Other · Ofsted report
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Strengths
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- The school has a positive and caring ethos, with good relationships between adults and pupils and very good provision for pupils' welfare. p.3
- In the best lessons they were enthusiastic and eager to contribute and offered their opinions in a mature manner. p.5
- The quality of care for the pupils is consistently very good; this is a strength of the school. p.8
- I am happy with the standards of behaviour at this school. 18 1 I believe that this school helps my child have positive attitudes to school work. 18 0 p.14
Concerns
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- In these lessons there was a lack of structure and a lack of challenge; as a result several lessons became fragmented, with some pupils finding reasons to leave the classroom or engage in activities not related to the lesson content. p.7
- Individual education plans are not always specific enough to allow progress to be measured with precision and do not always focus systematically on academic targets. p.8
- The governing body has not met since his appointment and the responsibilities of the chair of governors and the governing body under the new management of The Priory Group have yet to be determined. p.9
- In the unsatisfactory lessons, the expectations of what the pupils could do were often too low, the work was insufficiently varied and slow paced so the pupils lost interest. p.7
- The progress of pupils who require additional literacy support is unclear, as data to track their progress is not yet available. p.5
Next steps
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- Standards in English and mathematics for all pupils, but especially for the more able pupils. p.4
- The quality of teaching in English and mathematics and the progress the pupils make in these subjects. p.4
- The breadth of teaching styles to match the learning needs of the pupils. p.4
- Behaviour management strategies to help the pupils with more complex needs p.4
- The use of assessment to plan the next steps in learning. p.4
- The monitoring, evaluation and development of teaching to promote higher standards. p.4
- The school development plan, so that it has a greater focus on the quality of teaching and learning and the progress made by the pupils. p.4
- The areas for improvement will form the basis of the school's action plan. p.4
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- Pages
- 15
- Words of findings
- 4,762
- longer than usual (typical 1049)
- Reading level
- Hard
- Flesch 49, typical 45
- Average sentence
- 19 words
- Next steps
- 8
- typical 5
- Hedged sentences
- 12%
- “some”, “not always”, “most”…
Where the words go
Full report text
CONTENTS
How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?
p.1
CONTENTS
How well does the school care for its pupils?
p.1
CONTENTS
How well does the school work in partnership with parents?
p.1
CONTENTS
What should the school do to improve further?
p.1
CONTENTS
Questionnaire return rate Number of responses in each category
p.1
Basic information about the school
Name of school: Farleigh College Newbury, Nr Mells Frome Somerset Address of school:
p.2
Basic information about the school
BA11 3RG Type of school: for pupils with Asperger's Syndrome Status: Independent Age range of pupils: 11-17 Gender of pupils: Boys and Girls Annual fees: Day: £34,305 ; Residential: £49,833-£79,035 Telephone number: 01373 814980 Fax number: 01373 814984 Headteacher: Mr Des Walsh Proprietor: The Priory Group Chair of governing body: Rev. Trevor Cook DfES Number: 933/6195 Reporting inspector: Glenys Fox HMI Date of inspection: 26-28 November 2002
p.2
Scope and purpose of the report
1. This inspection was carried out at the request of the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, who has asked for reporting inspections to be undertaken of non-approved independent schools that educate and care for pupils with special educational needs. The purpose of the inspection was to advise the Secretary of State about the quality of the school's provision under the Education Act 1996. The report concentrates on those aspects of the school relevant to that purpose.
p.2
Information about the school
2. Farleigh College is managed by The Priory Group and provides for boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 16 who have difficulties associated with Asperger's Syndrome. The Priory Group has managed the school since October 2002, taking over from the Farleigh Education Group. The school is situated in well-maintained premises and grounds in the small village of Newbury, near Frome, Somerset. The pupils are referred to the school by a wide range of LEAs, mostly in the south of England. Most of the placements are residential although there are some day pupils.
p.3
Information about the school
3. At the time of the inspection there were 38 pupils on the school's roll, all having a statement of special educational needs. There were 31 residential placements and seven day placements.
p.3
Information about the school
• `to offer a total environment where young people, often with a previous history of failure, are encouraged to develop to their full academic and social potential, in spite of any problems they may have'; • `to provide a 24 hour curriculum that will be stimulating and meeting the individual needs of pupils with Asperger's Syndrome'; • `to work alongside these young people in developing strategies to assist with these difficulties'.
