Lady Zia Wernher School

Lady Zia Wernher School Ashcroft Road, Stopsley, Luton, LU2 9AY

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Early years provision Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The outstanding leadership of the headteacher, senior leaders and managers has enabled the school to build on the many strengths found at the previous inspection. Leaders receive good support from the governing body in their work to raise achievement and improve teaching.  The curriculum is based on a thorough assessment of pupils’ learning difficulties. Staff work in very close partnership with a range of therapists and outside agencies.  Teaching is outstanding and teachers are particularly skilled at working with pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties. The staff show a high level of dedication to meeting the needs of all the pupils.  Achievement is outstanding. Most pupils exceed the progress expected nationally, especially in developing their key communication, physical and social skills. Very occasionally, the more-able pupils are not fully challenged during literacy and numeracy lessons.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils who are able to express their views all say that they love school. Behaviour is outstanding and pupils feel very safe.  Pupils are all valued as individuals and the school does much to raise their self-esteem. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent.  The outstanding Early Years Foundation Stage provides children with a very positive start.  The school provides extremely good support to parents and works in very close partnership with them.  The outreach service provides exceptionally good support to a number of schools within the local authority and beyond.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team visited all the classes as well as seeing a drama and a communication lesson. This enabled inspectors to see the teaching of all the different types of learning difficulties within the school. Of the 15 classes visited, two were seen jointly with a senior leader.  An inspector talked with a group of pupils, and more-able pupils read their books to the team.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, other members of the senior leadership team, and some other staff with responsibility for areas of the school’s work. The lead inspector met with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Governing Body, and held a telephone discussion with a representative of the local authority.  The inspection team considered the four responses to the online survey (Parent View) and looked at parents’ comments in home-school books. An inspector spoke with parents who brought their children to

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Information about this inspection

school. Inspectors took account of 57 completed staff questionnaires.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documentation, including records of pupils’ progress, and planning for individual pupils’ learning and for managing their behaviour. They sampled pupils’ work, and looked at records of leaders’ checks on teaching and documents relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Margaret Goodchild, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Inspection team

Elizabeth Buckingham Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a school for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties, physical disabilities, severe learning difficulties and medical conditions. Since the previous inspection there has been a significant increase in the number of pupils, and the school has begun to take pupils with autistic spectrum disorders who have a range of other severe difficulties. Some pupils have degenerative conditions and all the pupils have complex needs. Most pupils are non-ambulant (unable to walk) and many are unable to express themselves through speech. Pupils all have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is a little above average. This is additional government funding for disadvantaged pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals or looked after by the local authority.  A high proportion of pupils are of minority ethnic heritage, mainly from Pakistani or Bangladeshi

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Information about this school

backgrounds. The proportion of pupils from homes where English is not the first language is well above average.  The school runs an outreach service on behalf of the local authority for pupils with physical and sensory impairments and associated medical needs. It provides support to 14 high schools, 38 primary schools and five nurseries in Luton as well as some schools in neighbouring authorities.  A subject survey led by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors in December 2011 found that all aspects of the school’s work in physical education were outstanding.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Build on existing strengths in teaching and enable pupils to make even better progress by:  making sure that tasks are consistently challenging for more-able pupils in literacy and numeracy lessons.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher and senior leaders are passionate in their commitment to meeting pupils’ individual needs. They have established a culture of high expectations where all the staff are dedicated to supporting pupils’ academic and personal development. This has enabled the school to sustain and build on the outstanding practice found in previous inspections despite the expansion in pupil numbers.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Senior leaders work continuously to improve the school and to find new solutions to pupils’ difficulties. Leaders at all levels provide very effective support to the senior leadership team. Leaders, including those responsible for subjects, have clear responsibilities and work very effectively to support school improvement.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Senior leaders regularly check the quality of teaching and provide detailed guidance to teachers on what is working well and how pupils’ progress could be promoted even better. Rigorous procedures for managing teachers’ performance make sure that the most effective teachers are rewarded.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The staff are highly specialised in working with pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties, and with most of the other difficulties found within the school. They have excellent opportunities to develop their expertise through training, including in meeting the needs of pupils with autistic spectrum disorders. Further training in autistic spectrum disorders is being provided to enable staff to meet the needs of those pupils who have the most challenging behaviour and complex difficulties.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Leaders carefully record and track the progress of individual pupils and of the different groups within the school. Assessment focuses very much on the progress pupils make against their individual learning targets, which are broken into small steps. The removal of National Curriculum levels has had little impact on the school, as the majority of pupils are working at P levels (performance scales for pupils with special educational needs who are working below National Curriculum levels).

