Marjory Kinnon School

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Senior leaders and an influential governing body have done a very good job in steering the school through a difficult period. As a result, they have raised standards and improved the quality of teaching since the previous inspection.  Increasingly effective middle managers share senior leaders’ high expectations and have made an important contribution to this success.  Teaching is now typically good and so pupils generally learn well in lessons. They make good progress.  Pupils’ achievement is good when compared with the performance of pupils of the same age and starting points in other settings.  Behaviour is excellent. Pupils are very well mannered and courteous, and they have a very positive attitude to learning.  Pupils with different ethnic backgrounds work and play together very harmoniously. They learn to appreciate the differences between people, which contribute much to preparing them for life in

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

modern multicultural Britain.  The school has excellent procedures for safeguarding pupils. These are implemented robustly.  The early years provision is good. Children make good progress in all areas of learning and so they are well prepared for moving into Key Stage 1.  Pupils make excellent progress in their personal development. Their self-esteem improves as they become more confident and competent communicators and, in many cases, learn to travel independently on public transport.  The pupils speak very highly of the school. They are enthusiastic about what it offers. They confirm that they feel safe and that bullying is not an issue.  Pupils are well prepared for leaving school. All school leavers in the past three years have moved on to continuing education or training.  The staff are very supportive of the school. Virtually all of them confirm that they know what the school is trying to achieve.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The great majority of parents and carers have positive views of the school.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Work is not always set at the right level to challenge pupils.  At times, teachers do not adjust learning in lessons in response to pupils’ understanding.  Pupils’ literacy skills are not promoted consistently well in all subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited classes in all key stages. They observed 18 lessons, each of which was taught by a different teacher. Each inspector was accompanied by a senior school leader or middle manager in all of these observations.  Meetings were held with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body, the local authority’s senior adviser for vulnerable groups, and a national leader of education (NLE) who has been supporting the school.  Discussions took place with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and all six middle managers. Meetings were also held with the school’s data support consultant, the designated officer for child protection and the manager with responsibility for overseeing behaviour support.  The inspection team considered the views of the 12 parents and carers who completed Parent View, the online questionnaire.  Inspectors examined the questionnaires that 65 members of staff completed.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with groups of primary- and secondary-aged aged pupils in order to get their views of the school.  The inspection team looked at pupils’ work and a very wide range of documentation. This included: information about pupils’ progress and achievement; attendance records; safeguarding procedures; behaviour logs; leaders’ reviews of the school’s strengths and development areas; and improvement planning.

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Inspection team

Mike Kell, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Marjory Kinnon is a large special school. It caters for pupils with moderate and severe learning difficulties, and autism. All pupils have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan.  Almost three quarters of pupils are boys. There is only a very small number of children in Reception; all of them attend full time.  Pupils represent a very wide range of ethnic backgrounds.  The school receives pupil premium funding for almost half of its pupils, which is considerably higher than the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and for children who are looked after. Only a very small number of pupils are looked after by the local authority.  The school also receives additional funding to support the learning of Year 7 pupils, and physical education and sport funding for primary-aged pupils.

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Information about this school

 The school’s senior leadership and middle management teams were restructured in 2014, which coincided with the retirement of one of the two deputy headteachers. The remaining deputy headteacher took on a whole-school responsibility and six new assistant headteacher posts were established. Four of these new post holders are responsible for a key stage, one is the lead teacher for autism throughout the school, and the sixth has responsibility for staff development and newly qualified teachers.  The majority of Key Stage 4 pupils attend weekly classes at Brooklands College where they follow work- related taster courses in subjects such as construction and hair and beauty.  The school receives regular visits from the attached national leader of education, who is the headteacher of Castlebar School in Ealing, and officers from the local authority.  There has been a very large turnover of staff since the previous inspection. Almost a quarter of the

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Information about this school

teachers and 17 teaching assistants are new to the school since the summer of 2014.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop the quality of teaching to become outstanding by ensuring that staff consistently:  provide pupils with tasks that are set at just the right level of challenge by making better use of the information that they have of what each pupil has achieved previously  check pupils’ learning in lessons so that pupils can be supported more effectively when they find the work difficult, or moved on to more challenging work when they find the work easy.  Ensure that staff promote pupils’ reading and writing skills more effectively in all subjects as well as in English.

