Lonsdale School

Lonsdale School Brittain Way, Stevenage, SG2 8UT

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Leadership and management Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Early years provision Good 2 Sixth form provision Good 2 Overall effectiveness of the residential experience Inadequate 4

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders and managers have failed to meet safeguarding requirements over the past school year. This means that senior leadership cannot ensure that pupils are safe.  Records of staff training for safeguarding have not been properly maintained. The person carrying out safeguarding and safer recruitment checks has not been suitably trained and the school is unclear about who has had the required training.  The systems for tracking and monitoring pupils’ progress do not provide the leadership team or governors with an overview of the progress of the various groups within the school.  Governors and leaders have not held teachers sufficiently to account for pupils’ progress. Middle leaders, including subject leaders do not have a clear view of the quality of teaching.  Teaching requires improvement as achievement is not yet good in Key Stage 3 and especially in science.  The school does not meet all the national minimum

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

standards for residential special schools.  Staff in the residential provision have not implemented practices, procedures and care routines in line with the training they have received and the school’s policies.  There is no effective physical restraint policy or procedure in place.  The governing body has failed to carry out its statutory duties to ensure that pupils are safe in both the school and residential provision. Governors have not checked up sufficiently on the school’s performance.

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The school has the following strengths

 Teaching is consistently good in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Pupils make good progress in English and in mathematics and in their topic work. They make excellent progress in their physical development throughout the school.  In the early years children learn and develop well, especially in their communication and language skills. Staff quickly build very positive relationships with children that promote their enthusiasm for learning.  The new headteacher has a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, and has strongly motivated the staff to tackle them.  Very effective links between the residential and education staff mean that pupils’ physical needs are provided for consistently.  The sixth form caters for the students’ needs effectively. All students leave the school with suitable qualifications and skills which help prepare them well for their future lives.  The school promotes the pupils’ spiritual, moral,

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed a number of lessons and were accompanied by the headteacher during all of these observations.  Inspectors heard pupils reading during their lessons and observed lessons on language and communication skills development.  Discussions were held with a representative of the local authority, a parent governor and the Chair of the Governing Body, a group of pupils and several senior and middle leaders.  The inspectors scrutinised a range of school documentation covering safeguarding, examples of governors meetings, information relating to the quality of teaching and the progress made by pupils across the school. Inspectors looked at documentation regarding the behaviour of the pupils and their attendance.  Inspectors looked at a range of the pupils’ work both in their books and files and around the school.  There were too few responses to Parent View, the online questionnaire, for the inspectors to access this

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Information about this inspection

information. They did, however, take account of the 41 staff questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Ronald Hall, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Information about this school

 Lonsdale School was opened in 1971 for pupils with physical and neurological disabilities. In January 2013 it moved to new premises adjoining Marriotts School, Stevenage, which is a mainstream high school.  The new headteacher took up post in September 2014 following a period of temporary leadership for nearly a year.  All pupils have a statement of special educational needs for either moderate or severe learning difficulties.  The proportion of pupils who are supported by the pupil premium is over a quarter of the school population, which is average compared with national figures. This extra government funding supports pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and/or looked after children.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups and those who speak English as an additional language is average.  The early years is made up of a mixed Nursery and Reception class. All children are full time.

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Information about this school

 No pupils access alternative provision.  There is residential provision for pupils who wish to use this for up to two nights per week.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and raise pupils’ achievements by ensuring that  subject leaders and teachers have accurate information on the progress of pupil groups and use this to adjust their planning for pupils’ learning and in reviewing the success of how different aspects of subjects are taught  staff, particularly in Key Stage 3, have the skills and subject knowledge to teach science to the same level as in other subjects, such as English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the school meets all statutory safeguarding requirements by making sure that:  the leadership and management of safeguarding are rigorous  all statutory policies and procedures are in place, up to date and fully implemented  all the required training is in place for staff and the designated child protection officer at the required intervals  the governing body oversees all safeguarding procedures and policies, and so carries out its statutory duties in respect of these effectively.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by:  refining further the tracking and monitoring systems of pupils’ progress so that all leaders and managers have a clear view of the progress made by the different groups of pupils in the school and adjust improvement planning to reflect this  ensuring all leaders and managers are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities, particularly in relation to safeguarding and child protection, and are held to account for these  developing a rigorous system for monitoring teaching, which involves subject leaders and other middle leaders.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

