Falconer School

Falconer School Falconer Road, Bushey, WD23 3AT

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Inadequate 4 Overall effectiveness of the residential experience Adequate 3

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.  Pupils’ achievement is inadequate. Too many pupils do not make the progress that is expected from their starting points. Year 11 pupils do not do as well as they should in GCSE examinations in English and mathematics.  Teaching is inadequate and so pupils do not make enough progress. Too often lessons are not planned well enough for the range of pupils’ needs. Literacy is not taught consistently well in all lessons and teachers do not provide enough opportunities for pupils to practise their writing skills.  Too many pupils in Years 10 and 11 have poor attendance.  Leadership and management are inadequate. Leaders do not do enough to make sure that pupils do as well as they can. Senior leaders and governors do not use information about pupils’ progress well enough to check that teaching is as effective as it should be.  The school does not meet the national

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

minimum standards for residential special schools.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

The school has the following strengths.  Pupils feel safe and well cared for. They have confidence that staff will help if they have any concerns.  Pupils’ behaviour and attendance improve well at Key Stage 3.  The choice of courses for pupils at Key Stage 4 has been improved and now provides a wide range of pathways to meet individual pupils’ interests and aspirations.  There is a good range of sporting, cultural and creative enrichment activities.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 12 lessons; three were observed jointly with senior staff.  Discussions were held with a group of pupils, senior leaders and teachers, the Vice-Chair of the Governing Body and a representative of the local authority. In addition, there were discussions with managers of two alternative providers used by the school to extend Key Stage 4 provision.  The inspectors looked at a range of documents including: pupils’ progress data, results of GCSE examinations, safeguarding information, minutes of governing body meetings, the school’s monitoring of teaching, attendance and behaviour data, reports from external advisers, the most recent parent survey and the school’s self-evaluation.  The residential inspection included visits to the School House before and after school time; discussions with pupils and care staff; scrutiny of care plans and pupils’ records; staff training and supervision records; reports of governors’ visits to the School House; and safeguarding

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Information about this inspection

information and other policies.  The inspector took into account the views expressed in staff questionnaires. There were four responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).

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Inspection team

Charlie Henry, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Lynda Walker Additional Inspector Sandra Jacobs-Walls Social Care Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Information about this school

 Falconer is a small special school for boys who have behavioural, social and emotional difficulties; an increasing proportion has autistic spectrum disorders. All pupils have a statement of special educational needs.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, those of service personnel families and pupils in local authority care) is well above the national average.  Most pupils are of White British heritage and very few speak English as an additional language.  The school uses four alternative providers to extend the curriculum opportunities for pupils at Key Stage 4. These providers are Watford Community Gardens, Seeds of Change, Building 1 Zone and the Sanctuary Art of Music and Sound.  There is residential provision in the School House for 10 pupils. The pupils spend varying

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching by:  ensuring that lesson planning matches the learning needs of individual pupils  preparing pupils better for when they leave school by teaching them to work effectively with each other  making sure that the monitoring of teaching focuses on whether pupils are making good progress over time.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ achievement so that they make at least the progress expected for their age and starting points by:  working with other schools to check the accuracy of teachers’ assessment of pupils’ attainment  setting ambitious yet realistic targets for pupils’ progress based on their starting points and with reference to available national comparative data  rigorously monitoring the progress towards these targets and amending teaching strategies or providing additional support if pupils are not on track  making sure that progress towards targets are discussed with pupils and their parents.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ attendance at Key Stage 4 by:  making sure that each pupil follows a curriculum matched to their interests and aspirations  working closely with the local authority and other agencies to eliminate persistent absence.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by:  evaluating pupils’ progress and attainment in each subject at a whole-school level and for the different groups of pupils within the school  making sure that leaders’ assessments of the school’s effectiveness and school improvement plans are focused on improving pupils’ progress and attainment.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve governance by:  ensuring governors rigorously challenge the school regarding pupils’ attainment, based on the progress they should make  ensuring that the performance management of staff takes into account the impact of teaching over time on pupils’ progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 The school must meet the following national minimum standards for residential special schools:  The school identifies at least one person other than a parent, outside the residential and teaching staff, who children may contact directly about personal problems or concerns at the school. The school ensures that children know who this person is and how to contact them. Children are also provided with one or more appropriate helpline(s) or outside contact numbers, including the Children's Rights Director, to ring in case of problems or distress. (NMS 2.2)  The records specified in Appendix 2 (Residential Special Schools National Minimum Standards) are maintained and monitored by the school and action taken as appropriate. (NMS 13.3)  All existing care staff have attained a relevant minimum level 3 qualification or have qualifications which demonstrate the same competencies. All new staff engaged from the

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

commencement of these Standards hold these qualifications or begin working towards them within 3 months of confirmation of employment. (NMS 19.2)  Most monitoring visits are carried out unannounced. They include: checks on the school's records of attendance, complaints, sanctions, use of physical interventions, risk assessments, and where they exist, individual care plans for children; assessment of the physical condition of the building, furniture and equipment of the school; and opportunities for any child or member of staff who wishes to meet the visitor (in private if they wish). (NMS 20.2)