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The leadership and management are good

 The challenge that leaders faced following the last inspection was clear. It was to raise the overall quality of teaching. This has been achieved successfully because senior leaders have relentlessly pursued this goal by making their expectations explicit and by taking firm action where it was required. They have established a culture where good teaching can thrive and where pupils’ behaviour is outstanding.  The drive to improve the quality of classroom practice resulted in a high turnover of staff, both teachers and teaching assistants. This included newly qualified teachers and teachers who were experienced but new to special education. The school handled this well through a comprehensive programme of induction, ongoing staff development and training, and individual coaching and mentoring for new and existing staff.  Newly appointed middle leaders have made a good start in their new roles. They are making an

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The leadership and management are good

increasingly important contribution to raising standards as their skills develop and their confidence grows. Leaders and managers generally have a good idea about those features of teaching that promote the most rapid learning.  Leaders and managers oversee the management of teachers’ performance well. They use a wide range of evidence when making decisions about individuals’ overall performance. They make routine reference to the national Teachers’ Standards when drawing their conclusions.  Leaders have a structured approach to developing long-term aims for the school and producing the improvement plans that map the way ahead. There is a thorough mechanism for checking how well the school is performing, and the identified areas for development areas are incorporated in the subsequent improvement plan. Regular monitoring checks the school’s progress towards achieving these targets.  The school is calm and organised, and so every pupil can learn uninterrupted. There is a commitment to

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The leadership and management are good

equality of opportunity and a clear message that bullying or any form of harassment or discrimination will not be tolerated. Relationships are excellent throughout the school.  Leaders and managers have devised a good range of activities that provide pupils with many opportunities to develop new skills and to acquire knowledge in a variety of subjects. Detailed planning ensures that the activities are well matched to pupils’ ages and interests. They include a good focus on developing in pupils an awareness of their own and others’ cultures. This prepares pupils well for adulthood in modern Britain. Leaders have made very good progress in implementing the new national curriculum.  Pupils are prepared well for leaving school. All school leavers in the past three years have progressed to continuing education or, in a very small number of cases, employment-based training. This indicates the effectiveness of the school’s careers education programme which includes work experience and college-

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The leadership and management are good

based work-related courses. Another very important contributory factor is the school’s success in developing pupils’ independence, such as using public transport on their own.  The school monitors pupils’ behaviour very closely. Any instances of inappropriate behaviour are referred to leaders, who log them carefully. These records are checked routinely and so leaders have a very good overview of overall behaviour in the school, as well as of individual pupils’ behaviour. As a result, any patterns of individuals’ behaviour or of trends across the school are picked up very early.  Leaders check pupils’ learning meticulously and have very detailed knowledge of each pupil’s progress over time.  The pupil premium is used effectively to provide targeted numeracy and literacy support for individuals, and to fund additional services, such as art therapy and counselling, to promote pupils’ personal development. The impact of this spending is evident in the improved progress made by disadvantaged

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The leadership and management are good

pupils and their growing social awareness and ability to develop relationships.  The primary physical education and sport premium is also spent wisely. Additional training for staff has enabled them to plan and teach physical education lessons more effectively. This has encouraged pupils’ greater participation in physical activities and, as a result, pupils are developing a much better understanding of how to live a healthier life.  The school has strong links with parents and effective partnerships with other organisations, such as the further education college that provides an opportunity for pupils to engage in work-related learning courses. The college is a few miles away and so pupils are transported there, where school staff support them. Therefore, leaders receive first-hand information about pupils’ attendance, learning and behaviour.  Advisers and others who have been commissioned by the local authority or by the school have supported

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The leadership and management are good

the school very effectively since the last inspection.  The governing body ensures that all statutory requirements are met. In particular, safeguarding arrangements are very secure and their effectiveness in practice is reviewed regularly.  The governance of the school:  The governing body supports school leaders well. It has been particularly effective in working with leaders to improve the quality of teaching by backing their efforts to eradicate practice that was less than good.  Governors have good first-hand knowledge of the school from the planned programme of visits in which they engage. This enables them to better understand the regular oral and written reports that leaders and managers present to them.  Governors receive frequent reports on pupils’ progress, behaviour and attendance. They fulfil their duty of holding leaders to account very well by questioning and seeking clarification about these reports.

