Bridgeview Special School

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

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Mrs Nicola Witham Head of School Bridgeview Special School Pickering Road Kingston-upon-Hull HU4 7AD

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Short inspection of Bridgeview Special School

Following my visit to the school on 17 July 2018 with George Gilmore, 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 your predecessor school was judged to be good in July 2014.

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Short inspection of Bridgeview Special School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvement in specific areas. This may indicate that the school has improved significantly overall. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection be a section 5 inspection.

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Short inspection of Bridgeview Special School

You have led the school purposefully and with determination since the predecessor school’s last inspection. With the strong support of the executive headteacher and academy trust you have developed a cohesive and influential team of senior and middle leaders. You share a passion for ‘getting it right’ for all your pupils. This is built on your deep commitment to understanding and meeting each pupil’s needs and making sure they achieve the best possible outcomes.

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Short inspection of Bridgeview Special School

Inspectors identified two areas for improvement when the predecessor school was inspected in July 2014. First, to improve the quality of teaching and increase the progress pupils make and second, to improve the effectiveness of middle leaders. You have tackled both areas for improvement well. Pupils are making stronger progress in academic subjects and in their personal development, behaviour and welfare because the curriculum and teaching are matched closely to their individual needs. Middle leaders have an accurate picture of what is working well and the things that could be better in the subjects and areas of the school’s work they lead. Importantly, middle leaders provide highly valued support and guidance which is helping teachers to develop their skills and improve their practice. Your approach to meeting pupils’ complex social, emotional and mental health needs is underpinned by strong partnerships with a wide range of services and

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Short inspection of Bridgeview Special School

professionals. Pupils make rapid gains, for example, in improving their attendance, behaviour and attitudes to learning as a result of the effective multi-disciplinary support you provide. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school’s work. Many spoke to inspectors about the significant improvement in their children’s social development and mental health. This was typified by one parent who said, ‘My son is making brilliant progress because he is getting exceptional support’.

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Short inspection of Bridgeview Special School

Governors and the academy trust share your deep commitment to achieving the best possible outcomes for pupils. They add significantly to the school’s drive for improvement. They challenge you firmly and in a constructive way and, as a result, hold you to account for all areas of the school’s performance. We agreed, however, that some of your action plans and monitoring reports lack the sharpness needed to further strengthen these important aspects of the school’s leadership and governance.

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Short inspection of Bridgeview Special School

You have made sure that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. There is a deeply embedded culture of identifying and supporting pupils who need help and protection. You and your colleagues know pupils and their families extremely well and you are alert to the things that make them vulnerable.

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Short inspection of Bridgeview Special School

Records show that you take timely and effective action when you have concerns about a pupil. These records also show that you work supportively with other services and professionals to provide the help and protection children and their families need.

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Short inspection of Bridgeview Special School

Importantly, pupils say that they feel safe and all can identify a trusted adult. In their actions and behaviour, pupils show that they feel physically and emotionally safe. You and your colleagues promote high expectations for pupils’ conduct and behaviour through all your interactions with them. You are relentless in spotting and rewarding pupils’ successes and achievements.

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Short inspection of Bridgeview Special School

Records show that incidents of challenging behaviour are managed safely. You and your senior leaders have strong oversight of this aspect of the school’s work.

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Inspection findings

 First, I wanted to find out whether pupils are making strong progress towards the targets and objectives in their education, health and care plans. I also wanted to check whether pupils are learning well and making strong progress in mathematics. Pupils make rapid gains in their personal development, behaviour and welfare. This is because the curriculum, and the specialist support pupils receive, is closely matched to their individual needs, interests and starting points. You are tireless in adapting the approaches you take and checking whether they are working. You are similarly relentless in your drive to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. As a result, pupils are developing their knowledge and skills strongly in reading, writing and mathematics. Importantly, pupils are also learning to use what they know to solve real-life problems, for example, in mathematics. They are doing this with greater confidence and

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Inspection findings

increasing fluency.  Second, I was keen to know if middle leaders contribute effectively to the school’s leadership and management because this was an area for improvement identified at the predecessor school’s last inspection. You have tackled this well and, as a result, middle leaders are increasingly influential. Crucially, middle leaders have clear plans for improving the curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment and they check the impact of their actions closely. They provide effective and highly valued support, advice and guidance for their colleagues and, in doing so, make a demonstrable difference to outcomes pupils achieve.  I was also interested to see whether you have taken effective action to improve levels of attendance and reduce persistent absence. In 2016/17, overall attendance declined and levels of persistent absence were high. Attendance in 2017/18 has improved considerably as a result of the actions you have taken. In

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Inspection findings

part, this is because you have made sure that the curriculum is responsive to the needs and interests of individual pupils. You have also worked closely and effectively with a range of professionals to provide the support pupils need to improve their attendance. For example, clinics provided by the child and adolescent mental health service take place in school and you make sure that routine medical appointments have minimal impact on pupils’ attendance. Your well-thought-out approach to improving attendance has made a significant and positive difference for disadvantaged pupils and those who are looked after by the local authority. Indeed, the attendance of children looked after is higher than the national average for primary-aged pupils.  Last, I was keen to find out if additional funding is used effectively to improve the outcomes achieved by disadvantaged pupils. A high proportion of pupils are

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Inspection findings

eligible for pupil premium and information on the school’s website does not provide a clear picture of how well this funding is used. Importantly, however, the needs of all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, are identified carefully and additional funding is used thoughtfully to improve the quality and richness of the curriculum and to provide targeted individual support. As a result, pupils make sustained progress in important areas of learning and also in their physical development and well-being. For example, you are rightly proud that all Year 6 pupils can now swim 25 metres, given their widely differing needs and starting points. Critically, however, you know that your pupil premium action plan and monitoring reports, along with other plans and reports, do not have the detail and precision needed for governors and the academy trust to challenge you and hold you fully to account for realising the impact of your actions.

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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

 action plans and monitoring reports provide detailed information for senior leaders, governors and the academy trust about the impact of your actions on the quality of education and the outcomes achieved by pupils.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Kingston-upon-Hull City Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

Inspectors met with you, senior and middle leaders, two representatives from the governing body and two representatives from the academy trust. We visited lessons with you and the executive headteacher, looked at the work in pupils’ books and talked to them about their learning.

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Information about the inspection

Inspectors considered the results from Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including 13 written responses from parents. We also spoke to parents about their children’s learning and progress. Inspectors considered 27 responses to the online staff survey and seven responses to the online pupil survey. We examined a range of documents including: the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, information about safeguarding and information about pupils’ learning and progress.

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