The Rowan School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Ms Sacha Schofield Headteacher The Rowan School 4 Durvale Court Furniss Avenue Sheffield South Yorkshire S17 3PT

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Short inspection of The Rowan School

Following my visit to the school on 27 March 2018 with Lyndsey Brown Ofsted Inspector, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be outstanding in December 2013.

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Short inspection of The Rowan School

This school continues to be outstanding.

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Short inspection of The Rowan School

The leadership team has maintained the outstanding quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since joining the school in September 2017 you have guaranteed that the outstanding level of education has continued. You and the governors have established a clear development plan for the school, which will ensure that it continues to maintain the high standards you set.

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Short inspection of The Rowan School

A wider curriculum offer has been developed which engages and meets the increasingly differing needs of your pupils. You have provided a calm, nurturing environment which allows all pupils to settle quickly and establish new methods of learning and engagement. The addition of the GLOW (Great Learning Our Way) curriculum addresses the improvements suggested in the previous inspection report and allows pupils more independence and choice in their own learning.

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Short inspection of The Rowan School

You are ensuring that a strong culture of respect is present throughout the school. Teachers show a high level of respect and this is mirrored in the pupils’ behaviour toward their teachers, visitors and each other.

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Short inspection of The Rowan School

Attendance is consistently high and you have introduced methods to ensure that medical appointments do not stop a pupil from attending school, for example holding autistic spectrum disorder clinics within school each term. Pupils are pleased to be in school and this is reflected in the manner in which they make the transition from home to school in the morning. Parents are equally pleased that their children attend the school, calling it ‘amazing’ and ‘fantastic’.

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Short inspection of The Rowan School

Behaviour management systems are robust and used consistently throughout the school. The relationships built and the skills of your staff frequently prevent behavioural difficulties from arising. This skill ensures that any behavioural issues which do happen are swiftly and compassionately dealt with, minimising any disruption to learning. You acknowledge that there is work to be completed on the reporting and filing systems for incidents to ensure that records are easily accessible when required.

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Short inspection of The Rowan School

Your staff hold the senior leadership team and each other in high regard. They enjoy working with you and the pupils and are proud to be a part of the school. Staff are happy and feel valued. They enjoy the training and development opportunities that you provide.

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Short inspection of The Rowan School

Teachers have high expectation of pupils within the classroom. Personalised learning is apparent and progress from individual starting points is clear. The majority of pupils make the progress expected of them in both English and mathematics.

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Short inspection of The Rowan School

You and your team have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. You have developed a strong, effective safeguarding culture in school, establishing a safe and secure environment for pupils and staff. The designated safeguarding officer is knowledgeable both in relation to safeguarding practice and about the pupils in the school. The safeguarding governor has attended appropriate training and has oversight and scrutiny of relevant processes.

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Short inspection of The Rowan School

The wider staff team has a strong working knowledge of safeguarding issues and understands the risks to their pupils. They are vigilant for signs of distress, agitation and possible neglect and abuse. They know how to record and report this effectively, following the policies of the school; they clearly know what to do in the event of any allegations.

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Short inspection of The Rowan School

You ensure that there are ongoing opportunities for pupils to learn about how to keep themselves safe at a level that is appropriate to their need. Through assemblies, the wider curriculum and one-to-one work, pupils are encouraged and supported to keep themselves safe in both the real and the online world.

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Inspection findings

 During our inspection, we focused on whether the quality of teaching and learning remained outstanding. Relationships between teachers and pupils and a high level of planning for individual learning ensure that the quality of teaching and learning remains high. Teachers have high levels of skills. For example, a teacher was seen storytelling, which enthralled all pupils within the class.  Teaching assistants are used effectively throughout the school for both additional support for pupils and small-group work. Teaching assistants are clear about their roles and consistently encourage and challenge pupils to give their ideas and communicate successfully.  Reading is woven throughout the curriculum and pupils are encouraged to read at their particular level through one-to-one support, group reading, storytelling and story-writing. This has had a positive impact on the progress of reading and English across the school.

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Inspection findings

 A further focus of our visit was to ensure that your pupils continue to make strong progress from their individual starting points. You showed us clear tracking data that 92% of pupils are making the progress expected of them in English and 89% in mathematics. This was supported by the work in pupils’ books, which also showed the care and pride that the pupils take in their work.  The school has systems which clearly track pupils’ progress from their starting point. You have identified that the changing cohort of pupils would benefit from a different style of tracking and are in the progress of implementing a system which will capture the wider progress of all pupils.  Incidents of inappropriate behaviour are dealt with effectively by staff. Records are kept of the procedures used to support the prevention of recurrence and analysis of these incidents has had a significant impact in reducing the number of

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Inspection findings

incidents per pupil and ensuring the well-being of staff.  Leaders and governors have created a broad and balanced curriculum which contributes well to the positive pupil outcomes. Pupils engage with a range of subjects and opportunities available to them, which include classroom-based learning; outdoor play and development, particularly within the school’s woodland area; and external trips and visits linked both to the curriculum and to the specific needs of the pupils.  Parents are overwhelmingly pleased with the school and in the progress they see in their child. You take pride in the strong relationships built with parents and this is clear in their feedback. One parent spoken to told inspectors that she feels ‘staff have so much knowledge, they are compassionate and flexible’, while another spoke of how her son had ‘settled quickly’ and how his communication and independence skills have rapidly improved. Pupils spoken to during the

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Inspection findings

inspection agreed with their parents, they like their school and are happy and feel safe when attending.  The governing body are a strong team who clearly value the school and its work. They are clear about the strengths and tasks which face the leadership team and have the knowledge and skills both to support and to challenge to drive the school forward.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 reporting procedures for incidents, including physical restraint, are strengthened to ensure that records are easy to find and cross-reference. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Sheffield. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

Inspectors met with you, senior leaders, teaching and support staff. Meetings were also held with the chair of the governing body along with three governors. Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation and development plan, pupils’ progress data, attendance data, behaviour and incident logs and the single central record. Senior leaders accompanied inspectors during lesson observations and on learning walks.

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