The Rose School

The Rose School Greenock Street, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 4DT

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher provides strong leadership and clear direction for further development.  Senior and middle leaders share the headteacher’s vision and are successfully committed to ensuring that every student achieves well. As a result, the school continues to improve.  The governing body has a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for further development. Governors also ensure that safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements.  Achievement is good overall because, from their low starting points, students make good progress in the development of their literacy and numeracy skills.  Teaching over time, and in most subjects, is consistently good and sometimes outstanding. Students, therefore, make good progress in English, mathematics and in many other subjects.  Students say they feel safe and happy in school, and attendance since the time of the previous inspection has improved. Students behave well.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school is supported well by the local authority.  Leaders responsible for different subjects carefully track the progress individual students make.  The curriculum is skilfully adapted to match the abilities and interests of every student and successfully promotes their understanding of British values, preparing them well for life in modern Britain

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching does not always result in students making the rapid progress over time of which they are capable.  Best practice is not shared across the school as a means of improving teaching.  Marking is not consistently good across the school. It does not give effective guidance to students telling them how to improve their work. Students are not given enough opportunity to respond to any comments made by staff.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited all classes and carried out joint observations with the headteacher.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, a representative from the local authority and a group of parents.  Inspectors spoke formally and informally to students about their experiences at school and listened to their views. They also visited an assembly.  They took account of feedback from staff questionnaires and of the 12 responses to Ofsted’s online Parent View questionnaire.  The lead inspector met with the Chair and vice chair of the Governing Body.  The inspectors looked at the school’s work and scrutinised a range of documentation including information about students’ performance and progress, students’ written work, procedures for safeguarding and monitoring attendance, school improvement planning and minutes of governing body meetings.

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Inspection team

Maureen Coleman, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The Rose School is a small secondary special school which serves students between the ages of 11 and 16 years who have behavioural, social and emotional difficulties. A minority of students have additional learning or social communication difficulties.  All students have a statement of special educational needs.  Students are drawn mostly from East Lancashire, although a few come from other areas of the country and on occasions requests for out of county placements are received.  Almost all students are from White British backgrounds and all speak English as their first language.  Seven students are looked after by the local authority.  A very small number of students attend alternative provision at ‘The Alternative School (TAS)’.  The proportion of disadvantaged students is high with almost all students are known to be eligible for free school meals and are therefore eligible for support through the pupil premium. The pupil premium is

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Information about this school

additional funding for those students known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after by the local authority.  The school holds the Leading Parent Partnership Award, Healthy School status, the Race Equality Mark. It is also an Investor in People, and has the Innovative Practice Award and the Prince’s Trust Teaching Institute Mark for Science.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching from good to outstanding in its impact on students’ achievement over time by;  ensuring teachers’ written feedback to students is thorough and consistent across all classes and shows them how to improve their work  giving students more opportunities to respond to teachers’ comments in marking  providing opportunities for the sharing of the outstanding classroom practice already evident in the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Under the strong leadership of the headteacher, this is a good and improving school.  Senior and middle leaders share the headteacher's vision. They ensure that students’ health and well- being are paramount and, together with the headteacher and governors, they have created an ethos and culture where students thrive.  Senior leaders ensure that all students have equality of opportunity to succeed in everything they do. The progress, attendance and behaviour of students attending alternative provision are monitored closely by the senior leadership team to ensure good progress is maintained.  The curriculum is well planned and is relevant to students’ needs. It is instrumental in supporting students’ good and improving behaviour. Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development underpins much of the school’s work and instances of bullying and discrimination are very rare. This prepares them well for

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The leadership and management are good

life in modern Britain.  Additional funding, including pupil premium funding, is used well to enhance the curriculum and to provide experiences for students to develop a range of skills including archery and water sports during residential trips. In addition, the implementation of accelerated reader and mathematics programmes are also having a good impact on the development of students’ literacy and mathematical skills.  Career guidance and support for students are well managed, resulting in nearly all students moving on to further education or training.  All staff have positive attitudes and are excellent role models for students. They are a strong team and work well together, motivating students to learn through a range of varied and challenging activities.  The quality of teaching is monitored effectively and information successfully used as part of performance management. Staff are well aware of their accountability for students’ achievement. Opportunities are yet

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The leadership and management are good

to be put in place enable teachers to share good and outstanding practice already evident in school.  The local authority provides good support for the school.  The school fosters good relationships with parents, who hold the school in high esteem. They welcome the well-established and highly-effective communication links they have with school staff and feel comfortable to approach the school with any concerns they may have.  Safeguarding practices are well established and effective. Leaders ensure there is a good understanding of all aspects about keeping students safe.  The governance of the school:  Governors demonstrate commitment and vision to move The Rose School towards outstanding status. They visit the school regularly to gain first-hand information. Meetings with the headteacher and senior leaders provide governors with secure data and accurate information about the school’s performance,

