Hazelbeck Special School

Hazelbeck School Wagon Lane, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1EE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected as an academy 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 Sixth form provision Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The leadership and management of the school at all levels are outstanding. The very high expectations of the board of trustees and executive headteacher are put into practice on a daily basis by the headteacher and senior leadership team. This ensures that the school is improving rapidly and students, including those in the sixth form, have every opportunity to meet their potential.  All groups of students, including those with the most profound learning difficulties and the most able make exceptional progress. Their achievements are outstanding. Older students are prepared extremely well for moving on to the next stages of their lives. Their personal development is of a very high quality.  Students and staff work very well together in using technological aids to assist movement and communication. These have a significant impact on the rate at which progress is made in lessons.  Staff are highly skilled in helping all groups of

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

students overcome their learning difficulties, particularly in the areas of communication. As a result, students trust the staff implicitly, forming strong relationships.  Through learning how to express their ideas and feelings, students’ negative behaviour is significantly reduced. Students’ attitudes to learning and their behaviour are outstanding.  Students attend well and the school is working ever more closely with the hardest to reach families to encourage even better attendance.  Many lessons are geared to helping students understand how to keep themselves safe and recognise potential dangers. Staff take great care of students at all times. However, students would benefit if, when taking part in physical education, they were encouraged to wear the appropriate kit.  Students from different backgrounds get on very well together and this plays a good part in students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development,

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

which is outstanding.  The quality of teaching is outstanding, as a result of the relentless drive for improvement by the senior leadership team and board of trustees.  Staff welcome the close links that have been encouraged by school leaders with other special schools in the local authority. These partnerships have encouraged staff to develop their skills and share them with others.  Teachers skilfully weave into lessons examples of British values. Students from all backgrounds have opportunities to understand more about British government, public institutions and services and the expectations of society.  The governance of the school by the trustees is of a very high standard. Members of the board, together with the executive headteacher, support and challenge senior leaders at every opportunity.  The outstanding sixth form provides opportunities for older students to gain the necessary skills for living as independently as possible. Courses of

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

study are individually tailored for students so that they can make the most of their time here and gain qualifications according to their ability.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors visited 10 lessons or parts of lessons and were often accompanied by the headteacher.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, executive headteacher, members of the senior leadership team, middle managers, the school nurse and five members of the board of trustees. Inspectors spoke with students during lessons and at break times, and heard them read during lessons. A telephone interview was undertaken with the school improvement adviser.  Many key documents were scrutinised including the school’s own analysis of its strengths and weaknesses and plans for future development. Important records, such as those concerning students’ academic progress and their behaviour, were looked at. The procedures and policies for safeguarding were examined.  The 10 responses to the online inspection questionnaire, Parent View, were considered and 51 questionnaires completed by staff were taken into account. Inspectors spoke with four parents and looked

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Information about this inspection

at the school’s own surveys of parents’ views.

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Inspection team

Terry McKenzie, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Hazelbeck School provides education for secondary aged students and those in the sixth form. Students experience profound and multiple learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties, autism and multisensory impairments that relate to their ability to hear and see. Many students cannot communicate through speech, and a significant number experience extreme mobility difficulties. Many have additional learning difficulties and disabilities, including physical difficulties and behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. All have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan (EHC).  All students are placed by Bradford local authority and most travel by taxi or minibus to school. More than a third of students are entitled to support through the pupil premium funding. This is the additional funding for disadvantaged students, who are those known to be eligible for free school meals or are

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Information about this school

looked after by the local authority. The largest single ethnic group of students come from a Pakistani background with around a third overall being of White British origin.  Most students arrive at the school at the start of Year 7 but students can be placed at any time during their secondary career. Last year, all of those completing Year 11 went into the sixth form.  Hazelbeck School converted to become an academy special school in August 2013. When its predecessor school, Hazelbeck Community Special School was last inspected by Ofsted in 2011 it was judged to be satisfactory. It is co-located with Beckfoot School with which it is partnered in Beckfoot Multi Academy Trust. The two schools share some accommodation and resources on the site. Hazelbeck works closely with other special schools in Bradford (the District Achievement Partnership) to share experience and expertise in helping students with special educational needs.