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The leadership and management are good

 The expenditure of all additional funding is monitored closely. Governors have a good understanding of the impact that pupil premium has had on raising standards, and of how the primary physical education and sport premium has contributed to pupils’ health and fitness.  Governors are particularly well informed about the arrangements for managing teachers’ performance. They receive a comprehensive breakdown of all of the information that leaders use to gauge each teacher’s performance. As a result, they are very well informed about how good teachers are rewarded and of how underperformance is dealt with.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. It is not impeccable because the severity of some pupils’ learning difficulties inevitably results in some instances of disruptive behaviour, but it is excellent within the context of a school that has so many pupils with complex needs.  Staff deal very effectively with pupils with the most complex learning difficulties on the few occasions when their behaviour becomes especially challenging. There have not been any permanent exclusions since the previous inspection and the number of fixed-term exclusions has dropped to just two in the current school year.  Parents and the staff take the view that bullying is not a problem in the school. The pupils agree, and they commented that they can always tell an adult if they feel intimidated in any way and the situation is dealt with very quickly. There have not been any reported bullying or racist incidents.  Pupils get on very well with each other. They show patience with their classmates who may find learning

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Behaviour

more difficult, and they are respectful towards staff and visitors.  Pupils know the school’s classroom rules and routines very well. They have a very good understanding of staff’s use of coloured circles in lessons that indicate to them that their behaviour might be slipping. As a result of this very effective behaviour management approach, pupils whose attention does wander do not disrupt the learning of others.  Pupils behave extremely well when not in lessons. They move around the building sensibly and play safely at break time. Lunch is a very pleasant occasion where pupils eat correctly, show good table manners and socialise with each other. The site is free of graffiti and litter, and pupils are very respectful of the many displays around the school.  Key Stage 4 pupils who attend college behave very maturely in this mainstream provision.  Pupils are enthusiastic about school. They have very positive attitudes to learning and to other activities,

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Behaviour

such as school clubs. Attendance is broadly average because, despite the school’s best efforts, some parents still remove their child from school for holidays. The school pursues all instances of unauthorised absence very vigorously.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. Pupils make very good progress in developing awareness of the differences between people, such as religious beliefs. This is because the school consistently reinforces traditional British values such as the rule of law, celebrating differences and tolerance of others as individuals.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. All adults are alert to potential dangers and they know what to do if they have concerns. Every member of staff who responded to the questionnaire confirmed that pupils are safe.  Comprehensive safeguarding policies and procedures are in place. Leaders’ and the governing body’s routine reviews of them ensure that they remain relevant and effective.  Tight staff recruitment procedures ensure that only adults who are suitable for working with children are employed. Very effective induction and ongoing training programmes ensure that adults’ skills and expertise in areas such as child protection are kept up to date.  A high adult presence maintains pupils’ safety and welfare when pupils are not in the classroom. Break times and off-site visits are very well supervised, and on these occasions pupils’ safety is further ensured by effective risk assessments. The safety of pupils who attend college is ensured as they are always

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Safety

accompanied by school staff.  The school tries very hard to help pupils to recognise risky situations in the community and to understand how to deal with potential dangers. For instance, staff do a significant amount of work in alerting pupils to the risk of inappropriate use of the internet and social media, and how to deal with cyber bullying.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection. It is now good, with no differences between key stages or year groups.  A significant feature of teaching is staff’s consistent use of the school’s behaviour management policy. As a result, very little time is lost getting pupils to refocus on learning if their attention wanders because pupils know what to expect. Furthermore, even though pupils may be taught by a number of different teachers, they get a consistent response to unacceptable behaviour or attitudes.  Staff use a good range of communication approaches to ensure all pupils’ involvement in lessons. Adults’ skilled use of approaches, such as signing and symbols or pictures, enables all pupils to express their views, make choices and indicate new knowledge or understanding. Phonics (recognising the sounds linked to letters) is generally taught effectively, which encourages pupils to develop reading competence

