New Rush Hall School

Inspection of an outstanding school: New Rush Hall School Fencepiece Road, Hainault, Ilford, Essex IG6 2LB

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Inspection dates: 9 and 10 November 2021

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Outcome

New Rush Hall School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders, pupils and staff refer to the school as a family. They are rightly proud of its warm and nurturing atmosphere. The school is calm and orderly, and pupils are respectful to each other and to adults. Sometimes, pupils need support and understanding to manage their behaviour. Staff do this calmy so that pupils return to their learning as soon as possible.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have very high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and achievement. As a result, pupils make exceptional progress with learning the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Professional relationships between adults and pupils are very positive. Pupils feel safe at the school. They like their teachers and their lessons. Many pupils said that this is the best school that they have been to. Bullying does not happen very often. When it does, leaders and staff deal with it quickly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school environment is very well maintained and cared for. Classrooms are well organised. They are inviting places to learn, and teachers select interesting resources to teach the curriculum. Breaktimes and lunchtimes are organised and calm.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy and remember taking part in a wide range of visits and activities.

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

The school is providing a very high-quality education for its pupils. Most pupils who start at the school previously experienced significant disruption to their education. Staff take care to find out pupils’ starting points. This enables staff to carefully adjust and deliver the ambitious curriculum effectively.

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

Early reading is planned and taught very well in the primary department. When needed, pupils continue to have targeted additional support until they can read fluently. Leaders also check the reading development of secondary-aged pupils that join the school later 9 and 10 November 2021

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on. Leaders make sure that pupils who need further support to read confidently also receive effective extra help.

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The curriculum is ambitious and has been very well planned and sequenced. Subject content is selected carefully, and matches or exceeds the national curriculum. Subjects are also planned to inspire and motivate pupils to learn. Many trips and additional activities bring the curriculum to life. For example, in food technology, pupils in Year 8 visit the school’s own allotment when learning about the source, seasonality and characteristics of produce.

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The school’s curriculum has also been designed so that pupils develop their personal, social and emotional skills. For example, secondary-aged pupils take part in the school’s bespoke sports leadership programme. This helps them to learn how to work well with others.

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Teaching across the school, in all key stages, helps pupils to learn the planned curriculum. Pupils find their learning interesting and relevant. Teachers check how much pupils have remembered. Lessons are planned to ensure that pupils revisit concepts and skills if they need to. The curriculum provides many opportunities for pupils to discuss and develop their ideas as well as learn new vocabulary.

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Pupils at the school typically have complex social, emotional and mental health needs. Staff promote pupils’ well-being, and this is prioritised in lessons as well as through additional support. This support is highly individualised and focuses on what each pupil needs to succeed. Many pupils are supported by other external professionals, including those from health and children’s services. Leaders coordinate this support very well. They ensure it is tailored to pupils’ specific needs and circumstances. Older pupils experience the world of work and are well supported to make plans for their future.

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Behaviour is managed very well across the school. Any disruption to lessons is kept to a minimum so that no learning time is lost. Staff are experts in using strategies to support pupils to manage their own behaviour. For example, pastoral staff use therapeutic approaches to help pupils manage their feelings. Physical intervention is rarely used by adults and, when it is, it is carefully monitored by leaders. Pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities are exceptionally well understood and catered for.

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Leaders at all levels have an unwavering dedication to the pupils and families they serve. This is reflected in the very positive responses from parents and carers in the Parent View survey.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff know pupils very well. They quickly spot if something is not quite right and pass on any concerns to leaders when necessary. Leaders are very effective at securing additional help from external agencies if pupils need it. 9 and 10 November 2021

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Staff are well trained in safeguarding. They receive specific training on the additional risks faced by the very vulnerable pupils at the school. There are robust systems in place to carry out pre-employment checks before staff begin working at the school.

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Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe online and in the community. They also learn how to treat each other with respect in and around school.

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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. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as 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 January 2008.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted 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.

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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. 9 and 10 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200330 Type of school Special

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Julian Innes-Taylor

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 November 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school caters for pupils who have social, emotional and mental health needs.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors met with the chair and vice-chair of governors, the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the school business manager and other members of the leadership team. They also spoke to the school improvement adviser commissioned by the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, English (secondary) and art. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 9 and 10 November 2021

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 When evaluating the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors looked at systems for vetting staff before they are employed at the school, safeguarding records and relevant policies and procedures. They also spoke to a sample of pupils, staff and parents. In addition, inspectors spoke to the safeguarding governor and the designated leaders for safeguarding.  Inspectors considered the views of parents who completed Ofsted’s Parent View survey. They also reviewed responses to the survey for staff and the pupils’ survey.

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Inspection team

Gary Pocock, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Jo Jones Ofsted Inspector 9 and 10 November 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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