Castle School, Cambridge

Inspection of Castle School, Cambridge Courtney Way, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB4 2EE

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Sixth-form provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 14 and 15 May 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending school. They are welcomed every day into a nurturing environment. Pupils are cared for by adults who understand their specific needs. Pupils are proud of their school values. They are polite and respectful.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a renewed sense of aspiration from leaders as to what all pupils can achieve, regardless of starting points or needs. Many pupils are now learning well. Pupils enjoy lessons. They are starting to benefit from the reviewed curriculum leaders have recently put in place. However, there has not been enough time for changes to take effect. Older pupils in particular wish changes could happen more quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn in a calm and well-ordered environment. They focus and pay attention to their teachers. In social times, pupils play happily together. They take advantage of the play equipment and activities offered to develop their movement and coordination.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a comprehensive enrichment offer. This provides pupils with a breadth of experiences. They develop a strong sense of independence through real-life experiences. Older pupils gain valuable experience in colleges and the workplace. This helps them as they transition out of the school and prepares them for adult life.

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better?

The school has taken swift, considered action to redesign the curriculum. The school has prioritised improving the English and mathematics curriculum. In these subjects, teachers know what to teach, when and how best to teach it. Here, pupils are beginning to learn well.

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better?

Reading has been placed at the centre of curriculum design. Leaders have made sure that staff are able to teach the new phonics scheme consistently well from early years upwards. Teachers adapt activities effectively so that they meet the individual communication and language needs of most pupils. In the primary phase, many pupils are now fluent readers. Pupils with specific communication needs are skilfully supported to express themselves and develop an understanding of the world around them.

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better?

However, the teaching of reading in the secondary phase is not as well developed. There are not enough opportunities for pupils to focus on how well they understand what they are reading. As a result, pupils read fluently but do not always understand what they have read. Pupils are not always able to use what they have read to effectively support their learning across the curriculum.

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better?

In other subjects, the school has set out what pupils with various needs should know. Leaders have considered what should be taught and in what order. However, the completion of the revised curriculum is still in the early stages of 14 and 15 May 2024

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implementation. This means that teachers are not yet confident in how the content they are teaching links to pupils’ future learning or builds on what they know already. Also, the school has not yet fully developed teachers’ understanding of how to best teach these subjects. This is improving quickly, but it is not consistent or tailored enough. Currently, pupils’ learning in these subjects does not yet match the updated ambitious curriculum aims.

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Leaders have been decisive in improving how teachers can check more easily and accurately what pupils have learned. However, where the curriculum is new, some teachers are less clear on what knowledge they are basing these checks on. This means teachers cannot always pinpoint with precision gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Consequently, some pupils move on to new learning with gaps in what they know and have learned.

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Pupils behave well. Staff know individuals and their needs in detail. Staff use this knowledge to quickly identify where pupils may begin to lose focus. They sensitively intervene in an unobtrusive and effective way. This means learning progresses with rarely any disruption. Pupils attend school regularly. They build strong friendships.

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The school ensures that pupils have a secure knowledge of important values such as respect and empathy. They are supported to be confident and safe in the wider community. Much of this is woven through the broad offer of wider experiences available for all pupils. The careers programme is well thought out for specific needs and interests. It helps pupils to think carefully about their next steps and helps them successfully transition to life after school.

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Governors continue to raise the level of rigour of their challenge to leaders. There is now improved scrutiny around the impact of the actions leaders have taken. Staff are proud to be part of the school. Leaders have ensured that staff work well together and share their vision of enabling all pupils to achieve the highest levels of success.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Updates to the curriculum are still being finalised in some subjects. This means teachers are not yet fully clear as to what specific knowledge they need to teach or to check what pupils have learned. The school should ensure that these curriculum updates are all completed so that teachers can precisely know firstly what they need to teach, and then how best to check that pupils have retained this knowledge before moving on to learning something new. 14 and 15 May 2024

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 The reading curriculum in the secondary phase is not as fully developed as leaders intend. Pupils develop fluency. However, there are limited opportunities for them to learn other important reading skills such as comprehension and inference. This hinders how well some pupils can achieve what they are fully capable of. The school should ensure that all teachers are trained to deliver a reading curriculum that supports these pupils to develop a rich understanding of what they read.  Some teachers have not been fully trained to support pupils access learning as leaders intend. This means that, sometimes, teachers select activities, explanations or resources that are not the most appropriate to support pupils achieve their personal learning goals. The school should ensure that all staff are trained in a range of bespoke pedagogical approaches that enable them to choose the most suitable learning activity to enable pupils to learn the intended

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curriculum as successfully as they can, so that they consistently achieve well.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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). 14 and 15 May 2024

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sixth form

Appropriate authority The governing body

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sixth form

Dates of previous inspection 16 and 17 May 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher took up her position in April 2023.  The school provides education for pupils with a wide range of complex, profound, severe and moderate learning difficulties. The range and type of need has increased in recent years. All pupils on roll have an education, health and care plan.  The school operates a separate site for pupils in the early years and Year 1. Some sixth-form students attend a local school.  The school does not use any alternative educational provision.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships. 14 and 15 May 2024

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with leaders, including the headteacher, deputy headteacher, and other members of the senior leadership team. The lead inspector had a telephone discussion with the school improvement partner and met with governors and representatives from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art, personal, social and health education and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to staff, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also listened to a sample of pupils

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Information about this inspection

read to a familiar adult.  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.  Inspectors considered the 48 responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and the 36 free-text comments submitted. There were no responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for pupils or staff. Inspectors spoke to groups of pupils about their experiences of school life and their learning in lessons to understand what it is like to be a pupil in their school.

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Inspection team

Dave Gibson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Helen Jones Ofsted Inspector 14 and 15 May 2024

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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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