Setting

Mr Stuart Pidgeon Headteacher Redwood Hudsons Walk Rochdale Lancashire OL11 5EF

p.1

Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Redwood, Rochdale

Following my visit to your school on 13 March 2015, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

p.1

Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Redwood, Rochdale

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in November 2014. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

p.1

Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Redwood, Rochdale

Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection. The school should take further action to:

p.1

Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Redwood, Rochdale

 ensure all adults are clear about how they can contribute to both students’ achievement and progress of the school overall.

p.1

Evidence

During the inspection, meetings were held with the headteacher, students, governors, teachers and a representative of the local authority to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. The school action plan was evaluated. I took the opportunity to scrutinise a range of other documents provided by the school.

p.1

Context

One supply teacher has been employed on a temporary basis to cover a vacancy. CfBT Inspection Services Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566850 Direct F 01695 729320 Direct email: dmccarrick@cfbt.com

p.1

Main findings

Leaders have acted quickly to improve the quality of teaching as the key route to raising standards across the school. Leaders have used effectively a staff survey to identify gaps in adults’ skills. Plans have been drawn up to provide training opportunities to plug the variances in expertise of all staff, for example in the teaching of students with autistic spectrum disorders. Records of observations of learning by a local authority school improvement officer show that there has been an improvement in the quality of teaching since the inspection.

p.2

Main findings

The accuracy of leaders’ view of the quality of teaching has improved compared with before the inspection. Leaders have worked well with the local authority to improve the quality of teaching across the school. Some whole school strategies, for example the use of signing, are not yet consistently well applied.

p.2

Main findings

Teachers’ planning for lessons has improved since the inspection because good and better practice has been shared across the school. Scrutiny of teachers’ planning showed that lessons are planned well to meet students’ specific needs. For example, one lesson plan described the use of a story board with one student along with access to sound effects and visual images with another. Leaders are aware that teachers’ plans should be improved further by ensuring teachers’ measures of students’ success are matched closely to each student’s specific needs.

p.2

Main findings

Leaders have acted appropriately to raise staff moral across the school. The setting up of a ‘well-being’ team to identify and take action, on adults’ areas of concern, is welcomed by those staff spoken with. Leaders’ though, are not resting on their laurels. Leaders intend to boost staff involvement further by ensuring each adult is clear about how they can contribute to the action plan and therefore the school’s progress overall.

p.2

Main findings

Leaders have reviewed the whole school behaviour policy. The school’s own data show that there has been a reduction in the number of behaviour incidents since the inspection. Leaders do not have well defined measures to judge the overall success of their actions to improve behaviour. Leaders are therefore not yet able to judge accurately how quickly the school is progressing in terms of students’ behaviour.

p.2

Main findings

Ofsted may carry out further visits and, where necessary, provide further support and challenge to the school until its next section 5 inspection.

p.2

External support

Leaders have made effective use of their links with the local authority. The local authority’s support for leaders in their review of the quality of teaching has resulted in teacher’s planning more precisely to meet students’ specific needs. The local authority has supported the school with an external review of governance. This has included an audit of the skills of governors which in turn has resulted in governors being more able to hold leaders to account. Although records of governors meetings show that governors ask searching questions of leaders, it is too early to evaluate the impact of the changes to governance.

p.2

External support

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body, the Director of Children’s Services for Rochdale and as below.

p.3

Her Majesty’s Inspector

The letter should be copied to the following:

p.3

Her Majesty’s Inspector

 Appropriate authority - Chair of the Governing Body  Local authority

p.3