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of alternative educational provision but a very small number of students attend for a few hours each week at Keighley College with support from Hazelbeck staff.  The school does not enter students early for GCSE.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that, where appropriate, when students take part in physical education or games they are always changed into kit and offered showers.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Since gaining academy status, the drive by the headteacher and leaders and managers at all levels in the school to become outstanding has been relentless. They have successfully translated their shared vision of excellence into practices that support the best qualities of teaching and learning. The close relationship between the headteacher and the executive headteacher has been central to shaping the values and vision of the school.  Teaching is outstanding because of the close attention given to teachers’ performance by the senior team who regularly monitor the work of staff. All staff working in classrooms are given targets linked to the progress made by the students they support.  Excellent performance by teachers is recognised through links with pay and by promotion. As a result, staff are very clear about the nature of their work and their contributions. For example, some middle managers have responsibility for key subjects, such as English and mathematics, and for the allocation of

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The leadership and management are outstanding

the pupil premium funding.  The headteacher has introduced very robust assessment systems. These operate in a number of different ways, for example, by providing information to the senior team about how students learn and make progress in all areas of study. Particular attention is given to students’ literacy and numeracy development because staff fully understand that students who can communicate and use basic number skills will thrive in all other areas of learning.  Assessment information is updated almost daily by teachers. They always know exactly the standards at which students are operating. Teachers and senior staff use the information to identify quickly students’ areas of strength and weakness in their learning. Senior staff regularly review the information to see if students are falling behind. They then provide additional help to students to help them maintain their rate of progress.  Throughout the school there is an excellent balance of subjects taught. As students reach Year 11 and

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The leadership and management are outstanding

move to the sixth form, the areas of study become more personalised. For some students the focus is on gaining academic qualifications, such as in the Entry Level Certificate and the Award Scheme Accreditation and Development Network (ASDAN). For other students the priority is to further the skills of independence and communication that will be required when they are ready to move on. The school has the resources to enable students to aspire to and reach the level of GCSE.  Many students require ongoing medical or mental health support. There are excellent links with agencies in the local authority, such as the National Health Service. A school nurse attends on most days to administer medication and help staff with complex tasks of intimate care and feeding.  The arrangements for safeguarding are undertaken rigorously. Senior staff are very experienced in dealing with the child protection teams of the local authority. The school maintains effective liaisons with parents

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The leadership and management are outstanding

and the families of students. It has recently appointed new members of staff specifically to reach out to those families that are often reluctant to work closely with the school. Through maintaining positive links with parents and families, the great majority of students are encouraged to attend regularly. When there is absence it is usually authorised and related to the medical needs of students.  Leaders and managers at all levels ensure that the opportunities to learn and make progress are equally available for all students. All are included and none is excluded from learning; this applies to those that are particularly disadvantaged and any who are eligible for the pupil premium. The school ensures that, despite the very wide range of special educational needs and backgrounds of students, there is equality of opportunity for all and none is discriminated against. Indeed, the school is a very cohesive community and

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The leadership and management are outstanding

all are encouraged to work and get on well together.  The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of students is actively promoted with opportunities for them to take part in learning outside the school in the wider community. For example, a visit to the House of Commons recently took place. Students go to places of interest in the local community. Where it is appropriate to do so they visit other schools, such as the co-located secondary school, to take part in lessons with students from different backgrounds. The senior leaders of the school encourage teachers to provide opportunities for students in lessons to learn about British values and beliefs. Students are made aware of their own and others’ cultures and they are prepared well for life in modern Britain.  A school improvement partner visits regularly and has encouraged the headteacher and other senior leaders to develop and introduce systems that identify areas for development. He has provided support

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The leadership and management are outstanding

and assistance to the headteacher in understanding the quality of teaching and interpreting the information provided by teachers through students’ assessments. As a result, leaders and managers have a very clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. Their plans for further improvement are clearly related to these findings.  The governance of the school:  The governance of the school carried out by the body of trustees is outstanding. Their commitment corporately and individually to the school shines through. The evidence of this is in the time that they take outside of formal meetings to visit the school and consider between them, for example, through the exchange of e-mails, the work of the school. Members have a huge range of skills and experience relevant to the management of the academy trust in general, and Hazelbeck in particular.  Members support and challenge the senior leadership team at every opportunity. For example, they

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The leadership and management are outstanding

established a vision that was designed to bring about an outstanding school before the academy was even registered and then rapidly started to fulfil this by the careful appointment of key staff. Members take extraordinary steps to understand the information that is presented to them by the senior leadership team about the quality of teaching, the use of the pupil premium and how students progress in their learning. They have fostered and maintained a high level of staff morale.  Members are closely involved in the process of understanding how the performance of staff is managed and evaluated. They provide advice to the headteacher about the relationship between teachers’ pay, promotion and pupils’ progress. As a result, they have an excellent understanding of the quality of teaching throughout the school and what to do in the event of any underperformance.  The trustees have maintained an excellent relationship with the Department for Education, and ensured