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils do not make the progress they should from their starting points. Most do not achieve the GCSE examination results in English and mathematics of which they are capable.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils who have not met their targets at the end of Key Stage 3 are set targets for the progress they are expected to make from their starting points at the beginning of Key Stage 4 without any change in provision to indicate how an upturn in progress can be reasonably expected. Some pupils are set inappropriately low targets because their attendance is poor.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Many pupils who come to the school with weak reading and spelling skills make significant progress as a result of the intensive support they receive. However, the inconsistent teaching of literacy in other lessons does not ensure that these gains are built upon as effectively as possible.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Some pupils make good gains in vocational and work-related skills, including motor vehicle maintenance and construction. Some also make good progress in art, and information and communication technology (ICT) and achieve examination awards at the end of Key Stage 4.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils make the most progress in lessons when they have individualised targets that are well matched to their needs.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 There are no identified differences in the progress made by pupils with different special educational needs, or by those who are eligible for support through the pupil premium.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 The school has not satisfactorily addressed the weakness in evaluating pupils’ progress that was identified at the last inspection. Information about pupils’ progress and attainment in most subjects is weak. This information is not rigorously checked to ensure that it is accurate, or analysed at group or whole-school level to identify strengths and areas for improvement.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teachers are knowledgeable about their specialist subjects and provide a range of activities that hold pupils’ interest. However, too often teachers do not plan well enough for the range of pupils’ needs and different levels of attainment within the same group. As a result, some pupils are not challenged sufficiently and other pupils do not learn well because they are given support that they do not need.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teachers and teaching assistants manage behaviour in the classroom effectively. Sometimes, however, the management is overly controlling and relies too much on pupils working individually. This does not give pupils the chance to work successfully with one another. This is an important aspect of learning if pupils are to be as successful as possible when they leave school.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 The success of the school’s strategy to improve the teaching of literacy in all lessons is variable. In the best examples, teachers help the pupils consistently to achieve their individual literacy targets. However, in other lessons, teachers miss too many opportunities to promote literacy skills, especially by requiring pupils to produce longer pieces of writing.  Teaching assistants make a valuable contribution to supporting the work of the teacher. In the most successful lessons, they help pupils work towards their individual goals. However, sometimes they provide too much support and, in so doing, reduce pupils’ independence. In some of these lessons, this is the result of weaknesses in teachers’ planning; in others, there is insufficient monitoring and guidance by the teacher.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Relationships between staff and pupils are very good. Pupils usually listen carefully to what they are asked to do and carry out their work accordingly.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 The school has responded to parents’ request to increase the amount of homework. Pupils have to complete unfinished work within curriculum enrichment time.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Attendance significantly improves for most pupils at Key Stage 3 who have a history of poor school attendance before starting at Falconers. However, there is a small yet significant proportion of pupils at Key Stage 4 who have high levels of absence. The school has worked with the local authority and other agencies, yet some of these pupils continue to have very low levels of attendance. It is too soon to see whether recent changes to the curriculum and the way pupils are grouped in different classes have a significant impact on encouraging these pupils to attend school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils told inspectors that, while there was occasional bullying, it was not a worry and that staff dealt effectively with it when they were told. Parents did not express concerns about bullying. E- safety is covered within ICT lessons; however, not all pupils’ work in their files is completed and this, therefore, leaves questions about the thoroughness of coverage of this important topic.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The school is an orderly place. Pupils are polite and courteous; they take good care of their school. Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe and that they know who to speak to if they have any worries. They and their parents have confidence in the school’s support.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Most pupils’ behaviour improves while they are at the school. The use of short-term exclusion and of restraint decreases the longer the pupils attend; permanent exclusion is very rare.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Staff are skilled at avoiding conflicts and usually are successful in de-escalating any difficult situations. The pupils understand and respond well to the school’s use of incentives and rewards to improve behaviour. When necessary, pupils leave the classroom for short periods while they calm down, and then quickly return to their lessons. Importantly, pupils continue to do their work when they are out of lessons.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 There is insufficient emphasis from leaders and managers on ensuring that pupils make as much progress as they can and reach the highest possible standards of attainment.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Self-assessment and improvement planning are weak and do not adequately take into account pupils’ progress and attainment. Some of the key issues for improvement identified at the last inspection have not been thoroughly addressed. As a consequence, the school still has an inadequate picture of how well pupils are doing. Teachers’ assessments of pupils’ attainment in the different subjects are inaccurate. The available information is not drawn together and analysed to provide a picture of areas of strength that can be built upon and of weaknesses in provision that require improvement. While individual pupils’ targets are set, there is a failure to act when monitoring shows that pupils are not on track to achieve them.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The headteacher and staff team have been effective in improving the behaviour and attendance of most pupils.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Performance management is not effective. Information about pupils’ progress over time is not considered alongside the outcomes of the observation of lessons. The accuracy of teachers’ assessments is also not considered. Joint observations of lessons by senior leaders with inspectors indicated an overgenerous evaluation of the quality of some of the teaching. These examples, and also the records of routinely monitored lessons, show insufficient emphasis is placed on rigorously assessing the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The school may not recruit newly qualified teachers.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The curriculum has improved and is good. The Key Stage 3 curriculum provides a broad and balanced range of subjects, with an appropriate weighting towards English and mathematics. Pupils at Key Stage 4 are able to select from a wide choice of courses to create an individualised programme that provides a good match to their interests and aspirations, including vocational and work-related studies. A very good range of enrichment activities contributes well to pupils’ sporting, creative and cultural development.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The additional funding provided through the pupil premium for pupils who are at risk of underachievement is used to enhance the provision for all pupils. This is a reasonable strategy given that the large majority of the pupils are entitled to this additional resource. These pupils make similar progress to others in the school.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The local authority is aware that the school has areas that require improvement, however, did not identify it as an inadequate school.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The governance of the school:  provides effective challenge and support to the school regarding pupils’ behaviour  does not adequately hold the school to account for the progress pupils make or the standards that they attain  does not have a good understanding of the quality of teaching or use performance management effectively when determining teachers’ pay because it does not adequately consider or set targets for teachers regarding pupils’ progress  has ensured that statutory responsibilities are met, including recruitment checks and staff training regarding safeguarding.