p.3
How good the school is
5. Farleigh College provides a very good standard of care and a satisfactory quality of education for the majority of its pupils. All the staff work hard to maintain good relationships with the pupils and to reinforce the school's caring ethos. The school provides a broad and balanced curriculum, which includes the National Curriculum.
p.3
What the school does well
• The school has a positive and caring ethos, with good relationships between adults and pupils and very good provision for pupils' welfare. • Attendance at the school and punctuality to lessons are very good. • Assessment of the social and communication difficulties of the pupils is thorough on their entry to the school and, thereafter, they make good progress in developing their social and communication skills. • Standards and progress in art, design and technology, information and communication technology (ICT), physical education, history and music are good. • The quality of teaching is good or very good in almost half of the lessons. The quality of teaching in art, design and technology, physical education, history, music and social skills is good or very good. • The school provides a good range of General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and other accredited courses. • The provision for careers education and work experience give pupils opportunities for
p.3
What the school does well
insight into the world of work and the choices they can make. • The school provides a good range of extra-curricular and evening activities. • The school has good working relationships with the majority of the parents and carers. • The management team has developed a wide range of community links to support the pupils; these links are good.
p.4
What could be improved
• Standards in English and mathematics for all pupils, but especially for the more able pupils. • The quality of teaching in English and mathematics and the progress the pupils make in these subjects. • The breadth of teaching styles to match the learning needs of the pupils. • Behaviour management strategies to help the pupils with more complex needs • The flexibility of the curriculum to meet the needs of the more challenging pupils; • The use of assessment to plan the next steps in learning. • The monitoring, evaluation and development of teaching to promote higher standards. • The school development plan, so that it has a greater focus on the quality of teaching and learning and the progress made by the pupils.
p.4
What could be improved
The areas for improvement will form the basis of the school's action plan.
p.4
The school's results and achievements
6. Many of the pupils have significant difficulties in relating to others and focusing on specific tasks. At the time of the inspection a few pupils were experiencing particularly high levels of anxiety and they made little or no progress in their studies. However the majority of pupils worked hard and concentrated well in the lessons and as a result in nearly all of the lessons they made satisfactory progress overall.
p.4
The school's results and achievements
7. Nevertheless many pupils did not reach their full potential in mathematics and English. In mathematics, this was due to the limited range of teaching and learning styles used. In English pupils were not taught the skills of writing for different purposes explicitly and systematically enough. In addition, the discussions held and the tasks set were not always well matched to the ability levels of the pupils and the learning objectives were not challenging enough.
p.4
The school's results and achievements
8. Most pupils make at least satisfactory progress in the foundation subjects and progress is good in design and technology, art, music, physical education, history and careers education. In these subjects the teachers provide interesting and motivating activities and clear exposition. Resources and activities are well chosen to meet the needs of the individual pupils in the context of the whole class.
p.5
The school's results and achievements
9. Many pupils have good skills in ICT. They use computers well to overcome some of their literacy difficulties. ICT is often used to support the learning in other subjects. For example, a pupil was using the Internet to select images for an art project. Further accredited courses are needed in this subject as some of the pupils' skills are now developing beyond the accreditation offered.
p.5
The school's results and achievements
10. The pupils are beginning to make good progress in their social and communication skills. This area is well co-ordinated by the deputy headteacher and there are good plans to integrate the work further into general classroom practice; there are good sessions at the start of each school day. The progress the more challenging pupils make in managing their behaviour is less good. The staff use a range of behaviour management strategies but these are too often unsuccessful. There are too few preventative strategies in evidence which match the specific needs of these pupils.
p.5
The school's results and achievements
11. The progress of pupils who require additional literacy support is unclear, as data to track their progress is not yet available. In the individual sessions observed in the inspection, the pupils made satisfactory progress, although, in some cases, the content of the sessions failed to capture the interest of the pupils.
p.5
The school's results and achievements
12. In June 2002, 18 pupils were entered for GCSE examinations. Four pupils achieved four A*-C grades; 12 achieved five A*-G grades; and 18 pupils achieved at least one A*-G grade. Appropriately, the school has set more challenging targets for the coming year.