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The leadership and management are outstanding

that the finances of the school are appropriately managed. They have ensured that all the requirements for safeguarding are met. Members are proud of the part they have played in ensuring that classroom staff have all of the resources they require to meet the complex range of needs demonstrated by students.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of all groups of students is outstanding. This is because the staff work so effectively to understand and overcome the difficulties that students experience. As a result, students in all parts of the school are able to reduce their frustrations and take part in the life of the school effectively. A number of parents reported the behaviour of their children had improved significantly at home because of what had been done by the school.  Students are very happy in class and this can be seen by the smiles and appreciation that they demonstrate when working with the adults. Their attitudes to learning are superb. Throughout the inspection, not a single negative incident was witnessed in any of the lessons visited by the inspectors. Working together inside school and learning to get on with others in the wider community helps students to understand more about themselves, others from different backgrounds and life in modern Britain.

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Behaviour

 Students are extremely proud of the work they produce and their books and folders are maintained to a high standard. They delight in practical work, as was witnessed in a lesson where students were enthusiastically taking part despite all having extreme visual and hearing impairments.  There are many opportunities provided for students to take responsibility for aspects of school life. For example, during lunchtimes some older students act as waitresses and waiters to help less mobile students serve their lunches. The playground activities undertaken during break times have all been designed by the students themselves who requested that particular items be purchased to facilitate play. Furthermore, some of the older students volunteer to support the younger students in their play. In classes, roles and responsibilities are found for all according to their needs and abilities.  The headteacher has ensured that there is consistency in the management of behaviour throughout the

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Behaviour

school. Training has been provided for all staff in how to prevent difficult situations from occurring. As a result, the number of serious incidents is very low, restraints are very rare and students are never subject to exclusion.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Classes are organised on the basis of students’ needs and teachers become experts in managing the areas of need that they most often deal with. As a result, teachers provide excellent support for students in helping them understand how to keep themselves safe. Examples of this include teaching them about the potential dangers associated with the internet and mobile phones. Where appropriate, students are helped to understand potential difficulties associated with extremist views and opinions.  The arrangements, including policies and procedures, associated with the safeguarding of students are robust. The headteacher and other designated persons for safeguarding maintain close links with the local authority child protection teams. Despite the very mixed nature of the school community, incidents of bullying and racial intolerance are almost unknown. Students say they feel very safe here. The surveys

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Safety

and verbal comments from parents and staff indicate students are very safe at school. One parent reported to the inspectors that her child had been subjected to a mistake by staff in relation to her care but that the incident was quickly resolved and that the school has since taken steps to ensure that it cannot happen again. It was confirmed by the findings of the inspection that students are safe here.  The practice of health and safety management is extremely robust including all the arrangements relating to fire safety. Records are meticulously completed and maintained. Staff are provided with appropriate training in the required areas of safeguarding, first aid and health and safety. The academy was purpose- built and provides an attractive and safe environment for students.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching is largely outstanding. School records indicate that teaching is never less than good and that it has improved rapidly from the time the academy opened. This is because of the close attention given to improving the quality of teaching by the headteacher. It is also because staff are encouraged to use all of their skills and as much information as possible to understand what constitutes a barrier to learning for each student and how to overcome it.  In every classroom, including in the sixth form, the primary focus is on developing the skills of communication. Classroom staff are extremely adept at making use of communication aids that include electronic devices, pictorial representations of words and phrases and sign language. Staff are enthusiastic in acquiring new skills. This was witnessed by the inspectors in a morning meeting of staff when a teacher demonstrated for all her colleagues how to make use of a particular aspect of signing. The headteacher

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

reported to the inspectors that this happens very regularly and is an important part of morning meetings.  The pupil premium funding is largely used to purchase equipment and resources designed to help students overcome their communication difficulties. Teachers can request the pupil premium be spent in particular ways to the benefit of those in their classes who are eligible for support by the funding.  The exceptional progress made by students in literacy is directly related to the skills that classroom staff have in supporting their reading and writing developments. Many of the staff are trained in the use of phonics (the ways in which sounds relate to letters). In classrooms where students’ skills are such that they will never be able to read, staff are trained in specialist skills such as in the use of guiding techniques that support students’ learning and in helping them to communicate through sign language.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Much has been done by the English and mathematics coordinators to ensure that teachers have the resources and knowledge they require to provide students with the best possible teaching in these areas. For example, a great deal of thought is given to how the mathematics materials used by teachers are stored to enable easy access when required. The coordinators of these subjects, together with the senior leadership team, constantly promote the inclusion of literacy and numeracy throughout all areas of study so that students learn to apply the English and mathematics skills gained. This makes a major contribution to their preparation for later life, for example in the handling of money, weighing ingredients and the ability to deal with everyday reading and writing.  During lessons, teachers take every opportunity to communicate with students and encourage them to push their learning even further. According to the needs and abilities of students, teachers make use of

