Hollywater School

School report Hollywater School Mill Chase Road, Bordon, Hampshire, GU35 0HA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Students make good progress. Often they make outstanding progress in developing their social and communication skills.  The sixth form is good. Students work hard and make good progress as a result of effective teaching. They are well prepared for the next stage in their lives.  Teaching is typically good and the amount of outstanding teaching is increasing. In lessons, students learn well because they enjoy their learning.  More-able students are offered the opportunity to study in a local school as well as with their peers. This helps them to reach their potential.  Children get a good start in the Reception class, where they achieve well.  Students behave well in lessons and around the school. Relationships with adults are excellent because the school cares for its students very well. Students feel safe in school.  Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well through

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

opportunities to work and play with their peers in mainstream education.  Leaders and governors have worked closely together to sustain the school’s performance and raise both the quality of teaching and achievement across the school since the previous inspection.  Members of the governing body have a range of skills, which means they offer effective support and challenge to senior leaders.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Marking does not always show students how to improve.  A small minority of subject leaders and those responsible for particular age groups are not involved fully in improving all aspects of the quality of teaching.  Teaching assistants are not always used well to support rapid learning throughout lessons.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 17 lessons or parts of lessons. Several lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  Discussions were held with a range of students, the headteacher and other senior leaders, health and medical staff, members of the governing body and the school improvement adviser.  The inspectors took account of 14 responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire (Parent View) and responses to the staff questionnaire.  Discussions were held with a small number of parents at the beginning of the school day.  The inspectors looked at a number of documents, including the school’s data about pupils’ current progress. In addition, the inspectors looked at documents relating to safeguarding, governance, behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors looked at a range of other evidence, including wall displays, the school’s website and evidence on the school’s wider achievements beyond the classroom.

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Inspection team

Sonja Joseph, Lead inspector Additional inspector Andy Lole Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 All students have a statement of special educational needs; over half of the students have severe or moderate learning difficulties. There are an increasing number of students entering with profound and multiple learning difficulties. Some students have an autistic spectrum condition. Other groups include those with sensory, physical, and medical needs.  The majority of students are boys. Students enter the school at various starting points across all key stages.  The proportion of students eligible for the pupil premium, which is extra government funding based on the numbers of pupils entitled to free school meals, pupils in the care of the local authority and those with a parent in the armed forces, is average.  The proportion of students from ethnic backgrounds other than White British is average.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is average.  The school uses a range of work placements in local businesses and courses in Highbury College

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Information about this school

and Alton College as alternative provision to support students in Key Stage 4 and in the sixth form.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching and further improve students’ achievement through:  using marking consistently to give students a clear understanding of how to improve their learning  ensuring teachers give sufficient direction to teaching assistants to support students’ learning

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen further the quality of leadership and management by increasing the involvement of subject leaders and those responsible for particular age groups in checking the quality of teaching and learning.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Taking into account their different starting points, all students make good progress and all achieve well, whatever their individual special educational needs or disabilities.  Students make exceptional gains in communication because all staff effectively use signing, gestures and facial expressions, as well as new interactive technologies, to help students express their needs. This minimises any frustration and prepares them well for life beyond school.  Some of the students who have the most profound and multiple difficulties with learning move from having very limited communication to communicating reliably using symbols and technological aids.  Students with autism make good progress because visual timetables and objects of reference are used well by teachers to help students to understand the order of the day and when to start and finish activities.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children make good progress, particularly in their social

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The achievement of pupils is good

and personal development, because they have access to a wide range of learning experiences, both indoors and outdoors, that enables them to find things out for themselves.  Daily reading sessions across the school have improved students’ reading skills and their confidence and progress in reading and writing. Many students are able to read for enjoyment and to find out information.  Students’ skills in mathematics are developed effectively across all subjects by the focus on practical activities. This encourages students to solve problems and use their understanding of numbers in real-life situations, for instance when working out the cost of shopping or weighing ingredients in food technology.  By the end of Year 11 and the sixth form, every student gains a range of national qualifications, appropriate to their individual starting points, including in English and mathematics.  More-able students are quickly identified and are offered the opportunity to study for GCSEs,

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The achievement of pupils is good

including where appropriate, at a local secondary school. They achieve well from their starting points.  High quality medical, sensory, therapeutic, and physical support enables students to make rapid progress, particularly in their physical development. Students who use wheelchairs thoroughly enjoy the opportunity, when swimming, to extend their muscles and bodies outside the normal limits they experience.  Students in the sixth form make good progress in preparation for life skills. For example, they learn to cook meals with minimal adult help. They also learn to keep themselves safe.  Senior leaders regularly check the progress of students who attend the various effective off-site settings. Currently, all students in alternative provisions are achieving equally as well as their classmates.  The school does not receive Year7 catch-up funding. There is no early-entry policy for GCSE examinations.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has made good use of its additional funding for primary school sport to increase students’ participation in physical exercise by widening the range of activities and competitive sporting opportunities on offer.  Students from minority ethnic backgrounds, including those who speak English as an additional language, make similar good progress to that of their classmates.  All groups of students who benefit from the pupil premium achieve as well as their classmates, because funding is used to provide therapeutic activities and communication resources that meet their needs well. This demonstrates the school’s commitment to equality of opportunity.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching enables students to make good progress overall, and some to make outstanding progress in developing their communication skills and in their personal development.  Teachers are enthusiastic, lessons are well planned and resources are carefully prepared to make lessons interesting and imaginative. In an effective Key Stage 1 literacy lesson, all students made good progress in their learning because they were supported effectively by the teacher to use objects of reference to demonstrate their understanding of events in a story.  Students with autism are supported and guided very well in lessons by knowledgeable staff. Work is clearly structured and clear routines for different parts of the day help students to feel relaxed and able to learn.  All staff are confident in the use of communication approaches suited to individual student needs. Students learn exceptionally well how to use a range of different technologies and

