Kingsbury Primary Special School

Kingsbury Primary Special School School Lane, Chapel House, Skelmersdale, WN8 8EH

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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.  In comparison to pupils with similar starting points elsewhere, all groups of pupils make excellent progress. Above expected rates of progress are commonplace.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make outstanding progress because of excellent leadership and super teaching. They quickly learn the routines and skills that serve them very well as they move through the school.  Pupils are very well prepared for the next stage in their education by the time they leave the school.  Teaching is outstanding because staff use their assessments to plan work that is very closely matched to pupils’ needs. They check these continually and respond swiftly and successfully if pupils are underachieving.  Very occasionally, however, staff do not leave enough time for pupils to think hard and long enough when asking them a question and can be too quick to give a clue.  Pupils thoroughly enjoy coming to school. Their

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

behaviour is splendid and they are keen and perky in their learning.  Staff are very vigilant and the school has robust systems to keep pupils safe.  The curriculum is very effective in giving pupils a great experience of education. It is changed when necessary to make sure it is well matched to the pupils’ needs and abilities.  The governing body has improved and is very effective. It ensures the school is outward looking. Members are careful to check the information they receive by asking probing questions.  Excellent leadership by senior leaders and governors has improved the quality of teaching and the progress pupils make since the last inspection.  Parents are very supportive of the school and are particularly impressed with the communications they receive and the support they get.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 11 lessons and saw all teachers teach. The headteacher joined the lead inspector for one of the observations.  Meetings were held with pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body, members of staff and a representative of the local authority. Additionally, the lead inspector met with a small group of parents collecting their children at the end of the day.  The inspector took account of the 21 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View), the 29 staff questionnaire returns and the school’s October 2012 survey of parents’ views.  The work of the school was observed and a number of documents were reviewed including the school’s monitoring records, data about pupils’ progress, records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding, the school development plan and records of governors’ meetings.

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Inspection team

Eric Craven, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Doreen Davenport Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school provides for pupils with a range of learning difficulties. Approximately half have autistic spectrum disorders with most others having severe and profound learning difficulties. All have a statement of special educational needs.  Pupils come from the West Lancashire and Sefton areas and the great majority are transported to school.  Almost all are from White British backgrounds. A small number are from a range of other heritages. Virtually all pupils speak English as their first language. Very few pupils are looked after by the local authority. There are just over twice as many boys as girls.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible to be supported by the pupil premium is above average. The pupil premium is additional government funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and those who are looked after.  Approximately one fifth of the pupils are children in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this school

 The school is located in the same building as Brookfield Park Primary School and some of the resources and facilities are shared. The co-located primary school is subject to a separate inspection and reports for that school can be found at www.ofsted.gov.uk  Since the last inspection, the previous headteacher has retired. The previous deputy headteacher and acting assistant headteacher were appointed as headteacher and deputy headteacher respectively.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 In order to accelerate progress even more, make sure pupils think as hard as they can by giving them enough time to think about the questions posed to them in lessons and do not give clues to the answers too early.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The attainment of the pupils is very low because of their significant learning difficulties. Regardless, they make excellent progress from their individual starting points. This is because of the very good use staff make of the information they collect on each pupil. This helps the staff to give the right level of challenge to pupils in the work they set. High proportions of pupils make greater than expected rates of progress in comparison to pupils of the same age and with the same starting points in other schools.  Different groups make the same excellent progress because teachers’ planning invariably takes account of the needs of individuals and groups of pupils. A high proportion of pupils who are supported by pupil premium funding make expected and above-expected rates of progress and this compares very favourably with those not supported by pupil premium funding. Any gaps in attainment that were there in the past between pupils known to be eligible for free school meals

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

and other pupils have been well and truly closed. Boys’ and girls’ rates of progress and their attainment are largely the same.  The school is successful in ensuring equality of opportunity. Last year a group of pupils with a combination of autistic spectrum disorders and severe learning difficulties were not making the high rates of progress other pupils were making. Staff quickly spotted this and made appropriate changes. The proportion of these pupils making greater than expected rates of progress has doubled.  The comprehensive assessment data the school has show pupils do marginally better in mathematics than in English and equally well in science, information and communication technology (ICT) and personal, social and health education.  From the outset in the Early Years Foundation Stage, pupils learn to take turns, share and to sit and listen carefully. The staff’s excellent use of augmented communication systems such as

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

visual timetables help pupils to understand what is required and what the day has in store for them. As a result, pupils quickly become more confident.  More-able pupils show they can concentrate very well and can work without support for short periods of time on the literacy and numeracy tasks they are given. Many are progressing extremely well in their understanding of letters and sounds to the point where some are reading independently.  Despite their excellent learning overall, a few pupils could make even better progress if they were encouraged to think harder when asked questions in lessons.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching has improved since the last inspection. The majority is outstanding and is never less than good. This is the main reason why pupils achieve so well.  Staff are very practiced at making frequent evaluations of the work of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage to get a full picture of their abilities when they start school. From there, teachers are skilled at assessing pupils’ levels of working and using this information to plan appropriate work.  Teachers make the work extremely interesting and relevant for pupils which engage their interest and often excite them. A good example is the work some did in learning to write a list. The list was in fact a recipe for kebabs that they had to read in a food technology lesson where they made their own kebabs.  The provision of ICT has improved significantly and is feature of many lessons. It is used especially well to support the teaching of literacy and numeracy. Pupils respond to this