p.5
Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development
13. The attitudes of the pupils towards their learning were satisfactory or better in most of the lessons; in nearly a third of the lessons they were good and occasionally very good. The pupils' attitudes were unsatisfactory in one-tenth of the lessons. On the whole, the pupils are keen to come to the school and enjoy most of the activities. They particularly enjoy practical subjects, for instance; physical education, design and technology, art, music and ICT; several pupils were willing to demonstrate their skills in these subjects. In the best lessons they were enthusiastic and eager to contribute and offered their opinions in a mature manner.
p.5
Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development
14. However, in the lessons where the quality of teaching was unsatisfactory, the pupils lacked motivation and lost interest in the lesson. In some of these lessons, there was an over-emphasis on worksheets or copying tasks from an exercise book; as a result some pupils became restless. The pupils were often seated individually, either at workstations or away from one another. For some of the activities this was appropriate, but for others, this arrangement limited the opportunities for productive interaction.
p.5
Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development
15. In the residential setting, the pupils interacted well at meals and in social sessions. The pupils showed respect for staff, for each other and for property. The pupils were polite and courteous and behaviour was usually good in lessons and around the school. A few of the pupils presented particular behavioural difficulties; these difficulties were generally well managed, although the use of strategies to prevent poor behaviour was not well enough planned in some cases.
p.5
Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development
16. Nearly all the parents or carers comment upon the improvement in their child's behaviour and self-confidence since attending Farleigh College. The pupils develop their self-confidence in a secure atmosphere which does not tolerate bullying, racism or sexism. The climate is informal and relaxed and the pupils are encouraged to tell the staff of any problems or issues of concern. The staff take opportunities to talk to the pupils and the pupils are treated with respect and dignity.
p.5
Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development
17. The school has recently adopted a daily social skills and communication period at the beginning of the school day and this is helpful in encouraging personal development and an awareness of others' needs. Positive attitudes and behaviour are also encouraged through assemblies and at the end-of-school meetings by the awarding of certificates which celebrate notable achievements by the pupils.
p.6
Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development
18. The personal development of the pupils is encouraged through good work experience programmes and the recently accredited personal and social education programme. The experiences provided in the residential setting also support personal development, for example, pupils can choose to make their own meals if they wish and they are expected to look after their living spaces. There is a wide range of social activities on offer after lessons, and pupils can also take part in activities such as swimming, bowling and fencing; one pupil is a member of a local scout group. These activities make a very positive contribution to promoting personal development.
p.6
Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development
19. The college keeps good records of incidents and sanctions.
p.6
Attendance
20. Attendance over the last year has been very good, at nearly 94%. There are no unauthorised absences. Registers are completed in accordance with statutory requirements. Pupils arrive punctually for lessons. The school monitors internal absence from lessons and these are followed up effectively; more effective systems to address the prevention of these absences have yet to be developed.
p.6
Attendance
21. The school has clear admissions criteria and procedures. The admissions register is well maintained. Pupils who join the school are offered a three-month period of assessment. If it is felt that pupils are not suited to the school, then alternative provision is recommended. The school's arrangements for induction are not yet flexible enough to meet the needs of some of the pupils who require specific routines or flexibility within the curriculum.
p.6
Attendance
22. The school is open for 170 days per year to pupils. This means that the amount of time available for teaching during the year is less than for similar schools.
p.6
How well are pupils or students taught?
23. Thirty-four lessons or parts of lessons were observed. The quality of teaching was satisfactory or better in over four-fifths of the lessons; of these lessons, it was good in a quarter and very good in nearly a fifth. In all the foundation subjects, the teaching was mainly good or very good and there was no unsatisfactory teaching. The quality of teaching was unsatisfactory in nearly a fifth of the lessons; the unsatisfactory teaching was limited to some mathematics and English lessons.
p.6
How well are pupils or students taught?
24. In the better lessons, the pupils were reminded of what they had achieved previously and the learning objectives were made clear to the pupils. The planning was good and the activities were described well. This provided the pupils with a good framework and a secure structure for learning. In these lessons, the work was varied and interesting and the good relationships between the teachers, assistants and the pupils were sustained throughout. In some of these lessons, the teachers used questions well to stimulate discussion and to develop the pupils' learning. There was some very good teaching in design and technology, physical education, music and history; in these lessons, pupils responded well to the structure of the lessons, the practical activities and to the encouragement to participate. 25. In the satisfactory lessons, the planning was clear and activities were prepared in advance. However, there was too much focus on the completion of worksheets and on written tasks rather
p.6
How well are pupils or students taught?
than on the learning of the pupils; opportunities for discussion and the sharing of good examples of work were lost. In the unsatisfactory lessons, the expectations of what the pupils could do were often too low, the work was insufficiently varied and slow paced so the pupils lost interest. In these lessons there was a lack of structure and a lack of challenge; as a result several lessons became fragmented, with some pupils finding reasons to leave the classroom or engage in activities not related to the lesson content. In addition, not enough use was made of practical activities, ICT or video resources to develop the knowledge and understanding of the pupils.
p.7
How well are pupils or students taught?