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are adequate

 The residential experience is important to the pupils and they have a strong and highly positive affiliation to School House. They make exceptional progress socially and are able to develop and maintain relationships, many for the first time, with other pupils and staff. They enjoy a wide range of stimulating activities to which they would otherwise not have access.  Pupils have a strong sense of self-worth and have developed a respectful approach towards others. Behaviour is generally very good and pupils do not show extreme and challenging behaviour.

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are adequate

 Staff provide care that meets pupils’ individual needs. They pay particular attention to equality and diversity; for example, by ensuring that any needs relating to religious or cultural obligations are met. Care plans are comprehensive, relevant and accurately address identified needs. Appropriate goals are set for pupils and are reviewed regularly.

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are adequate

 Pupils speak highly of staff and feel genuinely cared for and understood. They have good opportunities to share their feelings and views, and contribute to the development of the provision.

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are adequate

 Accommodation is safe, secure and maintained to a good standard. Pupils feel comfortable and are appreciative of their surroundings. They live healthy lifestyles. There are clear policies and safe practices to ensure that health care needs are well met. Pupils enjoy a well-balanced, nutritious and varied diet and have excellent access to physical exercise, through creative, sporting and outdoor activities.

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are adequate

 Safeguarding is a priority and pupils feel safe. Staff receive comprehensive child protection training. Residential pupils are aware and attentive to their own safety and that of others. They are clear about the adults whom they can approach with any concerns. Pupils say that bullying does not occur at School House and that such behaviour is not tolerated.

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are adequate

 Leadership and management of the residential provision are adequate. There is clear information that outlines well the aims and objectives of School House. There is a sufficient number of care staff to meet the needs of residential pupils. Staff have good training opportunities. However, not all of the current staff group have achieved the required NVQ training at level 3.

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are adequate

 Residential staff are well supported and receive regular formal supervision. However, not all supervision records are evidenced on file.

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are adequate

 All required policies are in place and implemented effectively. Managers and staff share a good relationship with external agencies.

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are adequate

 The residential provision has yet to establish and engage an independent visitor to ensure that pupils have an independent person who is known to them and who visits regularly to listen to any concerns they may have. This was highlighted as a weakness at the last inspection.

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are adequate

 The governor who takes the lead for monitoring the residential provision visits regularly as required. These visits routinely include discussions with pupils, staff and the review of School House premises. However, subsequent reports do not show that key documents such as records of complaints, sanctions and risk assessments are reviewed.

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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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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding A school which provides an exceptional quality of care and significantly exceeds minimum requirements. Grade 2 Good A school which provides a high quality of care that exceeds minimum requirements. Grade 3 Adequate A school which meets minimum requirements but needs to improve the quality of care it provides. Grade 4 Inadequate A school where minimum requirements are not met and the quality of care has serious weaknesses.

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School details

Unique reference number 117686 Social care unique reference number SC056408 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 401680

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection of residential provision was carried out under the Children Act 1989, as amended by the Care Standards Act 2000, having regard to the national minimum standards for residential special schools.

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School details

Type of school Special School category Community special Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Boys Number of pupils on the school roll 75 Number of boarders on roll 10 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Yvonne Fitton Headteacher Mark Williamson Date of previous school inspection 1 December 2009 Telephone number 020 89502505 Fax number 020 84218107 Email address head@falconer.herts.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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