staff to ensure that, in lessons and when moving around the school site, the pupils are safe and sensible in their actions.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 School staff, especially the headteacher and other senior leaders, have a very close and effective working relationship with the governing body. These regular contacts, either through formally planned meetings or visits, help ensure that there is a clear and agreed vision for the school to continually improve its provision for all pupils. This sharing of the vision ensures that there is a coherent and well-planned set of actions to meet the stated priorities which the school has set itself in its school development plan.  Senior staff know clearly why the quality of teaching is so successful in helping the pupils make outstanding progress. Regular observations of lessons are helping teachers to develop a good understanding of their relative strengths and areas for further development. In addition, the very extensive opportunities and provision of continued professional development are also a very

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The leadership and management are outstanding

positive aid to them furthering their knowledge and experience of a wide range of different lesson content and teaching methods, including the use of new technologies.  The school has very high standards and expectations in relation to its provision for the pupils and it has been very successful in improving upon these since its previous inspection. The curriculum, for example, is both rich and diverse, and greatly enhanced by the creative in-school programme of additional activities and the extensive range of extra-curricular activities available to all pupils. The response from the pupils to these additional learning opportunities is excellent, and the many visits to places of local or national interest, or abroad when skiing, are enabling them to appreciate life outside of school, improve their self-esteem and raise their personal aspirations.  Senior leaders and managers have been very creative in the way they have responded to the

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The leadership and management are outstanding

increasing needs of the pupils and teachers. For example, the limited company that the school runs provides training for teachers locally and nationally and generates significant income that is used to embellish the quality of curricular opportunities, facilities and resources for the pupils.  Staff readily take on management responsibilities and those that do are very effective in their role; this includes the leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Staff enjoy working at the school and they share a common passion for making the pupils’ time there as enjoyable and profitable as possible. The pupils clearly recognise this commitment and they respond positively to the many and varied opportunities they are given by staff, which, in turn, makes a significant contribution to their outstanding progress.  All parents who responded to the online questionnaire, and especially those who took the

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The leadership and management are outstanding

opportunity to write directly to inspectors, are full of praise for the work, commitment and all- round support which the school provides for them and their children.  The local authority recognises the many and varied successes of the school and has supported it in a way that is helpful to governors and staff. Although there is planned contact, the local authority is allowing the school to develop in its own way, and at a pace that ensures the maintenance of its high-quality provision.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has a very good overview of the quality of the school’s provision. Individual governors are linked effectively with subject leaders so that, through regular visits, the governing body collectively knows and appreciates the quality of teaching that the pupils receive. Programmed governing body meetings present opportunities for governors to challenge senior leaders through the medium of the detailed up-to-date progress reports from

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The leadership and management are outstanding

the headteacher. The governors have a good general overview of the ways in which the school spends the extra funding it receives via the pupil premium. However, while staff have detailed performance data for those pupils in receipt of this funding, this information is not yet being published in a sufficiently clear way on the school’s website. There is a very good level of understanding of teachers’ performance management arrangements, and robust procedures for ensuring that progression through the pay scale is based fairly on the quality and success of the teacher.

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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 131986 Local authority Newcastle Upon Tyne Inspection number 403638

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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 2–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 120 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Besh Brown Headteacher Christopher Rollings Date of previous school inspection 18 September 2007 Telephone number 0191 271 4440 Fax number 0191 226 1150 Email address admin@hadrian.newcastle.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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