Oakleigh School & Acorn Assessment Centre

School report Oakleigh School & Acorn Assessment Centre Oakleigh Road North, Whetstone, London, N20 0DH

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Inspirational leadership has led to the school sustaining high levels of achievement and pupils’ personal development.  Leaders have the highest expectations of staff and pupils, leading to consistently outstanding practice.  Pupils of all abilities and from all backgrounds make excellent progress and their achievement is outstanding. They are very well prepared for the next stage of their education.  Teachers fully understand pupils’ needs and how to help them overcome difficulties in their learning.  Pupils’ make excellent progress in acquiring literacy and communication skills and mathematical knowledge.  Pupils develop excellent attitudes to learning; their behaviour both in and outside classrooms is excellent.  The school’s outstanding promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development results in a highly supportive, tolerant and happy learning community.  Early years provision is of outstanding quality and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

provides children with the confidence and learning skills to make outstanding progress.  Pupils feel safe and secure. The school’s systems to safeguard children are rigorous.  Parents and carers have a very high regard for the school. They know that the school’s leaders and staff will always work with them to ensure the best outcomes for their children  The governing body is well informed, well organised and totally committed to achieving the best outcomes for the school.  Middle leaders are highly committed and skilled. The newest middle leaders have not yet fully established formal ways to monitor and evaluate performance across the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited all of the classrooms and observed learning and achievement in 14 lessons. They also observed an assembly, pupils arriving at school, lunchtime arrangements and pupils playing outside.  An inspector visited the two classrooms at Colindale Primary School, which are part of the Acorn Assessment Centre provision.  Inspectors also looked at attendance information, safeguarding arrangements and other key documents.  A random sample of pupils’ work was analysed and comparisons made between the achievements of different groups of pupils. Inspectors analysed the school’s performance data showing the attainment and progress of pupils.  Inspectors held discussions with senior and middle leaders, a group of governors and a group of parents and carers. An inspector held a telephone discussion with a representative from the local authority and met with a headteacher from another school, who acts as the school’s improvement partner.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors took account of 59 responses to the online questionnaire for parents and carers (Parent View), which included four questionnaires completed on paper and 46 questionnaires from school staff.

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Inspection team

Barnard Payne, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Oakleigh School is a special school catering for pupils aged from two to 11 years with severe and complex learning difficulties.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is above the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding provided for students known to be eligible for free school meals and those in the care of the local authority.  In common with other schools with primary-aged children, the school also receives the primary physical education and sport premium, designed to help primary schools improve the quality of the physical education and sport activities they offer their pupils.  A large majority of pupils are from minority ethnic groups, covering a wide range of backgrounds. The majority are from homes where English is spoken as an additional language.  The school’s early years centre provides services for children aged from birth to five years with a range of

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Information about this school

special educational needs. The provision includes a home teaching service for families whose children are not in early years settings or schools. The children who come into the early years centre go on to a wide range of educational provision when they are five. This inspection focused solely on those children aged 2–5 years in the nursery and reception classes.  The Acorn Assessment Centre is based on two sites: Oakleigh School and Colindale Primary School, on the other side of Barnet. It caters for children aged from two to five years who have a wide range of special educational needs. These include children with specific medical conditions, physical disabilities, social and communication disorders, sensory impairments, autism spectrum conditions and/or other learning difficulties.  The two Acorn classrooms at Colindale are subject to exactly the same leadership and management as those at Oakleigh. The school uses no alternative provision.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further develop systems for the recently appointed middle leaders to extend their formal monitoring and evaluation skills.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Under the inspirational leadership of the headteacher, the school has sustained the highest levels of pupils’ achievement and personal development during the five years since the previous inspection. The headteacher is supported by an extremely effective leadership team. The school has excellent capacity to bring about further improvement.  The school’s governing body and leaders at all levels are highly committed, ambitious for the pupils and passionate about the school. Teachers and support staff show an equal passion in their work and are very proud of their school. All contribute to a culture of high expectations.  The school has very committed middle leaders, who are high-quality practitioners in their areas. They have been well supported in developing their roles. However, recently appointed middle leaders have yet to fully develop formal monitoring and evaluation systems to help them identify aspects to improve.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school has robust systems in place to monitor and evaluate its work. These include regular observations of teaching and learning. The school’s performance management has ensured that teaching is of consistently high quality and full account is taken of the national ‘Teachers’ Standards’.  Rigorous assessment systems enable the school to track pupils’ progress and achievement and take account of the wide range of ability, so that pupils making smaller steps in their learning are tracked as diligently as others. Assessments are checked both internally and with other special schools to ensure accuracy.  The school targets its pupil premium funding effectively, ensuring that eligible pupils make the same outstanding progress as others. The provision made for each pupil receiving the pupil premium is clearly set out in the school’s policy. This leads to an evaluation of the impact of each type of intervention and

