Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit

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

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Ms Erika Rothlisberger Headteacher Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit Stannyfield Drive Thornton Liverpool Merseyside L23 1TY

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Short inspection of Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit

Following my visit to the school on 21 May 2019 with Cole Andrew, 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 good in June 2015.

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Short inspection of Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit

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 Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit

Senior leaders have overseen continued improvements; for example, the school’s work to ensure that pupils have access to an enriching and stimulating curriculum while attending Jigsaw PRU. Senior leaders and the management committee support teachers to develop their subject leadership skills. Teachers spoken to demonstrate great enthusiasm for what they do and are keen to contribute to the strategic direction of the school. There is very high staff morale.

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Short inspection of Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit

The areas for improvement from the previous inspection have been rigorously tackled. Consequently, the assessment of pupils’ academic and social, emotional and mental health needs on arrival at the school fully informs the setting of learning and behaviour targets. The deputy headteacher is also the special educational needs coordinator. She has overseen the development of exceptionally detailed pupil profiles that make insightful use of the above assessment information alongside parents’, carers’ and pupils’ own views and aspirations. Teachers ensure that the profiles are then consistently used to plan effectively for pupils’ overall needs. Since the last inspection, teachers have focused their efforts towards developing pupils’ speech and communication skills with good effect. Progress in developing speech and language has led to increases in pupils’ use of vocabulary and subsequent improvements in writing. The great majority of pupils, including those

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Short inspection of Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit

who are disadvantaged, the most able and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good or outstanding progress in reading, writing, speaking and listening and mathematics from their starting points. Progress in writing, especially for boys, is now in line with other subjects.

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Short inspection of Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit

The school’s agreed policy for behaviour management is very clear in regard to its intent, aims and objectives. Attendance and behaviour records, including fixed-term exclusion rates, indicate that pupils make excellent progress in their attendance and behaviour from their starting points. First-hand observations by the inspection team confirm that pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare continue to be strengths of the school.

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Short inspection of Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit

Partnership working with parents and with pupils’ ‘home’ schools is a particular strength. Planned visits for individual pupils ensure that close working links are maintained with ‘home’ schools. Information about pupils’ progress in learning and behaviour programmes is shared with visiting teaching assistants so that most pupils make a successful return to mainstream education. Some pupils are assessed in order to receive an education, health and care plan (EHCP) so that they can transfer to a special school setting if this is seen as the best option for the pupil. All pupils attending Jigsaw therefore move on successfully to appropriate provision. This reflects most favourably upon the work and positive impact of Jigsaw’s leadership and management team.

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Short inspection of Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit

The management committee monitors school improvement actions with rigour. The committee’s oversight of the school’s evaluation of its work and school improvement action planning is of the highest order. The management committee is made up of members with considerable knowledge, skills and experience. These qualities are used with good effect to provide excellent support and challenge for leaders.

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Short inspection of Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose.

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Short inspection of Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit

Staff recruitment procedures are effective. The induction of new staff in the school’s safeguarding systems is strong and subsequent professional development needs are met well. The staff safeguarding team is overseen by the designated safeguarding lead who liaises with the designated management committee member for safeguarding. The management committee ensures that agreed policies are applied in the everyday life of the school through effective monitoring visits and reports.

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Short inspection of Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit

There is a strong safeguarding culture at the school. Reporting and recording procedures are very effective due to the school’s use of an online recording and reporting system. Staff say that they are able to share quickly any safeguarding or potential child protection concerns and to follow these up, especially where there may be worrying patterns of behaviour as in, for example, dips in attendance.

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Short inspection of Jigsaw Primary Pupil Referral Unit

Stakeholders’ views, including those of staff, pupils and parents, confirm that pupils and all personnel feel safe and protected at the school.

