Stocklake Park Community School

Inspection of a good school: Stocklake Park Community School Stocklake, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP20 1DP

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Outcome

There has been no change to this school’s overall judgement of good as a result of this ungraded (section 8) inspection. However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded (section 5) inspection were carried out now. The school’s next inspection will be a graded inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this school. Staff get to know pupils well, and these positive, nurturing relationships help pupils to feel safe and secure. This results in a calm atmosphere, and classrooms are places where pupils can learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Action is being taken to ensure the school’s curriculum and teaching approaches fully meet the needs of all pupils. While these plans for improvement are ambitious, pupils’ experiences of learning are currently variable. This is because the implementation of these plans is at varying stages. Consequently, actions have not yet had the intended impact in making the necessary improvements to the quality of education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides pupils with a variety of activities to stimulate their interests and develop their confidence. These include encouraging pupils to be responsible by taking on roles in the school council. Pupils eagerly share their appreciation of their favourite sessions, for example ‘rebound therapy’ sessions on the trampoline, and visiting performances, such as the recent production of ‘The Hobbit’. As pupils progress through the school, they spend more time in the community. Pupils in the sixth form regularly visit local cafés and the swimming pool, and some pupils work hard to achieve The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. This all helps to prepare pupils well for their next steps when they leave the school.

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

The school’s current curriculum does not consistently enable pupils to build their knowledge and skills over time. This means that pupils are not always able to recall what they have previously learned and then apply it to new learning. Leaders recognise this and have made some changes that are beginning to improve pupils’ learning. There is now a system in place which ensures pupils’ personalised targets are considered in their 2 and 3 July 2024

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daily learning. These targets link to their education, health and care (EHC) plans. Targets are carefully tracked by teachers and therapists, who work as an effective team to maintain a sharp focus on each pupil’s journey of progress.

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Over time, there have been changes in both staffing and the needs of the cohort of pupils. Not all staff have the relevant expertise in all of the specialist approaches required to meet pupils’ needs. This means that, on some occasions, the activities provided for pupils in lessons do not support them to learn effectively. In lessons where there is a lack of clear purpose, pupils are more disengaged or become distracted.

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Pupils can access communication resources and aids that support them effectively in and outside of classrooms. However, staff are not consistently using the training they have had from therapists on how they can support pupils’ different communication needs. There are many missed opportunities, when staff do not model or use communication resources as effectively. Consequently, pupils sometimes withdraw from their learning or are not as well supported as they could be to return to learning following a sensory or regulation break.

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The school has prioritised ensuring vocabulary across the curriculum is identified and communicated. However, this has meant that putting in place a systematic approach to the teaching of phonics and reading has been delayed. Consequently, those pupils who are ready to make progress in their reading skills do not get the help they need to read with increasing fluency and confidence. More widely, many pupils enjoy the stories adults explore with them using different creative approaches. They actively participate in sensory stories in which staff use sounds, props and movements to bring words to life.

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Pupils like coming to school and they generally attend well. There are clear routines and expectations for behaviour. Personalised plans identify the most helpful strategies for each pupil to remain focused on their learning. Some pupils struggle more with managing their behaviour, and staff do their best to support pupils using helpful strategies. While there is now a clear process for recording incidences of behaviour, there is no analysis of this information. This means leaders do not have a sufficient understanding of any emerging patterns and trends that would help identify where pupils need more help to behave well.

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The teaching of relationships and sex education has been thoughtfully designed. Content is age-appropriate, and leaders have thought carefully about how information is taught to help develop pupils’ understanding. Life skills lessons help pupils to develop independence, such as through engaging in personal care routines, expressing their preferences and developing their confidence to prepare food safely in a kitchen. There is a strong focus on careers and work experience across the school. The sixth-form curriculum is designed to prepare pupils for the world of work and adulthood.

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Staff know there is work to be done to ensure pupils get the very best out of school. Leaders are considerate of workload, and work with governors to implement initiatives to prioritise the well-being of the staff team as the required improvements are made. 2 and 3 July 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the curriculum is not precisely organised to help pupils build their knowledge and skills over time. In addition, lesson activities do not always enable pupils to engage in purposeful learning. This means that some pupils are not learning as well as they should. The school should implement its plans to ensure staff have the information and expertise they need to support pupils to learn well.  The school has not implemented a consistent approach to the teaching of reading for those pupils who are ready or able to learn to read. This means that some pupils are not developing the skills and confidence they need to read as well as they could. The school should implement a systematic approach to teaching reading and ensure staff have the appropriate expertise.  While the school has begun to track pupils’ behaviour more closely, it has not implemented a clear system to closely analyse this information. This means that

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

leaders do not have a sufficient understanding of emerging issues or identify the most effective strategies to meet pupils’ needs. The school should implement processes to analyse behaviour records and ensure staff are appropriately trained to fully meet pupils’ individual needs.  At times, opportunities to integrate communication into pupils’ learning or activities are missed. This means that pupils are not always given the required support to share their opinion or make decisions with independence. The school should ensure that all staff have the expertise and resources to promote every opportunity for pupils to communicate.

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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 November 2014. 2 and 3 July 2024

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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). 2 and 3 July 2024

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Appropriate authority The governing body

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Principal Bradley Taylor (Principal) Rhonda Gosney (Head of School) Website www.thevalefederation.com

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Date of previous inspection 5 February 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is a partner in The Vale Federation. The federation is overseen by a joint governing body. It shares a principal, who is responsible for both schools.  The school caters for pupils between the ages of 11 and 19 years who have speech, language and communication difficulties, autistic spectrum disorder, visual impairment, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties.  All pupils have an EHC plan.  The school does not make use of any alternative 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. 2 and 3 July 2024

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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.  Inspectors met with the head of school, the principal, other senior leaders, staff and pupils. The lead inspector also spoke with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors, and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading and communication, personal, social and health education, and life skills. They discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, teachers and pupils. They visited lessons and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum and looked at samples of pupils’ work in some other subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors considered the responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire, including the free-text comments. They also gathered the views of both staff and pupils throughout the inspection.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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 reviewed and scrutinised a range of the school’s documentation, including leaders’ plans for improving the school, minutes of governor meetings and records of attendance and behaviour incidents.

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Inspection team

Jo Petch, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Martin Dyer Ofsted Inspector 2 and 3 July 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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