Beatrice Tate School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Beatrice Tate School 41 Southern Grove, Mile End, London E3 4PX

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Outcome

Beatrice Tate School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to Beatrice Tate School. They are greeted by staff, as they enter the school, with wide smiles and joyous music. Pupils enjoy their learning and are proud of their achievements. Parents and carers appreciate the regular communication that they have with the staff. Parents know how the staff are supporting and caring for their children while they are at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils who attend the school have a wide range of severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties. Leaders and staff have very high expectations of all pupils. Staff are well trained to support pupils as they develop their communication skills. They help pupils to gain the knowledge and skills that they will need for their lives ahead.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. Staff skilfully support pupils, recognising that pupils’ behaviour is a form of communication. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. If a pupil’s behaviour slips, staff use personalised strategies to remind them of what is expected and quickly bring them back on track.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff care greatly for the pupils they work with. Bullying is very rare, but staff recognise that it can happen. Staff receive appropriate training to support pupils who are more at risk of being bullied.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have designed a highly ambitious curriculum which also closely matches the needs of each individual pupil. Pupils are taught a broad range of subjects to increase their knowledge. Teachers provide a wealth of expertly planned opportunities for pupils to develop their communication skills and independence. 25 and 26 May 2021

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Students and parents are prepared for the transition to new settings as soon as students begin in the sixth form. Day-care providers and colleges are invited into school to meet prospective students and ensure a smooth transition to the next stage in education.

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The curriculum has a strong focus on communication. This provides pupils with the building blocks they need for adult life, such as being able to express their wishes and regulate their behaviour. Pupils are supported step by step to communicate using a range of means, including picture cards and electronic devices. Pupils develop their communication skills exceptionally well. This also helps pupils to manage their behaviour. Learning is not disrupted due to poor behaviour or bullying.

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Staff use well-chosen books and stories to support pupils’ communication skills and to develop a sense of enjoyment around language. Pupils join in with aspects of call and response to develop their understanding of the texts. Other pupils experience story through a range of sensory stimulation, including taste, touch and smell. Pupils gain an enjoyment of reading.

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Through the curriculum, staff use music skilfully to further develop concepts around communication and emotion. For example, the school has participated in the London Symphony Orchestra outreach programme, where pupils are taught about musical concepts such as pitch and tempo. Pupils use this knowledge when they perform in group compositions on things they enjoy, such as their favourite foods.

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Pupils also learn how to understand and express emotions through the carefully planned curriculum for drama and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. Teachers skilfully use plays, such as Shakespeare’s The Tempest, to help pupils understand emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger and confusion. Pupils have plentiful opportunities to celebrate the differences within their community. For example, during Eid celebrations, pupils prepared food and decorations.

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Pupils move around the school calmly. During lunchtimes and playtimes, staff support pupils’ play very well. They join in with them, involving pupils in dance and games.

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The physical, sensory, and motor development curriculums help pupils to better understand how they control their bodies. Yoga and dance support pupils to develop their physical flexibility. Sports such as hockey and boccia help pupils to learn how to play games and use equipment safely.

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Staff prepare sixth-form students very well for the next phase of their education or life out of school. Students are supported to learn life skills that will enable them to have a higher degree of independence. Students spoke about activities such as ‘Hotel in the Park’, where they learn about cooking, making beds, using public transport and other transferable skills. Students also learn about their changing bodies and how to keep themselves safe.

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Leaders have developed systems that closely check how well pupils are learning the curriculum. Teachers have a detailed understanding of how each pupil is developing. Staff share the information they gather in school so that parents can also see what their children are learning. Pupils achieve very well. 25 and 26 May 2021

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Staff receive regular training. This helps them to better support the pupils they work with. Staff also said that they feel well supported by leaders.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff make sure that pupils’ well-being and safety are of great importance. All staff and governors have regular training, which helps to ensure a consistent approach to safeguarding. As a result, staff know how to identify risks and what to do if they have concerns about pupils’ welfare. Pupils are treated with dignity and gentleness. Leaders work effectively with other agencies and are not afraid to challenge other professionals if necessary.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that detailed records are kept. Records are monitored regularly to ensure that when changes or patterns appear in pupils’ behaviour, leaders are able to act on them.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that a good school could now be better than good, or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in November 2011. 25 and 26 May 2021

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school here .

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 25 and 26 May 2021

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Appropriate authority The governing body

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Website www.beatricetate.towerhamlets.sch.uk

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Date of previous inspection 27 April 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Beatrice Tate School is a special school that caters for pupils between the ages of 11 and 19 years.  The school specialises in meeting the needs of pupils who have a wide range of severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties.  All pupils have an education, health and care plan.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection of the school since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school, and have taken that into account in their evaluation. 25 and 26 May 2021

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 Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, senior leaders, teachers, other members of staff, the local authority and members of the governing body, including the chair. These discussions considered the quality of education, the wider experiences of pupils at the school, aspects of pupils’ behaviour and leadership and management. An inspector also met remotely with a group of parents.  In considering the quality of education, inspectors concentrated on communication and reading, PSHE, physical education and creative arts. Inspectors discussed the arrangements for planning and teaching the curriculum with the headteacher, senior leaders and teachers. Inspectors visited lessons and talked with pupils about what they had been learning. Inspectors also discussed pupils’ achievements and students’ destinations when leaving the school.  Inspectors evaluated the 18 responses to the online Parent View questionnaire.

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Account was taken of the 64 staff questionnaires completed.  Inspectors spoke with staff, governors, parents and pupils about how the school keeps pupils safe. An inspector examined the single central record of the checks undertaken to make sure that staff are suitable to work in school. Inspectors reviewed the school’s safeguarding policy and procedures.

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Inspection team

Adam Vincent, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Brian Oppenheim Her Majesty’s Inspector 25 and 26 May 2021

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regulates and inspects to 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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