26. The learning support assistants play a major role in advancing the pupils' learning, improving their attitudes to study and supporting their social and personal development. However, use of these assistants to record the progress of the pupils is not made well enough. In a number of lessons, members of the care staff were also present. In some lessons there were too many additional adults; as a result the teacher did not take enough responsibility for the pupils' learning and opportunities to develop independent learning were also lost. Overall, the deployment of additional adults in lessons has yet to be planned effectively.
p.7
How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?
27. The school provides a good range of learning opportunities that are adapted to meet the needs of most pupils. It includes the subjects of the National Curriculum, for some of which GCSE courses are provided, as well as a range of vocational options for some pupils. However, for some of the most challenging pupils the timetable provides too little flexibility to build on strengths and interests. Some pupils with significant literacy difficulties fail to engage with aspects of the curriculum when their delivery is dependent on these skills.
p.7
How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?
28. Subjects are well supported by sound schemes of work which ensure appropriate continuity and progression. These are used well to inform the day-to-day planning, though insufficient account is taken of national guidance for developing literacy and numeracy.
p.7
How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?
29. The provision for personal, social and health education is good. The very good relationships between pupils and staff creates a climate of trust within which sensitive topics can be discussed.
p.7
How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?
30. The work experience programme is well planned and valued by the pupils. Careers education prepares pupils well for adult life and the choices to be made.
p.7
How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?
31. The school has developed very good links with the local community. The pupils attend local colleges and mainstream schools for certain subjects and there are sound plans to develop these links further. Some pupils also attend local youth clubs; this opportunity is valued and further supports their social development. The school provides a very good range of extra-curricular activities including a range of sports activities and visits to the cinema.
p.7
How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?
32. The provision for the pupils' social and moral development is good. The pupils are taught to distinguish right from wrong and are helped to overcome their difficulties in socialising by being part of a residential community. The provision for the pupils' cultural development is satisfactory. They are beginning to learn about other cultures and traditions during humanities lessons and some are starting to learn about French culture during language lessons. Opportunities to raise the spiritual awareness of the pupils are not developed sufficiently during lesson times although assemblies provide some opportunities for reflection.
p.7
How well does the school care for its pupils?
33. The quality of care for the pupils is consistently very good; this is a strength of the school. The four residential units are homely and well run. Staff work well together and there are good hand- over arrangements between care and education staff. The recording of relevant information is thorough and helpful to staff. The school received a positive social services inspection report and recommendations have been acted upon. The college is kept in a state of good repair and the pupils' rooms are tastefully decorated; the pupils have been able to personalise their rooms with their own posters and belongings. The meals are of a high quality and particular dietary needs are well catered for.
p.8
How well does the school care for its pupils?
34. The school is working toward meeting the requirements of the National Minimum Standards for Residential Special Schools. It has yet to develop a comprehensive statement of purpose and to identify an independent visitor. Care staff are working on National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) to appropriate levels. There is a good induction programme and very helpful handbooks for staff and for new pupils; the pupil handbook is particularly notable for its clarity.
p.8
How well does the school care for its pupils?
35. The college has a fleet of minibuses, which, though ageing, are regularly maintained. However, staff do not undertake a minibus driver assessment and this needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
p.8
How well does the school care for its pupils?
36. There is regular input by the speech and language therapists who are working in innovative ways to encourage the development of the pupils' interaction and communication skills and there is a plan to train all the staff in identifying pupils' communication needs and to introduce strategies to improve group working. A collaborative method of working with all staff has also been adopted by the occupational therapist attached to the school.
p.8
How well does the school care for its pupils?
37. The headteacher and the head of care are the designated child protection officers. Checks on the suitability of staff to work with children are undertaken. Staff are clear about procedures to be followed with regard to child protection. There are rigorous procedures for the storage and dispensing of medicines.
p.8
How well does the school care for its pupils?