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The curriculum is highly relevant to pupils’ needs and the school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well. In addition to learning the key skills of communication, cognition, physical and social skills, pupils study topics that span National Curriculum subjects. These are adapted extremely well to the next steps in pupils’ learning and bespoke programmes are devised to meet the needs of individuals. In many cases, these programmes involve close working with therapists and other agencies.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school works extremely well in partnership with parents. As well as involving parents in their children’s learning, the school does a great deal to support the whole family through the work of the family support workers. It provides interpreters to help parents to understand their children’s health and educational needs, and provides many opportunities for parents to meet one another for mutual support. Parents who were spoken to during the inspection described the staff as ‘amazing’.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The outreach service is led and managed exceptionally well. Leaders carefully check the quality of the service provided by collecting evaluations from schools, and constantly adapt approaches to meet the needs of individual pupils and to train mainstream staff. Schools describe the service as ‘brilliant’, ‘very responsive, helpful and informative’.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school is using its primary school sport funding effectively. The funding is helping it to develop a sheltered sensory area for pupils with limited mobility. This is to stimulate their physical development as well as to encourage an increased level of response. The project was chosen in order to develop a resource of lasting value to the school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The local authority has an accurate view of the school’s effectiveness. It provides valuable support to senior leaders in checking the quality of teaching and supporting their evaluation of the school’s work.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  The governing body makes a good contribution to the school’s work and governors share leaders’ commitment to doing everything possible to meet the needs of all the pupils.  Members of the governing body make sure that the school is financially stable and collect information for themselves through visits to hold leaders to account. For example, they have been involved in trialling specialised equipment as part of decision-making about spending. Through looking at data, governors are clear about the school’s effectiveness and they check that the spending of pupil premium funding is having a positive effect on the progress of pupils for whom it is intended.  Governors have a clear understanding of how the school promotes tolerance and prepares pupils for life in modern Britain. They ensure that there are effective systems for working with parents from different cultural backgrounds.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governing body is kept well informed about the quality of teaching and makes sure that the best teachers are rewarded financially for their work. The governing body includes a number of parent governors who bring particular insight about how well their children are taught and how well the school meets their needs.  Governors meet their statutory duties and make sure that the school has very effective systems for the safeguarding of pupils.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. The school has very effective systems for managing pupils’ behaviour and those pupils who need them have detailed behaviour management plans.

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Behaviour

 Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning and show much enjoyment in lessons. Those pupils who are able to express their views are unanimous in their enthusiasm about the school and talk excitedly about the many things they love about it. In lessons, pupils apply themselves exceptionally well and readily take part in activities.

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Behaviour

 School leaders carefully monitor behaviour and a great deal of work has been done to develop the staff’s skills in managing pupils with autistic spectrum disorders, some of whom have very challenging behaviour. Many of the staff have expertise in minimising pupils’ autistic behaviour but not all staff are yet equally skilled in managing pupils with the most extreme autistic spectrum disorders. The school is aware of this and is providing ongoing training to meet the very particular needs of individual pupils.

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Behaviour

 Although attendance is below the national average, unauthorised absence is rare. Authorised absence is the result of serious medical conditions and pupils’ need for constant treatment. The staff and therapists work closely with parents to make sure pupils miss as little time away from school as possible.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. The school provides exemplary care for all its pupils, many of whom need sensitive personal support. Pupils feel very safe and have trusting relationships with the staff. Pupils say that their teachers and fellow pupils help them to feel safe.

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Safety

 The school does all that it can to make more-able pupils aware of how to keep themselves safe. Pupils very much enjoyed being part of a video about safety and were able to explain, for example, the importance of staying safe when crossing the road and the importance of not touching matches.

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Safety

 Pupils are confident, relaxed and happy and the school’s records show that there is no evidence of any bullying. Pupils are treated with dignity and respect and they, in turn, treat one another with kindness. Relationships are excellent throughout the school and pupils readily help one another, showing great tolerance and sensitivity towards one another’s differing needs.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers have high expectations and a thorough knowledge of each pupil’s learning difficulties. Lessons are frequently a hive of activity, with the teacher and teaching assistants using a variety of methods to capture pupils’ attention and engage their interest.  The staff are very knowledgeable about how to meet the needs of pupils with complex learning difficulties, and there is much exemplary practice in the way pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties are catered for. As a result, these pupils concentrate and show a high level of response.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers do all they can to promote pupils’ communication skills. They use a range of approaches to enable pupils to understand, including signing, pictures, objects and symbols. Typically, a combination of these techniques are used so that all pupils are able to understand and take part in learning.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The school puts a great deal of emphasis on providing exactly the right technological aids to help each pupil to communicate. As well as the use of switches, in some cases this involves highly specialised equipment such as eye-gaze technology, which enables pupils to make choices by concentrating their gaze on a particular part of the computer screen.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teamwork between teachers and teaching assistants is exceptionally good. Teachers provide clear direction to their teaching assistants so that they know how to support pupils’ learning. All the staff provide pupils with a great deal of encouragement, and teaching assistants often observe and record information about pupils’ response during activities.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Lessons are nearly always planned in careful detail and activities are matched to the next steps in pupils’ learning and to their individual targets. Very occasionally, teachers do not provide enough challenge for more-able pupils in literacy and numeracy. While teachers typically ask more challenging questions of these pupils and set them more difficult tasks, this is not always the case.

