Holly Grove School

Burnley Learning Campus Site, Barden Lane, Burnley, Lancashire, BB10 1JD

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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.  The school’s excellent conditions for learning ensure that, over time, all pupils make the progress expected and a high proportion of pupils make progress well beyond what is expected.  The outstanding progress made by pupils in their personal development, physical development, and in increasing their capacity for independence underpins the substantial gains they make in lessons. These gains, and those in reading, writing and mathematics, prepare pupils extremely well in their eventual move to secondary school.  Teachers, their assistants, and the therapists working alongside them, know pupils and their particular needs extremely well. They are a highly developed team with a sharp focus on meeting pupils’ needs and helping them learn and make progress.  Assessments are exceptionally thorough and used very effectively to plan pupils’ work and their support.  The school gives parents very good support.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

It keeps them up to date about their children’s progress and shows how parents can help their children learn at home.  Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding. They thoroughly enjoy school life which they find exciting, and are enthusiastic about their activities, interactions and relationships. Their attitudes to learning are extremely positive and they understand what is required of them in lessons in order to learn effectively.  The arrangements for keeping pupils safe are outstanding. Pupils treat each other with respect and stay safe.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher provide very effective senior leadership. They set high expectations, encourage ambition and are a source of inspiration for staff in driving continuous improvement.  Pupils’ work and activities are exceptionally well adapted and resourced to meet their different needs. The curriculum is planned to challenge pupils as well as create enjoyment

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

and extend their interests.  Leaders and governors keep close checks on pupils’ achievement and on the quality of teaching and are robust in tackling any shortcomings they find. They are restricted in gaining a detailed understanding of pupils’ progress in reading and writing, because the school does not provide precise information about which pupils make expected, or more than expected, progress in reading and writing.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors visited nine lessons and observed all the school’s six teachers. The headteacher and deputy headteacher joined inspectors in observing five lessons.  Meetings were held with senior leaders and teachers, representatives of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  An inspector spoke to a group of pupils and samples of pupils’ work were checked.  Inspectors looked at information on pupils’ progress, the school development plan, policies and procedures for safeguarding pupils and the school’s own evaluation of its work.  The inspectors took account of the views of 10 parents who completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire (Parent View). Account was also taken of 31 questionnaires completed by staff.

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Inspection team

Alan Lemon, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Marilyn Massey Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a small school which provides for pupils with a wide range of disabilities and special educational needs. All pupils have a statement of special educational needs.  The large majority of pupils have severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties, which in particular affect their physical abilities, speech, language and communication. There are also a small number of pupils with moderate learning difficulties. Many pupils have additional health complications. In addition to learning difficulties, a significant minority have differing degrees of autism.  The proportion of pupils of minority ethnic heritage is well above average as is the proportion learning to speak English.  The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium is well above average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority.

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Information about this school

 The school is co-located with a mainstream primary school, a nursery and children's centre and a sixth form college.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Leaders should ensure that their data on the progress of different groups of pupils breaks down the information about their achievement in English to clearly show governors the proportions of pupils making expected and more than expected progress in reading and writing.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Any barriers preventing pupils from learning and making progress are immediately and very expertly tackled by staff. This includes pupils supported through the pupil premium who, with the additional help afforded, are making the same substantial progress as other pupils. The school very effectively advances the opportunities for all pupils to achieve to an outstanding extent.  Learning to communicate by the most effective means is the school’s key to reducing many pupils’ challenging behaviour, enabling them to take a full part in and enjoy school. As soon as they start at the school, pupils take full advantage of all areas of learning and make rapid progress, including all those capable of learning to speak English. A few take enormous strides in communication and improving their use of language. As a result, they make exceptional progress in developing all of their other capabilities and talents.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 In the Early Years Foundation Stage and at each key stage, pupils develop knowledge, skills and understanding very effectively. With the positive encouragement, high expectations and excellent resources found in the Early Years Foundation Stage all children develop very quickly into active learners. They soon gain vital skills so they communicate very effectively, do much more on their own, and work increasingly well with others.  All pupils read at a level matching their capabilities. The less able pupils understand a wide range of objects, images and symbols that mean they choose particular things, such as a snack, drink or activity.  The more able pupils recognise letters and the sounds they represent and use this skill very effectively in reading and spelling words. The most able pupils read regularly and talk animatedly about what they are reading. Word-recognition skills, recall of stories and understanding of plot

