Setting

Ms Olivia Meyrick Executive Headteacher College Park School Garway Road London W2 4PH

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of College Park School

Following my visit to your school on 1 and 2 May 2013, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of College Park School

The inspection was a monitoring inspection carried out in accordance with no formal designation procedures and conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was carried out because the Chief Inspector was concerned about the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements at the school.

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Evidence

The single central record and other documents relating to safeguarding and child protection arrangements were scrutinised. Discussions were held with you, members of the pastoral team, a group of learners, the Chair of the Governing Body and the governor responsible for safeguarding. A telephone conversation was also held with a representative from the local authority. A recent local authority audit of the school’s safeguarding arrangements, governors’ minutes, attendance records, behaviour and conduct logs and exclusions data were also reviewed. Account was taken of the views of small number of parents who responded to a school questionnaire. A sample of lessons was observed, including two joint observations conducted with you.

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Evidence

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school's safeguarding arrangements meet requirements. Tribal 1-4 Portland Square Bristol BS2 8RR T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0117 311 5359 Direct F 0117 315 0430 Email :christina.bannerman@tribalgroup.com

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Context

College Park School is federated with Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee School, and both schools share a single governing body and executive headteacher. The school provides places for children and young people between the ages of four and 19 years of age. All 96 learners have a statement of special educational needs and have moderate to severe learning difficulties with complex needs and/or autism. Around four fifths of learners are from minority ethnic heritages, and three quarters of these speak English as an additional language, although none are at the early stages of learning English. Almost half of the learners are known to be eligible for free school meals. There are more boys than girls and the school has a very mobile learner population. Staff turnover has been low and the school is fully staffed.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Learners show respect and courtesy and usually require little more than gentle reminders to adhere to the school’s high expectations of how they should behave. Behaviour in lessons and around the school is good and learners are encouraged to be polite and welcoming. For example, in an art lesson, learners were prompted to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ when asking to share resources. Most pupils attend school regularly and attendance shows improvement over the last three years. Despite this improvement, attendance remains below average. Learners say they enjoy school and feel safe. They are confident that adults will listen to them and help them overcome any difficulties they might encounter. There have been few exclusions and pupils say that bullying is uncommon and that if it does occur it is dealt with promptly and effectively. Learners confirm that rare incidents of challenging behaviour are managed well so that they do not interrupt learning. They

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

are aware of potential risks associated with the use of the internet and the school has planned to help parents support their children’s safe use of information and communication technology outside of school. The few parents who responded to the questionnaires felt their children were kept safe and enjoyed school.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

A recent local authority review of safeguarding arrangements identified a number of areas that required improvement in order to be good. Senior leaders and governors responded to these findings promptly and vigorously. Consequently, checks conducted to ensure the suitability of adults to work with children are now recorded systematically and to the required standard. The school’s child protection policy has been reviewed and temporary staff are given better information and training about the school’s safeguarding arrangements. Governors have planned to ensure that they keep a close eye on safeguarding matters and it is essential that these plans are implemented rigorously. The local authority review also identified a number of strengths, including good recording of behaviour incidents, detailed records of staff training relating to safeguarding, the federation medical needs policy and a diligent and timely response to children’s and young people’s absence. There are appropriate

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The quality of leadership in and management of the school

procedures for dealing with complaints and any issues relating to child protection and/or safety. The school curriculum has a strong focus on developing learners’ independence and raising their awareness of how to keep themselves and others safe.

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External support

The local authority has supported the school by conducting an audit of safeguarding arrangements and by providing additional advice and guidance on staffing matters and safety procedures. The school has good productive working arrangements with the local authority, and other agencies, to ensure that learners get appropriate advice and support to help them overcome personal difficulties and know how to keep safe.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Ensure that governors check arrangements for child protection robustly and regularly, so that they can hold the school to account for consistent and effective application of the school’s safeguarding policies and procedures.

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Priorities for further improvement

I am copying this letter to the Director of Children’s Services for Westminster, to the Secretary of State for Education and to the Chair of the Governing Body. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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