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The leadership and management are outstanding

support.  The school provides an excellent curriculum, carefully tailored to address individual needs. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They meet people from many different backgrounds and learn about different faiths. They learn to respect fundamental British values, learning about rules, fairness, mutual respect and tolerance. The school has achieved the International School Award and has links with schools abroad, which promote pupils’ understanding of the wider world.  The school places great emphasis on high achievement and developing excellent attitudes to learning. There is a consistent focus on pupils’ ability to communicate, leading to their increasing independence in making and communicating choices and taking control of their environment. This reflects the school’s total commitment to ensure equality of opportunity for all pupils. The school fosters excellent relations between

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The leadership and management are outstanding

pupils, and between pupils and staff, and ensures there is no discrimination of any kind.  The school makes highly effective use of the primary physical education and sport premium funding to improve the quality and breadth of physical education and sport. The school analysed its existing provision, identifying any gaps, and has implemented a wide-ranging programme. It has supplemented some activities from other funds. An outstanding range of outdoor equipment, highly effective use of sports coaches from Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and a variety of lunchtime and after-school clubs form part of the provision. This is fully inclusive, catering for all groups; for example, pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties have equal opportunities to work with external sports coaches.  The school makes full use of local authority support and training. The local authority recognises the excellent skills and expertise of the staff. It commissions the school to provide support in other settings for

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The leadership and management are outstanding

children from birth to five years old who have special educational needs. Staff also support their families and provide outreach support for mainstream schools.  Safeguarding arrangements on both the Oakleigh and Colindale sites are rigorous and fully meet national requirements. Staff working in the classrooms at Colindale monitor the progress, attendance and behaviour of children with the same rigour as on the Oakleigh site.  The governance of the school: – The governing body is well informed and highly skilled, enabling it to hold the headteacher and other senior leaders to account for the outcomes for pupils. Governors ensure that the school promotes tolerance and respect. They have a very good understanding of pupils’ performance information and have received relevant training. There are designated governor roles, which include safeguarding and the use of the pupil premium; these roles are undertaken systematically and effectively. The governing body has

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The leadership and management are outstanding

ensured that all financial resources, including the pupil premium and primary physical education and sport premium, are well managed and lead to outstanding outcomes for pupils. Governors are rigorous in making decisions about teachers’ salary progression in relation to performance. They are very well informed about the quality of teaching and strongly support senior leaders in ensuring that all teachers’ performance is brought up to the school’s high standards.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. They acquire excellent attitudes to their learning. Where pupils have difficulties in managing their own behaviour, the school has established highly effective strategies to help them overcome them.  Case studies show how the school does all it can to find solutions where pupils have problems. Parents and carers say that the school always goes ‘above and beyond’ what might be expected in order to address significant behaviour issues and enable pupils and families to deal with them.  There is a high level of consistency in attitudes and behaviour, and in the management of behaviour, across the school. Behaviour outside lessons is of an equally high standard.  The school does all it can to promote good attendance, which has improved in the years since the school was previously inspected. An analysis of the reasons for absences shows that they are predominantly due

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Behaviour

to medical issues, but these have reduced over the past year.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. All groups of pupils feel safe and are kept safe. They love being in school. Parents and carers strongly agree that their children feel safe.  The curriculum enables pupils to develop their understanding of what makes some situations unsafe. This includes taking responsibility for their own and others’ safety outside classrooms, such as learning to use the outside play equipment safely. Pupils also learn appropriate behaviour when meeting new people, including how to greet them and interact.  The school has established extensive systems and resources to safeguard pupils. In addition to ensuring that all staff receive relevant training, the school also employs a family worker and a psychotherapist. This extra provision enables the school to work closely with families.  Safety procedures on the Colindale site are equally rigorous. While the Acorn accommodation is within the

