Lansbury Bridge School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Lansbury Bridge School Lansbury Avenue, Parr, St Helens, Merseyside WA9 1TB

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Outcome

Lansbury Bridge 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’ happy faces show how much they enjoy school. Warm and trusting relationships with staff help pupils to feel safe and secure. In the early years, children enjoy using their senses to explore the many resources on offer. Older pupils enjoy playing with their friends in the school’s extensive grounds. Pupils of all ages thrive and develop confidence in the school’s friendly, nurturing atmosphere.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils who attend Lansbury Bridge have education, health and care (EHC) plans. Many have complex barriers to their learning and development. Regardless of these challenges, the school has high expectations for what pupils can achieve. Pupils learn to communicate effectively in different ways. This helps them to participate in lessons to the full. From the early years to key stage 3, pupils achieve well from their individual starting points.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand the school’s clear and simple rules and routines. They try their best to follow them each day. For example, pupils wait for their turn to select the food that they want to eat at lunchtime. They learn to move sensibly around school. This helps to make the school a calm and orderly place.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are many opportunities for pupils to develop personally. Pupils learn about relationships and the differences and similarities between themselves and others. Pupils take on important roles of responsibility in school, for example as members of the school council. These experiences help to prepare pupils for life beyond school.

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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 for pupils. This has been organised clearly into the school’s own pathways. These pathways take account of the 17 and 18 June 2025

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varied complexities of pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This helps to ensure that pupils learn successfully in ways most appropriate to their developmental needs.

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The curriculum sets out the knowledge that the school has identified for pupils to learn in each subject from the early years to the end of Year 9. In most subjects, this key knowledge has been broken down further into smaller elements that pupils learn in a logical order. This helps staff to deliver lessons that build a secure body of knowledge over time. In a small number of subjects, some of this key knowledge is less clearly defined. This makes it more difficult for staff to ensure that in these subjects, pupils learn everything that they need to know, in the order they need to learn it.

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Communication and language are at the heart of the curriculum. Pupils are supported to communicate successfully in a range of ways, including sign language, visual prompts and assistive technology, as well as verbally. This develops pupils’ ability to express their needs, feelings and choices to others.

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The school has placed a high priority on the development of reading. Children in the early years are introduced to carefully selected stories, books and rhymes. As pupils move through the school, they encounter increasingly challenging texts which they enjoy. This supports pupils to develop a love of reading. Pupils on different learning pathways build their knowledge of phonics in ways adapted appropriately to their needs. Over time, many pupils learn to apply their phonics knowledge effectively to read, write and spell. This supports their learning in the range of subjects that they study.

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The school ensures that pupils’ EHC plans are fully enacted. There are strong relationships between the school and other partners such as parents, carers and a wide range of external professionals. This enables leaders to secure prompt, additional support for pupils who need it.

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From the early years onwards, pupils develop an awareness of people’s different working roles. A well-designed programme of careers advice and guidance is in place for pupils in key stage 3. The school develops links with local businesses, colleges and universities to ensure that pupils learn in meaningful ways about the world of work. Pupils of all ages engage in a variety of trips and visits to learn more about their local community. The school’s enthusiastic council includes representatives from all learning pathways and classes. They are rightly proud of their work to raise funds, for example for playground equipment.

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The school has high expectations of pupils in terms of their behaviour and attendance. Many pupils have needs that necessitate regular medical appointments. Nonetheless, the school successfully works to encourage pupils to attend as often as they possibly can.

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Since the last inspection, the governing body has experienced some turbulence. This has now settled. Governors are knowledgeable about the school’s strengths and its priorities for further development. They are proactive in assuring themselves about the quality of 17 and 18 June 2025

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the school’s work to improve. Governors and leaders take due account of staff’s well- being and workload. Most staff are proud to work at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects and areas of learning, the curriculum does not provide staff with enough information about the important knowledge that pupils should learn, and the order in which this key knowledge should be taught. This makes it difficult for staff to design learning that enables pupils to build a solid and secure body of knowledge. The school should ensure that in all subjects and areas of learning, the curriculum clearly sets out the key information that pupils should learn, and the order in which they should learn it.

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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, 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 for overall effectiveness in December 2015. 17 and 18 June 2025

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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). 17 and 18 June 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 21 and 22 January 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, a new headteacher has been appointed to the school.  A new chair of governors was appointed in March 2025. A number of other governors are also new to the governing body.  The school caters for pupils with specific learning difficulties; visual impairment; hearing impairment; speech, language and communication needs; autism; social, emotional and mental health needs; multi-sensory impairment; physical disability; moderate learning difficulties; severe learning difficulties; and profound and multiple learning difficulties.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision. 17 and 18 June 2025

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The 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, deputy headteacher and other school leaders.  The lead inspector met with some governors, including the chair, and spoke on the telephone with representatives of the local authority.  The inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspectors also spoke with some pupils about wider school life.  The inspectors considered the views expressed by parents and carers in their responses to Ofsted Parent View. This included free-text comments.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single

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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.

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Inspection team

Mavis Smith, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Orienne Langley-Sadler Ofsted Inspector 17 and 18 June 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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