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

skilful questioning and feedback and this is instrumental in helping students to exceed expectations in their lessons. The great majority of students in the school cannot read fluently; nevertheless, teachers mark their work thoroughly and use a range of different ways of helping students to be aware of the quality of their work, including the strengths and weaknesses contained within it.  Teachers often skilfully weave into the lessons examples of life in modern Britain. For example, in a practical lesson concerned with learning how to clean a house, a lively discussion took place about the roles of men and women in the home and who should be responsible for the cleaning.  The great strength of the teaching is that staff know exactly how far they can challenge students to do their best. A wide range of teaching methods is employed in each classroom to ensure that students do not become bored but have exactly the right amount to do. Teachers skilfully match tasks to students’

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

levels of ability using the assessment information that is gathered on a day-by-day basis.  On occasion, however, staff do not encourage students to change into their kit for physical education and games and so help them to succeed in this area. Students are not always offered a shower following physical education.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 All arrive at the school with educational standards well below those of students in mainstream schools. Their special educational needs and disabilities present them with learning difficulties that are most apparent in the areas of communication and mobility. The great majority of students are unable to read or calculate with numbers in the ways that most others of the same ages can. Nevertheless, through skilful teaching and carefully thought-out methods of managing behaviour, almost all make progress from their low starting points in English and mathematics that is far in excess of expectations.  From their very low starting points all groups of students make outstanding progress in English, mathematics and other areas of learning, including those with additional learning difficulties and disabilities, and those who are the most able. Outstanding achievement is demonstrated by students in each of the Key Stages 3 and 4. Learning is supported by the expectation that, where they are capable,

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

students should undertake homework. Parents are helped to understand what students are doing in their homework through homework journals. Teachers also maintain close communication with students’ homes through the daily use of diaries.  There is no discernible difference between the achievements of boys and girls, or those from different ethnic backgrounds. This is also borne out by the observations made by inspectors and through the records of students’ progress maintained by the school. By the end of both Year 11 and sixth form, all those who have the capability to do so acquire qualifications and accreditations. Last year, almost all finished the year with qualifications or accreditations of some kind. Those who are not capable of success with accreditations nevertheless make outstanding progress in many areas of life.  Occasionally in lessons, the pace of learning slows slightly when students are not altogether sure what is

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

expected of them, or when they are provided with targets for learning that are too broad for them to fully understand. Leaders have good plans in place to address this. Each class has time dedicated to reading or pre-reading activities. An inspector observed a reading session in a classroom during which students enthusiastically tackled new texts and consolidated their understanding of words and phrases to enhance their reading. The inspector listened to some students read and was impressed by the enthusiasm with which they went about the tasks.  Students benefit greatly from the confidence that classroom staff display in supporting them in all areas of learning, whatever their levels of disability. As a result, and where they can, students are used to working productively with others in small groups. They can also operate independently and with minimal assistance from staff. An example of this was seen in a lesson where students with a wide range of severe learning

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

difficulties successfully decorated samples of African masks.

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The sixth form provision is outstanding

 Most students come to the sixth form from Key Stage 4 in the school. They continue to make exceptional progress in all areas of study and their achievements in sixth form are outstanding. Last year, qualifications and accreditations were gained that exceeded the national expectations of progress from students’ different starting points.  Teaching in sixth form is outstanding. Classroom staff know how to get the best from students by helping them overcome their learning difficulties. The leadership and management of the sixth form is outstanding and staff are fully aware of the high expectations placed on them. As a result, the learning is very personalised and courses are designed for students that are tailored to their needs. For example, some attend a local college with support from Hazelbeck staff. Others take part in learning with their peers in the co-located mainstream school. Most are encouraged to accept roles and responsibilities that help them

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The sixth form provision is outstanding

to make a positive contribution to the school. Many support younger students during breaktimes and at lunch.  Staff provide interesting and inspiring lessons that encourage students to give their best. In one lesson, students were asked to cooperate with each other to build structures from dried spaghetti. Students concentrated on their tasks for a considerable amount of time and were full of enthusiasm for completing their work. Here, and in all other areas of the sixth form observed, behaviour was outstanding. Students demonstrate high levels of commitment to learning.  The outstanding personal development of students continues throughout the sixth form. Staff help them to gain the skills and independence they need to move on from school, including careers advice. Last year, all who left moved on successfully to further education, employment or 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 139977 Local authority Bradford Inspection number 449933

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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 Academy special converter Age range of pupils 11–19 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 114 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 33 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Winkley Headteacher Sue Pierce Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01274 777107 Fax number Not applicable Email address hazadmin@hazelbeck.org 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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