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The leadership and management are good

areas of strengths and areas for development. Governors support and challenge school leaders to secure the best opportunities for all students. They are well informed about the quality of teaching and ensure that teachers are suitably rewarded for good performance, related to the quality of their teaching and students’ achievement. School finances, including the pupil premium funding, are managed well and governors ensure safeguarding procedures and arrangements meet statutory requirements.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of students is good. Most students, including those attending alternative provision, demonstrate positive attitudes to learning, which support good progress in literacy and mathematics.  Teachers and other adults are caring and show a patient approach towards students, enabling them to modify their behaviour over time and become more courteous towards each other as they progress through the school.  In lessons, students listen well to instructions and are keen to engage in tasks and activities. For example, in science they were very keen to carry out experiments to test for hydrogen. They listened attentively to the teacher and adhered to appropriate procedures when using scientific equipment and materials.  Students are well aware of the school’s high expectations for their behaviour. The ‘point system’ for managing behaviour is well embedded and implemented effectively and fairly by staff. Students

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Behaviour

understand actions have consequences and respond well. They gain points throughout the day which enable them to access ‘Reward Time.’ Parents speak favourably about this arrangement and report that it has had a significant impact on improving their children’s behaviour.  Students are proud to be members of the school community and wear their uniform with pride.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep students safe and secure is good.  Students are well informed about how to keep themselves safe and the school diligently teaches them about all forms of bullying including homophobic, racist, and other forms of bullying based on prejudice.  Students report that they feel safe in school and that incidents of bullying are rare.  They are well supported and know how to keep themselves safe, including on the internet.  Students’ attendance has improved markedly since the previous inspection.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good because teachers and teaching assistants have a secure knowledge and understanding of students’ experiences and make sure activities in lessons are matched to their abilities and interests. Furthermore, this enables students from their well below average starting points to make good progress in literacy, reading and mathematics.  High expectations and aspirations for all, including the most able and those attending alternative provision, ensure a good rate of progress for all groups of students.  Regular, accurate, ongoing monitoring of students’ achievements and progress provides accurate information for staff to plan individual activities based on prior learning and students’ individual special needs. This is particularly effective in the teaching of science, where student outcomes reflect the high quality of the teaching and learning taking place within lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Classrooms are positive environments with attractive displays of students’ work.  Good relationships between students and teachers help students to engage well in lessons.  Social and communication skills have a high priority and students’ views and comments are given due consideration. Staff take time to listen to students and value their suggestions and opinions. This results in students growing in confidence and learning to be tolerant of others and quickly developing their language and literacy skills.  The standard of work in students’ books and their improving rates of progress show that the impact of teaching is typically good and on occasions outstanding.  Strong team work between teachers and teaching assistants enhances learning and helps them to manage behaviour well in lessons.  Praise and verbal feedback given to students help them to deepen their understanding and increase the pace of their learning. However, written comments are not always helpful as they are often too general or

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The quality of teaching is good

repetitive and have little impact on supporting students to improve their work even further. Additionally, students are not given the opportunity to reflect and respond to written comments about their work. As a result, students do not always make the rapid progress of which they are capable.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 As a consequence of students’ complex behavioural, social and emotional difficulties, their attainment when they first join the school is significantly below average, compared to schools nationally. However, in relation to their starting points, they make consistently good progress across all year groups and achieve well.  Aspirational targets, close monitoring and tracking of students’ progress, including students attending alternative provision, by middle and senior leaders show the school’s efforts are having a positive impact on progress and attainment.  Many students enter school with very low reading, writing and mathematical skills. Timely and effective programmes of support enable students to make good progress in these areas. This is further enhanced by the increased selection of reading material now available around school.  The most able make good progress from their starting points as a result of an appropriately-adapted

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The achievement of pupils is good

curriculum to capture their interest and enthusiasm for learning. This was particularly evident in enabling them to access options at the end of each school day.  In mathematics, students are presented with real-life situations which encourage them to develop their problem-solving skills and prepare them well for life in modern Britain. Good cross-curricular links further develop students’ understanding of mathematical problems, as seen in design and technology where students enjoyed making and designing their own clock face.  Almost all students are eligible for additional funding. This is used well by the school to provide a rich and stimulating curriculum supporting good progress in English and mathematics compared to non- disadvantaged students nationally. However, marking is not consistenly good across all subjects and classes and this stops students making even better progress. Given the nature of the school, it is not

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The achievement of pupils is good

appropriate to make comparisons between the attainment of disadvantaged students in the school and non-disadvantaged students nationally.  The school prepares students well for further study and work in today’s society. Year 11 students, without exception, gain a range of qualifications suitable to their abilities, which enables almost all of them to go on to further education and training.

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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 134625 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 448031

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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 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 55 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair T Martin Headteacher R Bridge Date of previous school inspection 19 October 2011 Telephone number 01282 683050 Fax number 01282 426842 Email address head@rose.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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