The school must meet the following national minimum standards for residential special schools.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school; and that such arrangements have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State. (NMS 11)

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure the school has, and consistently implements, a written policy on managing behaviour, including promoting good behaviour. This policy includes:  measures to combat bullying and to promote positive behaviour  school rules  disciplinary sanctions  when restraint is to be used; and arrangements for searching children and their possessions. (NMS 12.1)

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure the governing body, trustees, partnership, or organisation responsible for carrying on the school arrange for one of their number, or a representative who does not work at, or directly manage, the school, to visit the school once every half term and complete a written report on the conduct of the school. (NMS 20.1)

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure most monitoring visits are carried out unannounced. They include:  checks on the school’s records of attendance and complaints  sanctions, use of physical interventions, risk assessments, and where they exist, individual care plans for children  assessment of the physical condition of the building, furniture and equipment of the school  opportunities for any child or member of staff who wishes to meet the visitor (in private if they wish). (NMS 20.2)

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure the school operates safe recruitment procedures and vets staff in line with the regulatory requirements and having regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State. (NMS 14.1)

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure there is a sufficient number of competent staff deployed appropriately, both as a staff group and on individual shifts, to fulfil the school’s Statement of Purpose and meet the individual needs of all children resident in the school. (NMS 15.1)

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

Other areas for improvement:  involve health care professionals in the development of the evening programmes to develop the students’ independence skills  consider, according to ability, how residential pupils may be enabled to develop their skills in managing their own medication.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The school’s policies and records show that safeguarding policies and procedures have not been followed. These issues had not been identified by the new headteacher prior to the inspection as she was assured they were all in place. No one had checked that this was the case. Key roles and responsibilities and who fulfils these have not been made clear to staff, nor have they been carried out effectively. Consequently the leadership and management are inadequate because leaders have failed to ensure that mandatory requirements are met and that students and staff are safe.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Aspects of safeguarding, such as calling parents and carers immediately to ensure pupils are safe, if they are not at school, have not been carried out. Logs relating to behaviour, bullying, accidents and restraints were either not present or not completed correctly. Related policies and procedures were also either not present or did not have all the required elements. Staff were unclear as to their own roles and responsibilities when situations arose. All this has left staff vulnerable, for example during times when they have had to restrain pupils, and has meant that pupils were not safe.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The leadership of the residential provision has also failed to ensure that all safeguarding procedures are followed correctly. In education, staff recruitment procedures have been secure, but in the residential provision the policy is not up to date, thorough or comprehensive. It does not provide clear guidance on expected timeframes and the checks that should be undertaken on staff who have worked outside the United Kingdom. For example, checks were not carried out for some time on a member of staff who had worked abroad. Basic safeguarding, childcare disqualification requirements and supplementary advice have not been implemented.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The headteacher responded quickly to the issues raised by the inspection team. She ensured all the required policies and procedures were in place by the end of the inspection and that staff knew about these. However, it is too early to assess the effectiveness of any of these very new initiatives and leaders were unaware that problems existed until these issues were reported by the inspection team.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The headteacher has implemented a full review of all aspects of the school, creating an action plan to move the school forward. She has begun to restructure the leadership team and improve the rigour with which all leaders, including subject leaders, fulfil their responsibilities.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 A programme of staff training is ensuring that teachers and other adults have the skills and ability to improve the school as a whole. Reviews of staff performance were not carried out in 2013, but have been swiftly implemented. All staff are now held accountable for pupil progress and have support to help them to improve.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Pupil premium funding is used well to provide extra support staff and specialist support for pupils who are underachieving. This has resulted in the gaps being closed between these pupils and their classmates in school.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The school has good systems in place to monitor and track the progress of individual pupils, which provide teachers with detailed information about each pupil. However, the systems to monitor the progress made by different groups and year groups are less well developed. This means that the senior leadership team does not know how well these groups are doing compared with other groups in the school or their peers nationally. Subject leaders to do not have this information so that they can support teachers in adapting the learning to meet the needs of different groups more effectively if required.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Despite this the senior leadership promotes equal opportunities effectively because of the individual attention paid to all pupils. Leaders have high expectations for all pupils and have created an atmosphere in which they can and do succeed. Senior leaders take care to consider all aspects of a pupil’s life in planning for their development. Staff have the skills to find different ways to make sure all pupils engage in their learning and improve their social skills. This all helps foster good relations between pupils and helps to ensure there is no discrimination.  The local authority has been very supportive to the school in the past, for example, when the school moved premises. However, as the local authority considered the school to be effective with no significant issues, it has had little support more recently. Monitoring showed that pupils’ achievement was good and so the lack of checking on the progress of groups, and the problems relating to safeguarding, have not