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

splendidly, as seen in the Early Years Foundation Stage where children interacted enthusiastically with animated counting games on the whiteboard. In another lesson, older pupils used the internet to look at photographs of their own houses before writing letters home.  Verbal praise is most often used extremely meaningfully to help pupils understand how well they have done and to reinforce learning.  Teachers carefully explain to pupils at the beginning of lessons the learning outcomes they expect and revisit these during the lesson to help pupils keep focused on what they are trying to achieve. They also use these very well, along with questioning, to check how well pupils are doing. However, very occasionally staff do not give pupils enough time to answer a question or will give clues too quickly when actually the pupils just need more time to form an answer on their own.  Teaching assistants fulfil their roles well. They are well prepared and know what they have to

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

do. As with teachers, they have excellent relationships with the pupils and these contribute well to pupils wanting to come to school, being full-of-beans and keen to learn.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The behaviour of the pupils was judged outstanding at the last inspection and it continues to be of the same high standard.  Pupils love coming to school because they know they are extremely well cared for. Staff know pupils very well indeed and take many opportunities to tell them how well they are doing. Pupils love these verbal rewards but also the more tangible rewards they get. Some were extremely keen to show off stickers they had proudly earned to the inspectors.  Given the significant social communication difficulties many pupils have, they learn to cooperate with one another exceptionally well. The older ones say they particularly like looking after younger pupils. Those who can are keen to take on responsibilities such as doing jobs in the class or being members of the school council.  Almost all pupils have splendid attitudes to their learning. Many are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in lessons, keen to please and eager to contribute. Those, whose extreme disabilities prevent

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

them from being as vibrant, express their enjoyment of the school through smiles, relaxation and looks of contentment.  The pupils feel very safe at school, a feeling unanimously endorsed by parents who completed the on-line questionnaire and those who contributed to the school’s own survey of parents. They also say pupils are well behaved.  The school’s data show that behaviour incidents warranting recording and staff intervention are quite infrequent. Staff are well trained in strategies that prevent any poor behaviour from escalating. Bullying is extremely rare and there have been no exclusions for seven years.  A few pupils whose medical conditions mean they have to have time off school adversely affects the overall rate of attendance. Nevertheless, many pupils’ attendance is above average. Attendance has improved for the past three years.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Leadership and management are excellent and are the key reasons why teaching and learning have improved so much. Leaders at all levels approach improvement with tenacity. Feedback from lesson observations and training for teachers, which is checked to make sure it has impact in the classroom, have been telling factors in teaching becoming outstanding.  Staff value the direction they are given and are very much party to the drive for improvement. All those returning questionnaires say they are proud to be a member of staff and agree that the school is well led and managed. The Early Years Foundation Stage is led expertly by an experienced practitioner.  Parents, too, agree that the school is well led and all who completed questionnaires confirmed they would recommend the school to another parent. The school’s extended services’ manager is prominent in the school’s work with parents and other professionals. She makes a splendid

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The leadership and management are outstanding

contribution in supporting parents to help their children as well as coordinating the work of the school’s professional partners so that teachers can maximise learning.  The headteacher has an astute understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The priorities for development have been relentlessly tackled. For example, the use of data to check how well pupils are doing has become well embedded in the school’s practices. Data that track pupils’ progress are used very effectively in the termly progress meetings teachers have with the headteacher. Senior staff keep a very sharp focus on making sure initiatives make a positive difference to pupils.  The school’s development plan and subject coordinators’ action plans are kept under constant review to ensure they are achieving what they set out to achieve. Coordinators influence and support their colleagues well.  The curriculum is well matched to the wide-ranging needs of the pupils. It is suitably geared to

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The leadership and management are outstanding

helping pupils develop their personal and social skills as well as their abilities in subjects such as English, mathematics and science. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. The pupils have plenty of opportunities to learn about differences between people and the curriculum also stimulates their curiosity well.  The school’s use of the new primary school sports funding is well mapped out and includes the commissioning of coaches from Wigan Athletic Football Club to improve the engagement and skills of the pupils.  The local authority has an accurate view of the school and helpfully guided governors through the process of appointing a suitable headteacher and deputy headteacher. The link adviser is a source of very good support for senior leaders and he rightly has a good deal of confidence in the leaders of the school.  The governance of the school:  Since the last inspection, the governing body has become much more rigorous in checking

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The leadership and management are outstanding

how well the school is doing. Governors are well led by a determined and outward-looking Chair of the Governing Body. The members bring a wide range of relevant experience and expertise. They are using these to test the information they get from reports and the school visits that the link governors make. They have carefully checked, for example, the use and impact of the pupil premium funding. They have an understanding of how teacher appraisal is contributing to improved teaching and outcomes for pupils. They are vigilant about safeguarding. They play their part in forming the school’s self-evaluation and in monitoring the school development plan. Creditably, they have their own development mapped out as part of the plan.

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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 131259 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 426202

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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 53 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jean McSweeney Headteacher Fiona Grieveson Date of previous school inspection 19 January 2011 Telephone number 01695 722991 Fax number 01695 51428 Email address head@kingsbury.lancs.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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