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The quality of teaching is good

well.  Teaching in all subjects makes a good contribution to supporting the development of pupils’ numeracy skills. For instance, a Year 11 class did very well when challenged to weigh and measure ingredients independently in a food technology lesson.  Pupils with autism experience good teaching. Lessons are structured in a way that encourages them to follow routines and to become more readily accepting of change.  Teaching generally makes learning enjoyable because staff make good use of their knowledge of pupils’ attainment and of what pupils have learned previously when planning lessons. By doing so, they provide activities that are at just the right level of difficulty. These challenge pupils, but they are not so difficult that they become frustrated by failure. However, there are times when staff do not use this information so well. The tasks are either too difficult or too easy, and this reduces the rate at which pupils learn.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Adults check pupils’ learning effectively most of the time. They observe pupils closely and use questions to get pupils to explain what they have done or to support those who are having difficulty. In a few instances, however, staff do not grab these moments quickly enough and so pupils continue to struggle while others are unoccupied, having completed their work.  Teaching assistants generally make an important contribution to pupils’ learning. They are usually well briefed about their role and so they work effectively with individuals and small groups.  Teaching typically makes good use of interesting resources to trigger and maintain pupils’ interest. This includes technology to encourage pupils to research information.  The contribution made by other subjects to supporting pupils’ literacy development varies. In some cases, the activities take into account the range of pupils’ literacy skills and so all can work productively. In other

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The quality of teaching is good

cases, staff do not allow for this range and so not all pupils have the resources that they need, such as word banks, to support their writing.

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is good

 Pupils who enter the school in Year 1 or later are working at levels that are well below what are expected. They make good progress in English and mathematics from these low starting points, although their attainment is still below that which is typical for the age group when they leave school.  Pupils typically make good progress during their time in school. A large majority make the progress that is expected of them, and many exceed these national expectations. Consequently, they achieve well when their performance is compared with pupils of the same age and starting points in other similar settings.  By the end of Year 6, pupils’ good progress means that pupils have begun to narrow the gap between their attainment and that of all pupils nationally.  There were historical shortcomings in the secondary department relating to assessing pupils’ levels and recording this information. As a result, it is not possible to get a confident picture of the past three years

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is good

in term of pupils’ achievement between the end of Year 6 and when pupils left school. Current information indicates that secondary-aged pupils are now making good progress.  As the quality of teaching has improved, leading to raised standards, pupils are now better prepared for more challenging courses in Key Stage 4. They currently only study mathematics at GCSE level; but with effect from September 2015, Year 10 will also be able follow GCSE courses in English and science too.  Key Stage 4 pupils achieve well in the National Open College Network courses that they study at a local college.  Pupils make good, rather than outstanding, progress in English because their literacy skills are not promoted consistently in all subjects. The most-able pupils, with the most well-developed literacy skills, make good progress in developing their reading and writing skills. Those who have not yet acquired these

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is good

skills make good progress as communicators, using their preferred communication approach.  Pupils also make good progress in mathematics, especially in the way that they develop understanding of mathematical language and number. The most-able pupils make good progress in acquiring higher mathematical skills, such as understanding decimal places.  Different groups of pupils learn at the same rate in lessons, and all groups achieve equally well. There are no significant differences in the achievement of pupils from different backgrounds, or between the progress made by boys and girls.  The school’s wise use of additional funding is evident in the fact that disadvantaged pupils who receive additional support do as well as their classmates in English and mathematics.

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is good

 This effective provision is well led and managed. Strong links with children’s families, and the nurseries that children attend, result in a smooth transfer into Reception.  Children enter Reception with starting points that are significantly below those typical for their age. They are assessed quickly and the information on what they can already do forms the basis of accurate and informative individual learning plans.  The children learn at a good pace because good teaching ensures that each child participates in interesting activities that are pitched at just the right level for their ability and readiness to learn. Staff have high expectations and so children are encouraged to complete the tasks that they are set, and their learning is carefully noted.  Careful planning combines these adult-led activities with free play activities. A good range of resources, together with a very well equipped outdoor learning space, stimulate children’s curiosity and encourage

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is good

them to explore. Staff are very observant in ensuring the safety of children when they are in the classroom and when learning outside.  The children behave very well. They know the classroom routines and generally move without fuss from free play activities to one-to-one work with an adult.  Consistently good teaching enables children to make good progress from their starting points. They make particularly good progress in their social development, such as tolerating and playing with other children, and in developing their communicating skills. As a result, they are well prepared for moving into Year 1.

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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 102554 Local authority Hounslow Inspection number 462152

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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 4–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 160 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sallyanne Houlton Headteacher Denise Morton Date of previous school inspection 24–25 April 2013 Telephone number 020 8890 2032 Fax number 020 8893 7450 Email address office@marjorykinnon.hounslow.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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