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The headteacher has worked hard to improve the range of subjects taught across the whole school and the ways in which they are taught. The curriculum is now good. Subjects are presented in interesting and practical ways which enthuse pupils to learn. Pupils themselves say that learning is now more interesting, especially this school year.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The school promotes the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Staff provide a wide range of opportunities for them to explore other cultures and religious beliefs, and actively promote living in modern Britain.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The primary physical education and sports funding is used effectively to provide specialist teaching, training for the teachers and for the development of a ‘Move’ programme. This encourages pupils to be as physically active as possible, as well as teaching them about how to stay fit and healthy. This has all contributed to pupils’ excellent physical development. The monitoring of pupils’ fitness levels shows that these have increased markedly over the last year.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The school and residential care provision work well with the school nurses, speech and language specialists and physiotherapists. These support the residential staff effectively in supporting the pupils’ medical and communication needs and the physical education programme so that all pupils can participate as fully as possible. However, not all specialists contribute to the development of pupils’ residential care plans and so pupils’ specialist needs and how to best support them are not consistently part of these plans.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 In the upper school and especially in the sixth form, pupils are provided with good independent and impartial advice on careers guidance and support. This ensures that pupils are well prepared and informed about their future choices. This enables most sixth form students to move on to further education and work opportunities.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The school may not appoint newly qualified teachers before the next monitoring visit.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The governance of the school:  Governance is ineffective. The move to the new premises distracted governors from making their own checks on the school’s work and from carrying out their duties in respect of the residential provision. During the past year they have relied too heavily upon the headteacher’s reports and did not check the validity of the information they were being provided. This meant they lost track of the performance of the school and did not carry out their statutory duties effectively, especially those relating to safeguarding. Governors did not ensure that the performance of the staff was being monitored and that annual reviews of staff’s work were being carried out correctly. The new headteacher and governors have recently scrutinised the work of the staff. The governing body has now closely linked this review with the teachers’ pay and professional development, so that good performance is rewarded and

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The leadership and management are inadequate

underperformance tackled.  Governors were aware of the performance of individual pupils through the scrutiny of information and data about their progress, although not on how well the different groups of pupils performed. Through information and checks on pupils’ work they had a basic understanding that the quality of teaching was being maintained.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are consistently good and pupils were eager to tell inspectors how much they enjoy school and their learning. They are polite and courteous to each other and adults alike.  The school has a small number of pupils with severe medical issues. Some have long periods of absence because of these. This lowers the school’s overall attendance figures although the school does all it can to minimise this and support these pupils whilst they are ill or in hospital. Attendance data for other pupils show that their attendance is much nearer the national average. The school has worked hard to raise attendance, which inspection evidence shows has improved over several years.

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Behaviour

 Pupils say that there is no bullying in school or in the residence and that all the pupils are friendly and get on well with each other. Observations around the school at various times confirm this is the case. All pupils spoken to state they feel safe at the school.

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Behaviour

 Students in the sixth form show good personal and social skills, and are provided with a wide range of opportunities to learn about looking after themselves, their own personal care and how to cook healthy meals.

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Behaviour

 Behaviour within the residential setting is generally good and pupils state they feel safe. However, there have been occasions where staff had to physically restrain pupils because they have become very upset and have put themselves or others in danger. The use of an independent counsellor is helping pupils to resolve any personal problems both in the residence and school. Pupils enjoy the time they spend together in the residence and say that they are all good friends.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils’ safe and secure is inadequate. This is due to key policies and procedures not being in place. The senior leadership team has not carried out its statutory duties effectively.

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Safety

 In both education and the residential provision senior leaders have not ensured that there are sufficient trained staff to carry out physical restraints and this potentially puts both pupils and staff at risk. In both provisions the recording of these restraints is insufficiently thorough. In the residential provision senior leaders have not ensured there are enough staff to supervise pupils at all times and meet the complexity of their needs.