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The quality of teaching is good

symbolic communication systems to explain what they know and understand. Students feel a real sense of achievement when they master a new word or sign or use the interactive tablets to answer a question or make choices.  Good teaching in the sixth form means that students are very well prepared for the next phase of their lives. For example, students learn how to use public transport safely, which means that they have more opportunities to be gain independence and make their own choices.  Teachers work extremely well with therapists and specialist health staff to provide excellent intensive all-round support for students who have more complex medical, physical and sensory difficulties. The use of specialist equipment, such as gastrostomy feeding systems, is carried out seamlessly without withdrawing students from their learning activities, so that no precious learning time is lost.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage have frequent and regular opportunities to practise

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The quality of teaching is good

listening skills and this prepares them well for learning how to follow teachers’ instructions. It also helps them to make a good start on learning early reading skills, whether that means recognising symbols or beginning to read simple words.  Teaching assistants usually make good contributions to lessons but occasionally do not step in quickly enough so that students can move on more rapidly in their learning and extend their thinking skills.  Marking of students’ work does not always offer students clear advice about what they need to do next to improve their learning. In a few classes, the use of worksheets does not enthuse the students and progress slows.  Where teaching is outstanding, there is high energy in the interactions between staff and students. In an excellent music therapy lesson, students were excited to learn and made excellent progress in their understanding of musical sequences because activities helped each

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The quality of teaching is good

individual student to make excellent progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is good. Students are confident and show good attitudes to their learning. They want to do well.  Teachers manage students’ learning needs well. Students with autistic spectrum conditions are seated so that they are not easily distracted. The communication needs of students who find it difficult to express themselves verbally are met very well so that their frustrations ease considerably over time. Those students with complex difficulties show that they are comfortable with the adults who look after their particular care needs.  Around the school, students are polite and courteous. Students treat each other and staff with respect. For example, in a meeting with inspectors, they listened to each other, valued what each other said and made sure everyone had their say.  The school’s work to keep students safe and secure is good. Students have an appropriate knowledge and developing understanding of different types of bullying and know how to keep

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

themselves safe, including when using computers and other media. There are well-developed procedures to keep students safe in school and when they are off-site.  Students develop a strong sense of responsibility. Skills of independence learnt through outings, residential adventure trips and work experience stand them in good stead for the future.  Attendance is improving because students enjoy coming to school. The work of the home link worker in supporting problems is having very positive results for both the school and families.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher provide highly effective leadership. Together with other senior leaders, including governors, they have been successful in sustaining the quality of teaching and students’ achievement over time.  Procedures for checking the performance of teachers and providing training for them are effective. Increases in pay for teachers are securely linked to students’ progress. There is no inadequate teaching and the proportion of outstanding teaching is increasing.  Equal opportunities are promoted well because the school monitors progress and intervenes to make sure different groups do well. This has helped senior leaders to allocate resources effectively to ensure those students eligible for pupil premium funding achieve as well as their classmates.  Leaders have a realistic and accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They recognise that staff in charge of subjects or age groups are not yet fully involved in

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The leadership and management are good

checking the quality of teaching and learning in their areas of work to ensure all students make rapid gains in their learning.  The curriculum, including that in the sixth form, offers a good balance of academic, practical and vocational subjects and high quality personal learning programmes that prepare students very well for the next step in their adult lives.  Exciting outdoor and indoor activities, work experience, residential trips, and artistic, musical and sporting opportunities enhance students’ communication skills and teach them that learning takes place in variety of situations. This makes a good contribution to their behaviour and self- control in different situations and to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding.  The school works highly effectively with other professionals, both locally and across the local authority, as well as with its own team of therapists to support students’ wide-ranging learning

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The leadership and management are good

needs. It also works closely with parents and carers.  The local authority regards the school’s leadership as effective. Consequently, only ‘light-touch’ support has been offered and this has been appropriate.  The governance of the school:  The governing body provides effective challenge and support to school leaders and has a secure understanding of the school’s performance. Governors have a good variety of expertise and have accessed suitable training to enable them to fulfil their roles effectively. They visit regularly and know the school well. This enables them to keep fully abreast with all new developments. Governors monitor the school’s performance management systems well and are aware of the quality of teaching across the school. They have a good understanding of the need to base salary progression on performance and of how any underperformance is addressed. Governors have a good grasp of the school’s information about students’ progress.

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The leadership and management are good

They monitor carefully how the pupil premium funds are used and the impact of this on students’ achievement, but have not checked carefully enough that the school receives all funding for students to which it is entitled. They ensure safeguarding meet requirements.

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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 131068 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 432057

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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 2–19 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 128 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 4 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Shirley Lilley Headteacher Stephanie Clancy Date of previous school inspection 22–23 June 2011 Telephone number 01420 474396 Fax number 01420 485746 Email address steph.clancy@hollywater.hants.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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