Warmley Park School

Inspection of a good school: Warmley Park School Tower Road North, Warmley, Bristol BS30 8XL

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Outcome

Warmley Park School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils develop strong communication skills and respectful relationships with their peers and with staff. Pupils build independence to become confident young people who know how to keep themselves safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school works with parents and carers before their children join the school. The school knows and understands pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities right from the start. Pupils make small steps to progress on the ambitious communication, mathematics and personal development learning pathways. Staff skilfully support pupils to reach their education, health and care (EHC) plan targets.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn important social skills, such as how to wait, take turns and share. The school is a calm and orderly environment. Pupils are safe and happy. They know the importance of consent in healthy relationships. Pupils can name people who help them in school and in the local community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Opportunities to extend pupils’ personal development are carefully planned each year. Pupils can take part in a wide range of clubs. They are encouraged to take on roles of responsibility. For example, pupils can be bus helpers, play rangers or the student well- being ambassador. Post-16 students work towards The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Pupils are rightly proud of their achievements.

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

The school community has a shared vision and ethos. Pupils’ feedback is always considered when planning changes to the curriculum or provision. Members of the governing body regularly monitor the impact of the school’s work. There are high expectations for pupils to secure their knowledge and skills of communication, relationships and independence. 7 and 8 November 2023

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The school’s ‘world of work’ curriculum begins in the early years. It gives pupils skills for life and work. Key stage 4 pupils complete work experience in school, and post-16 students in the community. Pupils quickly learn the importance of regular attendance. The school and outside agencies support families to remove barriers preventing their child from attending school. For example, medical appointments are offered on site during the school day.

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High-quality interactions between children and staff support the development of children’s communication skills and curiosity in the learning environment. Staff repeat important phrases with words, symbols and signs to help children build knowledge over time. Children in the early years learn how to listen and begin to respond appropriately to sounds and words. They successfully develop the skills to support future learning.

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Pupils’ communication and phonics knowledge are checked regularly. Staff use assessment information to quickly identify who needs additional speech and language or phonics practice. The school has created multisensory resources to support pupils’ learning in phonics. Books match pupils’ phonics knowledge. Early readers read to a member of staff regularly to build their reading fluency. When appropriate, staff work with external professionals to develop pupils’ reading comprehension. Pupils borrow books from the school library and enjoy visits to the local community library.

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Pupils’ progress is shared with parents frequently. Pupils lead their annual EHC plan reviews, when parents and staff celebrate pupils’ achievements. EHC plan targets are used to create individual education plans. These plans help teachers create personalised learning activities to meet the needs of pupils. In most subjects, pupils secure new knowledge effectively before moving on through the curriculum. The curriculum is coherently sequenced and broken down into small, achievable steps. Pupils’ knowledge is checked regularly and learning activities are adapted appropriately in these subjects.

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However, some subject curriculums and assessments are new. The development of subject leadership, teaching and learning in these subjects is in its infancy. Pupils have gaps in their knowledge of these subjects. Staff cannot accurately check where the gaps are to ensure pupils secure new knowledge effectively.

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Leaders have recently reviewed the school’s behaviour policy. The new behaviour approach better reflects the school’s commitment to ‘if you fall, I will catch you’. Leaders are supporting staff to understand pupils’ behaviour and how to respond. Pupils have the knowledge and tools to manage their own emotions and responses more easily. This is leading to a reduction in the number of behaviour incidents.

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The school cares for pupils’, parents’ and staff’s well-being. Holiday clubs extend the term-time offer for parents and their children. For example, school families use the school’s swimming pool and library.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 7 and 8 November 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The role of the subject leader, the curriculum and the assessment of the curriculum are new in some foundation subjects. This means teachers cannot accurately identify gaps in pupils’ subject knowledge. The school needs to ensure that subject leaders support teachers to improve their subject knowledge to plan and assess appropriate learning activities across all subject areas.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2013.

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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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 7 and 8 November 2023

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form

Appropriate authority The governing body

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form

Date of previous inspection 21 June 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Warmley Park School is a South Gloucestershire local authority maintained special community school.  The primary needs of pupils attending the school are severe learning difficulties and autistic spectrum disorder.  Warmley Park consists of 20 classes. Four of these are in the sixth form and three are in the early years.  The headteacher was in post at the time of the graded inspection in 2013.  At the time of the inspection, there was an acting deputy headteacher, an acting head of sixth form and an acting head of early years.  The school does not use alternative provision. 7 and 8 November 2023

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, the acting deputy headteacher, the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator, senior leaders, staff, pupils and governors, including the chair of the governing body.  The lead inspector listened to pupils read to a known adult.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: communication and early reading, mathematics, physical development and physical education (PE) and music. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons in communication, mathematics,

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Information about this inspection

PE and music, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors also discussed the school’s curriculum and provision with leaders, including for the early years and sixth-form provision.  The inspectors observed pupils during breaktime and spoke with pupils and leaders about personal, social and health education and opportunities for pupils’ personal development.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View. She also took into consideration the responses to the survey for staff. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Marie Thomas, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gill Hickling Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 November 2023

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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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