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

and character are very well developed. The most able pupils read independently with fluency and accuracy. They have a very good capacity to retrieve information and to express opinions about stories and their characters.  Frequent practise in holding pens and drawing straight and curved lines leads rapidly to pupils forming letters and starting to write. In the space of a school year some pupils move from random marks to writing their name. Where physical disabilities prevent the use of a pen, pupils use computers very effectively to word process their writing.  Many pupils recognise and write numbers one to ten and beyond and put these into order. Most pupils accurately count numbers of objects and say which is smaller or larger. The most able pupils can name and describe two- and three-dimensional shapes. They understand number sufficiently to mentally calculate and solve simple problems.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching over time is consistently good and much is outstanding. Expectations for what pupils can do are high and staff constantly push the boundaries for what pupils can achieve.  Staff manage all the preparations for pupils at the start of the day and before lessons with great efficiency so no teaching time is lost. Pupils’ behaviour is managed very effectively as a result of careful planning and the good relationships between staff and pupils.  Very thorough assessment develops a comprehensive picture of each pupil and their progress. Teachers’ lesson planning is very clear in its intentions for each pupil and the work set for every pupil builds systematically on their previous learning. Even though each class has groups of pupils who are far apart from each other in what they know and can do, every pupil is given work that is appropriate to their point in learning.  Precise planning and excellent teaching ensures pupils learn what they need to and do not move

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

on until new knowledge and skills are firmly established. Teachers sum up what pupils have learnt by the end of each lesson and pupils are encouraged to signal or say whether or not they have made progress and what they have learnt. Pupils’ individual targets are sharply focused on the next steps and written so that they are easily measurable.  Teachers’ expertise, and that of their assistants, is of very high quality, built upon a strong tradition of professional development and gaining higher qualifications. Staff keep up a constant dialogue checking that their teaching and planning is effective and improving.  Staff are very consistent in their approaches from one class to the next. Teachers start lessons reminding pupils to listen well and to try hard, which has a very good effect on learning. Each day in every class there is time for pupils to practise handwriting in line with the school’s current

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Parents say their children love school and they are very impressed by how happy their children are at school and the sense of purpose they achieve there. The school’s positive impact on pupils has a very good effect on life at home.  Pupils arrive promptly to lessons at the start of the day and after their breaks. They settle quickly, listen intently and contribute confidently. Pupils make great efforts, even with the tasks they find most difficult.  Most pupils come to school every day and absences are largely accounted for by illnesses and hospital visits.  The strength of support for the significant number of pupils who find it very difficult to follow routines and behave calmly means these pupils respond very positively to staff and remain cooperative. Pupils’ behaviour improves significantly over time as a result of the very effective way in which it is managed, and also because pupils are not frustrated by not being able to

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

communicate or do things on their own.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Work and activities are thoroughly planned and supervised so that risks are clearly understood and reduced. Staff very effectively ensure that pupils feel safe by clearly explaining everything to them so they always know what is happening. As pupils increase in independence, they learn to be aware of risks and how to stay safe, for example, by learning the rules of using the internet safely.  The staff encourage pupils to be friendly and pupils are kind and considerate. Very occasionally, challenging behaviour causes upset and staff are always close on hand to support pupils. There is no bullying, although in Years 5 and 6 pupils learn about all the different forms of bullying.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Outstanding leadership throughout the school gives it a very clear direction. As a result, the local authority provides light touch support to the school.  Leadership and management are shared widely among staff. They all make significant contributions to pupils’ achievement, the high quality of teaching and learning, and the excellent care and support for every pupil.  A strong culture of professional development is firmly embedded. Many staff have developed a high level of expertise and gained extra qualifications, adding to their effectiveness. This has increased the school’s capacity to develop very successful strategies to meet the wide range of pupils’ disabilities and special educational needs.  The outstanding assessment and planning seen across the school are outcomes of the excellent work done by staff. They are a very effective team who tackle challenges with skill, confidence and a common sense of purpose.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Leaders very regularly check the work of the school and, as a result, they have a detailed and accurate picture of the school’s effectiveness and its priorities for further improvement. Pupils’ progress is tracked systematically and the data collected is screened rigorously to ensure no pupils fall behind and to discover if even more could be achieved. While the progress in English and mathematics of different groups of pupils is reported accurately, detailed data on these groups’ progress in reading and writing is not provided for parents, teachers and governors.  Checks on teaching have led to high quality and much consistency in expectations and approaches across the school.  Leaders’ extensive knowledge of the school’s work has meant the targets set for pupils’ progress and the objectives to improve further teachers’ performance are precise and firmly linked to maintaining high standards and the school’s outstanding effectiveness.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The pupil premium pays for more resources for communication, physical and sensory development and greater scope to support parents’ well-being, and particularly coaching parents to help their children’s all-round development at home. The physical education and sport funding is used especially to increase the opportunities for swimming and hydrotherapy, contributing much to pupils’ physical development. In addition, membership of the Burnley Sports Partnership gives many pupils access to a wider range of sports and competitions.  The governance of the school:  Governors stay closely involved with the school. They use their regular visits to find out about the work of the school and its improvement. Their visits have contributed significantly to good relationships with staff and getting to know pupils. Governors set their own experience of the school’s work against the many detailed reports they receive from the headteacher and staff.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

They are in a strong position to question and assess critically what is reported and they find out about the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress. However, the limited reports on pupils’ progress in reading and writing limit the depth to which governors may challenge leaders.

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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 135014 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 439942

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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 69 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lisa Parker Headteacher Sue Kitto Date of previous school inspection 4 May 2011 Telephone number 01282 682278 Fax number 01282 682287 Email address head@holly-grove.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 and 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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