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is outstanding

 Achievement is outstanding in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stages 1 and 2, and pupils throughout the school make exceptionally good progress in developing their communication, physical and social skills.

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is outstanding

 The achievement of pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties is a particular strength of the school. Pupils with the most profound difficulties develop ways of expressing themselves, making choices and responding to activities through gesture, movement and vocalising.

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is outstanding

 Other pupils who are unable to speak make outstanding progress in learning to communicate through signing and using pictures and symbols to express themselves. This enables them to take an active part in lessons and supports their progress in a range of subjects.

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is outstanding

 Pupils develop increasing control over their physical movements. Some do so by bouncing on the trampoline, others by riding tricycles and other wheeled toys. They develop an awareness of their hands through massage and use tools such as pencils, crayons, brushes and spoons for cooking. They increase their confidence in the water, in swimming or hydrotherapy sessions.

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is outstanding

 Some pupils increase their confidence in walking or in operating electric wheelchairs. All pupils have excellent opportunities to become as mobile as possible, including through work with physiotherapists, and those with degenerative conditions are helped to remain as mobile as possible.

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is outstanding

 Pupils with severe learning difficulties and some with physical disabilities are among the more-able pupils in the school. They make outstanding progress in communication and good or better progress in English and mathematics.

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is outstanding

 The more-able pupils learn about the sounds that letters make (phonics) and are able to read with expression by the time they are in Key Stage 2. They label pictures using symbols and text, are able to identify the letters some words begin with, write a series of sentences in text and symbols, and form their letters accurately.  In mathematics, the more-able pupils can draw and label three-dimensional shapes, identify the next shape in a sequence, write the correct number for a group of objects, record numbers to nine and do simple addition sums.

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is outstanding

 Pupils with autistic spectrum disorders make at least good progress and they do exceptionally well in some lessons. In many classes, teachers’ careful management of their needs enables them to concentrate on their work for extended periods of time.

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is outstanding

 Pupils of minority ethnic heritage and those for whom English is an additional language make as much progress as the rest of the pupils. They benefit a great deal from the way pictures and objects are used to represent and explain new vocabulary.

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is outstanding

 Pupils for whom the school receives support through pupil premium funding make at least as much progress as their classmates. This is because the school uses the funding very carefully to meet pupils’ individual needs, for example, purchasing electronic tablets for pupils who would benefit from help with their communication.

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is outstanding

 Mainstream schools say that the outreach service is very beneficial in enabling many pupils with medical conditions and physical and sensory impairment to remain in school and achieve as well as possible despite their difficulties.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 The leadership and management of the early years are outstanding. Children make excellent progress, especially in communication and language, personal, social and emotional development, and physical development.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Children gain a growing confidence in seeking out things that they particularly like playing with and are beginning to make choices, for instance, between two different toys. More-able children extend their language because the staff talk to them throughout the day, encouraging their communication. Children learn to use objects, pictures and symbols to express themselves. They learn about numbers through counting songs and about measures through filling and emptying containers. They do puzzles and start to identify colours and shapes.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 Children enjoy stories and some can anticipate what is going to happen. They are exposed to a wide range of textures, aromas and sounds, and begin to learn some of the language that describes these experiences. They have plenty of opportunity to make marks and to learn about cause and effect, for instance, by playing with musical instruments or using a touch screen.

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The early years provision is outstanding

 As a result of the outstanding teaching, children are very absorbed in activities and grow in a sense of themselves as learners. The staff have very thorough systems for assessing what children can do when they join the school and for tracking their progress. Home visits, and close work with parents and other agencies, mean that children’s needs are identified as precisely as possible. Staff regularly observe and record information about children’s development and use this to plan future activities that meet their individual needs.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 109745 Local authority Luton Inspection number 448138

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 136 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Noreen Walsh Headteacher Diane May Date of previous school inspection 8 February 2010 Telephone number 01582 728705 Fax number 01582 722384 Email address office@ladyziawernher.primaryluton.co.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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