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Inspection findings

 This is a happy school where pupils develop self-confidence and thrive in their surroundings, adapting amazingly well to ‘the Jigsaw Way’. Leaders and staff are immensely skilled and intuitive when planning for and meeting the needs of pupils in their care.  Classrooms, corridors and outside play areas are welcoming and nurturing. Pupils’ work is displayed and celebrated throughout the school. For example, there are ‘WOW write’ examples of pupils’ independent work posted at and near the school’s entrance. Pupils know that they and their work efforts are valued.  Pupils say they feel safe in school. They play well together at breaktimes and act responsibly in and around school. They have extremely good attitudes to learning and work hard to improve their learning and behaviour. They persevere well and develop great resilience, learning from their experiences in Jigsaw and when going back to their ‘home’ schools. They talk about finding their ‘forever school’

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Inspection findings

because staff develop high aspirations with each pupil.  Relationships between pupils and with staff are incredibly positive at all times. Inspectors observed no untoward behaviour throughout their visit. Any slight misdemeanours are dealt with calmly so that the focus is always upon learning. Pupils know this and maintain high concentration and interest in lessons.  The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is a major strength of the school’s work. Pupils are enthralled when their teachers read stories to them at the end of the day. They enjoy researching new topics and news items during ‘Why Wednesday?’ sessions. They show curiosity and enquiring minds when considering questions like ‘What is Prince Harry’s real name?’ or the meaning of words like ‘allegiance’ or ‘legend’. Pupils are always encouraged by staff to express themselves using words rather than actions.  Reading is promoted very well across different subjects. Staff have high

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Inspection findings

expectations and challenge pupils to work out problems for themselves. This is highly apparent in mathematics, where pupils are presented with various texts that they need to read with understanding. They have to recognise key mathematical terms, such as ‘perimeter’, ‘20 cm’ and ‘rectangle’, so that they can then apply taught mathematical skills to solve a problem. They are then encouraged to explain what they have done to solve a given problem.  Teachers and teaching assistants use questioning and explanation skills well to draw out pupils’ responses or to test levels of understanding. There is a careful shaping of tasks to challenge pupils to apply mental mathematical strategies to solve problems. As a result, the most able pupils in key stage 1 used their knowledge of times tables to divide two-digit numbers accurately. Less-able pupils discovered for themselves that odd numbers do not divide into two whole

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Inspection findings

numbers.  Pupils develop enquiring minds through well-planned science-based work, for example in ‘space and universe’ or ‘living things and their habitats’ topics. Staff help pupils to develop a wider range of spoken and written vocabulary through this work so that literacy skills are promoted and applied across different subjects.  With reference to the school’s agreed policies on marking, the written feedback about next steps for learning in pupils’ topic books does not match the quality of that noted in English and mathematics workbooks.  Subject leaders are looking to develop more precision in what is to be taught in different subjects; for example, in history, how pupils can further develop their knowledge and understanding of chronology.

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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

 they develop and improve assessment procedures in foundation subjects in line with core subjects  they enable subject leaders to further develop the school’s curriculum so that there is an even greater emphasis upon the teaching of key skills and concepts that relate to each subject.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the management committee, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Sefton. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, the team met with you and the deputy headteacher. Inspectors conducted joint observations in lessons in each of the three classes with you and the deputy headteacher. A meeting was held with four management committee members, including the chair. A meeting was held with three local authority representatives, including the school’s adviser. A meeting was held with two local primary headteachers. Inspectors met with teachers and staff observed in lessons during the day. Inspectors looked at pupils’ workbooks, folders and classroom displays. They observed pupils’ conduct and attitudes on the school corridors and at breaktimes. Inspectors considered a range of documentation, including the school’s review of its strengths and areas to develop, the school development plan and information from pupil profiles. They also looked at documentation relating to safeguarding, including safer recruitment of staff and risk

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Information about the inspection

assessments, behaviour and attendance, and management committee reports and minutes of meetings. They considered a recent written report about the school from the local authority adviser. Inspectors spoke informally with pupils during breaktime. An inspector met formally with a group of pupils to seek their views about the school. An inspector met with a parent and two grandparents. There were insufficient responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, for inspectors to access. However, inspectors considered seven responses to the parents’ free-text system and six responses to the pupils’ online survey. Inspectors looked at 16 responses to the online staff questionnaire.

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