Shaftesbury High School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Shaftesbury High School Weldbank Lane, Chorley, Lancashire PR7 3NQ

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Outcome

Shaftesbury High School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils who attend this school have the opportunity to have a fresh start in education. Many join the school having experienced considerable barriers and disruption to their learning. When pupils arrive at the school, they are listened to, respected and valued by staff. This helps pupils to feel settled, happy and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a clear vision to get pupils back on track with their learning. It has high expectations for pupils’ academic and social success. Most pupils achieve well. Through thoughtfully designed programmes of study, pupils take qualifications in subjects that match their aspirations and ambitions. As a result, many pupils leave school to progress to positive destinations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff treat pupils respectfully and with kindness. They know each pupil extremely well. This contributes significantly to pupils’ growing self-esteem and to their confidence. For many pupils, this is their first successful school experience in a long time. Pupils engage purposefully in lessons. Across the school, pupils behave well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school equips pupils with the tools and strong foundations for their next steps in life. It aligns vocational opportunities with each pupil’s interests and goals. Pupils gain hands- on experience in trades such as plumbing, motor mechanics and equine care.

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

The school has designed a broad and ambitious curriculum. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), benefit from a range of subjects that match the breadth of the national curriculum. The curriculum is enhanced with links to outdoor and vocational learning, which the school uses well to re-engage pupils in their 23 and 24 April 2025

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education. The school creates personalised programmes for each pupil to ensure that they achieve the best possible outcomes from their starting points. Pupils achieve nationally recognised qualifications, including GCSEs and vocational awards. This achievement prepares them for future opportunities, equipping them with the skills and qualifications necessary to pursue further education, apprenticeships or employment.

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Across subjects, the school has mapped out the knowledge that teachers expect pupils to learn. Teachers explain new ideas and concepts by breaking them down into simple parts. This helps pupils to build on what they already know. However, on occasion, teachers do not make timely checks on what pupils know and remember. At times, gaps in pupils’ knowledge can go unnoticed, particularly for those pupils with lower rates of attendance. Teachers sometimes do not know what subject content pupils need to revisit and practise before moving on to new learning. Occasionally, this means that pupils are unsure of what their teachers expect them to do. This hinders some aspects of pupils’ achievement.

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The school has identified that a significant minority of pupils arrive with gaps in their reading knowledge. In response, it has introduced a phonics programme and other reading strategies to help these pupils to catch up with their peers. However, some aspects of this work are new. The school’s systems to monitor the impact of this work on pupils’ reading knowledge are underdeveloped. For example, it does not use information about gaps in pupils’ reading knowledge swiftly enough to implement the right support. This means that sometimes these pupils do not receive the prompt support that they need to read confidently and fluently.

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The school has effective strategies in place to identify any additional needs, including SEND, that pupils may have. Staff use a range of strategies to gather important information about pupils when they join the school. Staff are well informed about the needs of these pupils, and they adapt lessons and support sessions accordingly.

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Pupils know that staff believe in them. They appreciate the consistent, calm and positive approach to behaviour that staff provide. Pupils know that skilled staff, with the assistance of Walter the therapy dog, are on hand to help them if they are feeling unsettled or anxious.

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Pupils’ attendance typically improves once they join the school. The school works closely with families, carers and external agencies to support regular attendance. The school is constantly seeking different ways to support those pupils with lower rates of attendance to overcome barriers which prevent them from attending school regularly.

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The broader development of pupils lies at the core of the school’s mission. There is a range of carefully designed opportunities that help to develop pupils’ independence and self-belief. Pupils gain valuable knowledge to support them in growing up in modern Britain. For example, they learn about the dangers associated with sextortion, gangs and fake news.

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Pupils are exceptionally well prepared for their next steps after finishing school. They value work-related learning and strong careers advice and guidance. Pupils benefit from 23 and 24 April 2025

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carefully managed transitions back to their home school or to post-16 provision. Typically, pupils secure places on college or training courses. These are well matched to their aspirations and goals.

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Staff feel valued, listened to and appreciated. Leaders, and members of the management committee, sensitively consider the well-being and workload of all staff. Daily staff briefings ensure that staff can share and discuss any concerns and receive support from their colleagues and leaders. The management committee has a strong understanding of the school’s work. It provides highly effective support and challenge to the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, teachers’ checks on learning, especially when pupils have been absent, are not timely enough to spot gaps in pupils’ knowledge. As a result, some pupils are insecure in their learning. The school should ensure that teachers swiftly identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge so that they can learn well.  The school’s systems to monitor and track those pupils who are weaker readers are underdeveloped. This means that some of the weakest readers do not receive the support that they need in a timely and effective way. This hinders their learning of the curriculum and prevents them from achieving as well as they could. The school should ensure that the reading support it has recently introduced is prioritised for the pupils who need the most help.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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, 23 and 24 April 2025

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behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in October 2019.

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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). 23 and 24 April 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 29 and 30 October 2019

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Information about this school

 Shaftesbury High School is a pupil referral unit which provides secondary education for pupils.  The school provides short-, medium- and longer-term placements for pupils who have been permanently excluded or are at risk of exclusion or disengaged from education. A small minority of pupils are new to the area. A small number of pupils are dual- registered.  The majority of pupils in key stage 4 study vocational courses at a variety of alternative education providers. The school uses 11 unregistered alternative providers.  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.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 23 and 24 April 2025

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 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 headteacher and with other school leaders. They also spoke with members of the management committee, including the chair of the management committee. Additionally, they spoke with a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work. They also considered the school’s self-evaluation document, along with other documentation and analysis provided by the school.  The lead inspector met with the SEND coordinators and reviewed samples of documentation relating to pupils with SEND.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central

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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 took account of the views of parents and carers expressed through Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. They also considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for staff and for pupils.

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Inspection team

Kate Bowker, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Carole Austin Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 April 2025

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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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