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Safety

main school building, it is secure and safeguarding procedures are robust.  Parents and carers are very positive about behaviour and have no concerns about bullying. There is no evidence of any bullying in the school and in all case studies and observations, pupils’ attitudes towards one another are consistently positive.  There is very effective liaison with other schools to ensure smooth arrivals for new pupils and transitions for leavers, both for children in the early years and for older pupils. Pupils are enabled to feel safe and secure when facing change.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers have consistently high expectations of pupils and an excellent understanding of what makes learning difficult for them. They rigorously check pupils’ understanding and progress and use their assessment to set work at the right level to challenge each individual. Throughout the school there are extremely well-organised routines and resources to help pupils learn.  The teaching of literacy and numeracy is highly effective. Teachers develop pupils’ understanding of letters and sounds (phonics) using a variety of methods. In a Key Stage 2 lesson, the teacher quickly engaged pupils as they identified their names and chose who would go next. This developed their literacy and social skills well. The teacher made consistent use of signing and visual timetables and combined tactile and visual resources, phonics and written words, leading to outstanding speaking, listening, reading and writing.  Numeracy is often integral to other activities, which makes sense to pupils and ensures numeracy is easy

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

for them to learn. For example, recounting the story of Goldilocks includes the number of characters and their relative sizes; in one session with early years children, where two pupils worked with an adult, they differentiated between small and tiny.  Teaching assistants, therapists and other staff play key roles in ensuring high achievement. Together with class teachers they form highly effective teams. In one class, the morning snack was used to enable pupils to use and develop a range of communication strategies. The teacher and support staff made an excellent team, each absolutely clear about individual communication targets. Every pupil was engaged and understood the expectations and routines, using words, symbols and communication books to choose which food to have and how many items.  Teachers use a wide range of strategies and activities to engage pupils. In a lesson based on the book, Where the Wild Things Are, the staff created a very special experience using a variety of resources

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

imaginatively, including making a forest and mist. There was great excitement as the class predicted the climax.

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is outstanding

 Pupils make substantial and sustained progress across the school. Their starting points vary considerably, but all abilities have the support and resources required to succeed. Their achievement is underpinned by the excellent learning skills and attitudes they acquire.  Achievement in English is outstanding. Pupils use a variety of ways to communicate, including speech, signing, pictures, symbols and written words. The most able pupils can match words and read with adult support. There are excellent opportunities for speaking and listening which are integrated into all activities.  The achievement of the most able pupils is outstanding. Teachers plan work for them that is suitably challenging, enabling them to make the same excellent progress as other groups of pupils.  Achievement in mathematics is also outstanding. Pupils learn through using numbers, sizes and shapes in a variety of contexts, including counting how many people are in the room, number songs and stories.

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is outstanding

Groups and individuals have specific targets for mathematics that staff use effectively to develop each activity.  There are no gaps in progress and attainment when comparing different groups of pupils. The achievement of those from homes where English is not the first language is as strong as that of other pupils, aided by teaching that breaks language and communication down into key elements.  Pupils eligible for the pupil premium are provided with specific support and interventions, including separate programmes for each individual, and make the same excellent progress as other pupils.

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is outstanding

 The school’s early years provision caters for a very wide range of abilities and needs. All groups of children make excellent progress in relation to their starting points and are extremely well prepared for the next stage of their education in Year 1. Their achievement is outstanding.  When comparing the progress of different groups of children, there are no gaps. Teachers and support staff have an excellent understanding of children’s starting points, the difficulties they might face and how to motivate and enable them to make sustained progress.  Classrooms are extremely well organised. Activities are varied and very carefully planned to engage and stimulate children. When children enter their classrooms each day, they are immediately engaged in well- structured activities. Staff use the daily welcome and greetings very effectively to develop speaking, listening and personal development, and this is always fun.

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is outstanding

 Children are introduced to a variety of communication tools, using speech, pictures and symbols. These help establish excellent learning skills, enabling children to express preferences and respond to different activities.  The impact of teaching over time is outstanding. Assessment is rigorous and includes written notes and photographs to record each child’s attainment and progress. Pupils’ learning journey folders show excellent rates of progress over time in all areas of learning. The learning journeys are wide-ranging, thorough and fully annotated.  Children acquire excellent attitudes to learning. They are very happy and secure and understand routines and expectations, for example using visual timetables. The ethos for learning is very strong in all early years classrooms. Their behaviour is outstanding.  Children keep themselves and others safe in the classroom and outside. Procedures to keep children safe

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is outstanding

are excellent, both on the Oakleigh site and at the Acorn Assessment Centre site at the other primary school.  Strategies for engaging with and involving parents and carers are outstanding.  Expectations of leaders and managers are high and clearly communicated, and this leads to the consistently outstanding practice across the provision. They rigorously apply policies and systems to ensure that children are safe, happy and ready to learn.

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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 101396 Local authority Barnet Inspection number 449545

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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 2–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 127 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Gilbert Knight Headteacher Jenny Gridley Date of previous school inspection 11–12 March 2010 Telephone number 020 8368 5336 Fax number 020 8361 6922 Email address office@oakleigh.barnetmail.net 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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