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Safety

 On a daily basis staff follow physical handling and lifting procedures well. They use a wide range of equipment to lift and move pupils safely. Staff ensure that suitable equipment is used to enable pupils to fully participate in all lessons, such as standing units and adjustable wheel chairs.

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Safety

 The school ensures that risk assessments for external visits are completed effectively and this means that pupils enjoy these visits safely. Staff check that not only the physical environment they are going to is safe, but also the resources they take with them meet the needs of the pupils.

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Safety

 Pupils have a good basic understanding of e-safety when using a computer or mobile device and how to stay safe and healthy both in school and at home.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although teaching is good in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, teaching overall requires improvement because of inconsistencies in both teaching and achievement at Key Stage 3, especially in science. This is in part linked to instability in staffing in this key stage.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers are provided with a wealth of information about the individual pupils in their class . Th is means most plan effectively for each individual pupil’s learning. However, in Key Stage 3 teachers do not have the subject knowledge and skills to raise achievement in science and work in science is not always set to match the abilities of the pupils.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The teaching of literacy and mathematics is not consistent for older pupils, particularly in Key Stage 3. These subjects are taught in English and mathematics, as well as being reinforced within other subjects. Not all teachers take sufficient account of pupils’ literacy and numeracy needs and next steps, however, when teaching other subjects.  There has been insufficient monitoring of teaching over the past year, which meant variations in the quality of teaching across the school have not been picked up and addressed. Pupils’ books and work around the school show that pupils have been making good progress over time. However, some year groups in Key Stage 3 have failed to make sufficient progress more recently. A high number of staffing changes and limited checking on staff performance and support to improve, have meant these pupils’ progress has not been as consistently good as other pupils.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The information teachers are given on pupils’ progress does not allow them to understand how the different groups in their class are doing and to plan their teaching accordingly.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Reading is well supported throughout the school. The teaching of phonics (the sounds that letters make) across the school is now a strength. As a result, pupils’ reading skills have rapidly improved and they take great pride in trying to sound out and understand new words. This in turn allows them to build their skills and knowledge in other subjects.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers deploy support staff effectively in their lessons. This ensures that pupils’ needs are met and that pupils generally learn well. Support staff are highly skilled and, like teachers, have excellent questioning and discussion skills.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Humour is used well and helps build relationships and pupils’ understanding further. Pupils were observed joking with each other and playfully teasing each other, which all helped to build a highly positive learning environment. In a Key Stage 3 English lesson, pupils studying the poem ‘The Lady of Shalott’ were clearly enjoying the challenge of analysing its meaning, matching pictures with various parts of the poem and giving their reasons for each choice.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils who have speech, language and communication difficulties become more articulate, confident and thoughtful in their approach and explanations. This is because of the effective use of a wide range of communication aids such as signs, symbols and electronic devices, as well as help for improving their verbal communication.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching in the early years is good. All staff develop children’s language and communication skills very effectively, as well as their basic number and writing skills. They take every opportunity to reinforce these in different activities. In one lesson observed children were seen preparing for their snack time. The adults supporting them extended their language, reinforced mathematical skills and developed their social skills very effectively.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In the sixth form teaching is also good. Staff plan carefully to ensure the learning is relevant, challenging and meaningful. During the inspection students were observed solving problems linked to Roman numerals and giving reasons for their answers. The teacher and support staff constantly encouraged students to consider their methods of working things out and to give reasons for using particular methods. This resulted in the students making good progress in their number skills and use of mathematical methods, as well as their ability to give explanations.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers provide pupils with good written and spoken feedback, which allows them to understand how to improve their work. Books and work seen showed that such feedback is used well by pupils to improve their work.

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requires improvement

 Achievement in Key Stage 3 is inconsistent and especially so in science. This means that achievement overall requires improvement. Work scrutiny, pupils’ records and inspectors’ observations confirm that too many pupils do not make expected or better progress in this Key Stage in science, and sometimes in English and mathematics.

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requires improvement

 Pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 make good progress in English and mathematics, and in their topic work across a range of subjects. Their work in books is testament to their progress over time and their enthusiasm for learning. Their teachers are skilled at gaining their interest and attention and at matching the work to their needs.

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requires improvement

 Pupils in Key Stage 1 and 2 make good progress in their language and communication skills. Some make outstanding progress because adults are skilful at extending their communications, whatever form these take. The use of signing and communication aids supports learning effectively and also helps pupils to socialise with each other and with staff.

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requires improvement

 By the end of Year 6 a few more able pupils achieve Level 3 in reading, writing and mathematics. Most pupils operate well below the expected levels for pupils of their age nationally. However, this still represents good progress from their starting points on entry which are usually well below others of their age. By the end of Year 11, although most pupils have continued to make good progress overall in English and mathematics, their attainment is still several years behind that of their peers. The more able pupils, from very low starting points, have narrowed this gap to within two to three years of their peers nationally.

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requires improvement

 Pupils who benefit from pupil premium funding make good progress in English and mathematics in line with that of their peers in school. In 2012 their attainment was a year behind their peers in school. However, these pupils have started to close the gaps in attainment rapidly. They now leave the school with skills and knowledge only approximately a term behind that of others in the school, because the additional funding has been put to good use in enabling extra support to be provided.

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requires improvement

 Older pupils gain qualifications in a range of life skills and key skills qualifications reaching Entry Levels 1, 2 and 3 and some achieving a range of GCSE grades. Pupils also make good progress in their reading, writing and mathematical skills. All pupils leave the school with at least three qualifications. More able pupils leave with more qualifications and at higher levels. This is an improving picture since the last inspection.

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requires improvement

 Throughout the school, teachers challenge and stretch the more able pupils. Discussions with these pupils clearly indicate that they feel supported by all staff to achieve their best. In an English lesson, for example, in-depth questioning by staff and discussion pushed a group of more able pupils to extend their answers and thinking so that they could achieve even higher levels. In the sixth form more able students gain a wide range of suitable qualifications at the higher levels, for example unit awards and GCSE in such aspects as life skills, key skills, English, mathematics, and personal, health, social and emotional development.

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requires improvement

 Many pupils leave the school to move onto further education and/or vocational courses. Where this is not appropriate the school supports families in accessing further life skills courses and specialist services through social services and medical provisions so that all make an effective transition to next steps.

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The early years provision is good

 The early years area is bright and inviting, both indoors and outside. All areas of the provision are safe and all resources are well maintained. This means children are happy and excited to come to school and their behaviour is good. Resources to develop the children’s language and communication skills are excellent.

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The early years provision is good

 Staff help children settle into the school very quickly and engage them rapidly in learning. They have excellent links with the families and make sure they provide parents with all the information they need to help their children develop. These links mean they have, for example, been able to check on children’s attendance and improve it where necessary.

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The early years provision is good

 Good leadership of the early years has ensured that over time the provision has continued to improve and the quality of teaching is normally at least good. The leadership team in the early years has monitored teaching in the provision effectively and ensured children’s learning and development are good, and occasionally outstanding, particularly in their communication and language and their personal and social development.  Staff thoroughly assess children’s knowledge and skills when they join the early years and this allows them to plan effectively for the learning of each child. They make learning exciting and fully engage the children. Teachers’ imaginative approaches and creation of a sense of fun mean that children enjoy learning. Staff develop children’s social skills very well and this enables them to socialise with each other very quickly.

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The early years provision is good

 The teaching of language, communication and early literacy and mathematical skills is appropriately prioritised. Staff use a wide range of communication aids to support these. All staff help the children to pronounce letters and sounds, and create basic sentences and are skilled in helping the children to use a range of communication aids to further develop their communication skills and understanding.

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The early years provision is good

 Good teaching in the early years brings about motivated children in all aspects of their learning. This in turn means that children want to learn and do so quickly resulting in good achievement. Children’s current and past learning journals clearly show that children have made good progress over time. These very positive attitudes to learning mean they are well prepared for their time in the rest of the school. The early years provision is not yet outstanding as teaching does not as yet lead to the majority of children making outstanding progress.

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The sixth form provision is good

 Staff work well together to ensure that the students leave with the skills and understanding to take the next steps in their lives. Students achieve well on a range of qualifications such as GCSE entry level qualifications, life and key skills qualifications. They achieve well on these courses, from their starting points. They make considerable gains in their personal and self help skills and understanding of life in modern Britain because of the varied and highly relevant experiences that are provided.

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The sixth form provision is good

 The number of subjects taught in the sixth form has increased and with them, the range of qualifications the students can gain. All staff put the students’ life skills at the core of their learning and promote key skills such as literacy and numeracy well. Staff use real-life situations to enhance learning, for example students cook their own lunches and regularly go to the shops to apply their life and mathematical skills. They carry out enterprise activities such as fund raising activities and simple business tasks, where they create and sell products.

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The sixth form provision is good

 Pupils in the sixth form behave well and have a lot of respect for each other and adults. This is due to the excellent role models of the staff. Students feel safe in the provision and state there are no issues such as poor behaviour.

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The sixth form provision is good

 Leadership and management of the sixth form have made sure that teaching is good. The ways in which students’ progress and achievements are tracked ensure that each student’s needs are well provided for. The positive links they have developed with parents allow families to participate fully in their child’s education and to support them in their learning at home. This in turn has helped to accelerate their learning further in school.

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The sixth form provision is good

 However, senior leaders have not ensured that safeguarding requirements for these students meet requirements. This particularly relates to checking on students’ attendance and, although behaviour is generally good, making sure that there are sufficiently trained staff to deal with any physical restraints that may arise.

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are inadequate

 Pupils take delight in their time in residential care and being with their friends. Parents have confidence in the staff and the provision in general. The provision enables the pupils to develop their independence and social skills especially. Pupils were observed playing games together and sharing responsibilities around the provision, as well as taking care of their rooms.

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are inadequate

 An independent counsellor works with the pupils and families in the residential provision and helps the pupils understand the consequences of their actions. This has gradually helped to make behaviour a very positive feature of the provision, as well as helping the pupils to understand right from wrong and how their actions affect others. The new headteacher has extended this support across the school.

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are inadequate

 Life skills are key to all aspects of the provision and specialist equipment helps pupils to develop their independence skills. Staff make the pupils responsible for a variety of aspects during their stay. Some help with preparing food, others keep the provision neat and tidy, as well as being responsible for their own room and possessions.

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are inadequate

 There are insufficient staff to meet the pupils’ very complex needs. The dependency levels of the young people and frequency of personal care tasks undertaken has an impact on the staff’s ability to provide quality care. For example, some residential pupils were late to school in the morning. Staff do, however, ensure personal care tasks are undertaken to ensure the dignity of the residential pupils.

p.12

are inadequate

 Staff in the residential setting make sure they cater for all groups of pupils regardless of their backgrounds and celebrate the differences and similarities between them. Pupils develop close personal links with all the adults and each other because the staff model good social skills. Communal space provides opportunities for individual and group activities where pupils can play and work together. However, pupils are no longer able to access the school hall where they like to play football; in part this is because there is insufficient staffing to monitor their safety.

p.12

are inadequate

 Students’ health is promoted well by the school nurses, as they support the pupils in learning how to cope with their medical needs. They also help the pupils to learn strategies to overcome their physical disabilities, which in turn results in them joining in a wider range of activities. All residential pupils have the equipment and facilities needed to meet their often complex medical and physical needs. However, the pupils’ ability to look after their own medication is not routinely considered and supported.

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are inadequate

 Residential pupils stay a maximum of two nights per week; they and their family members feel arrangements for them to stay in touch are good. Family members feel that the provision also provides excellent support for them, as it gives them a respite period on a regular basis. In turn it also provides their child with an opportunity to relax away from their family and share more time with their peers.

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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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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding A school which provides an exceptional quality of care and significantly exceeds minimum requirements. Grade 2 Good A school which provides a high quality of care that exceeds minimum requirements. Grade 3 Adequate A school which meets minimum requirements but needs to improve the quality of care it provides. Grade 4 Inadequate A school where minimum requirements are not met and the quality of care has serious weaknesses.

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School details

Unique reference number 117679 Social care unique reference number SC056425 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 447959

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection of residential provision was carried out under the Children Act 1989, as amended by the Care Standards Act 2000, having regard to the national minimum standards for residential special schools.

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School details

Type of school Special School category Community special Age range of pupils 3–18 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 92 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 18 Number of boarders on roll Up to 22 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Helen Hanbury Headteacher Annemarie Ottridge Date of previous school inspection 7 December 2012 Telephone number 01438 726999 Fax number 01438 314650 Email address admin@lonsdale.herts.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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