38. The school has individual care plans and individual education plans, which are effective as a basis for monitoring pupils' personal development. Care plans could be further improved by the better describing of strategies to be used. Individual education plans are not always specific enough to allow progress to be measured with precision and do not always focus systematically on academic targets. Annual reviews do not clearly evaluate targets that have been set from the previous year.
p.8
How well does the school care for its pupils?
39. The school has an appropriate policy for assessment and recording. The pupils' work is marked regularly and sound feedback is given. However, in English and mathematics, learning in each lesson is not sufficiently evaluated by the teacher to inform the planning for the next lesson. The school collects information about pupils' levels of attainment and uses this to predict outcomes for the end of each year. However the targets set for some of the more able pupils in terms of their attainments at the end of Key Stage 3 and at GCSE are insufficiently challenging. In addition there is a lack of clarity about what needs to be learned in order for pupils to move to the next level. Pupils are often unaware of their levels of attainments or what they need to do to improve. The quality of teachers knowledge about the different levels varies and, in some cases, teachers' assessments underestimate pupils' achievements.
p.8
How well does the school work in partnership with parents?
40. The parents generally have a favourable view of the school. They receive weekly written reports and informative end-of-term reports. All parents or carers are invited to attend the annual review, as are LEA representatives. Parents are invited into the school for annual open days and they have opportunities to discuss their child's progress with teaching and care staff. Each pupil has an academic and pastoral tutor and the latter contacts parents on a weekly basis. Although there is no formal home/school agreement, there is a reasonable exchange of information. However, not all parents feel that they fully understand what their child is taught and the contact with academic staff can be variable.
p.9
How well is the school led and managed?
41. The school has clear and coherent aims and values, which are shared by all the adults who work there. The headteacher provides sound educational direction for the school and the management team has worked well to establish a positive ethos. The deputy headteacher has a number of responsibilities which are carried out efficiently. He is working appropriately with the teaching staff to improve lesson planning and review learning outcomes.
p.9
How well is the school led and managed?
42. The staff have well defined roles and responsibilities and there is a detailed staff handbook which provides clear information on all aspects of school life. All the school's documentation is well produced and policies are coherent and up-to-date. The school has yet to include policies on teaching and learning, curriculum and special educational needs in its documentation.
p.9
How well is the school led and managed?
43. Given the circumstances, the school development plan has an appropriate emphasis at this stage on the improvement of the school buildings and facilities. The headteacher has a clear understanding of and approach to this important matter. However, the school development plan does not yet address raising the attainment of the pupils in the school, particularly in the core subjects.
p.9
How well is the school led and managed?
44. The headteacher has observed and commented on all the teaching as part of the appraisal process. While this is a positive development, the process needs more rigour in order to identify specific weaknesses in the teaching and learning and to provide the basis for improvement.
p.9
How well is the school led and managed?
45. The financial management of the school has been taken over by The Priory Group. It is too early to make a judgement on the efficacy of the new arrangements, but the plans to invest in the development of the school buildings and facilities should prove beneficial.
p.9
How well is the school led and managed?
46. The school has a new chair of governors, appointed in July 2002. The governing body has not met since his appointment and the responsibilities of the chair of governors and the governing body under the new management of The Priory Group have yet to be determined.
p.9
How well is the school led and managed?
47. The school has sufficient teachers and teaching assistants for the number of pupils on roll and, in fact, in some lessons there were too many additional adults.
p.9
How well is the school led and managed?
48. The training needs of staff are identified through the appraisal system and the school has planned an appropriate training programme for both the school and the care staff. The induction programmes are good. Many of the assistants hold childcare qualifications or are pursuing appropriate courses. Training in relevant national initiatives, such as the Key Stage 3 Strategy, has yet to be investigated by the school. One full-time teacher does not yet have a teaching qualification but is in the final stages of training. The ICT lessons are taught by a teaching assistant who works as an instructor in these lessons. 49. The school has a reasonable collection of resources to support teaching and learning. There is a suite of networked computers in addition to those based in each classroom; arrangements for the best use of ICT by the pupils requires further consideration.
p.9
How well is the school led and managed?
50. The school uses a range of specialist rooms, some of which have only been in use very recently. There are plans to build a sports hall in the near future; this will be a great asset to the school's facilities as, at present, the pupils have to travel to a hall several miles away for indoor physical education. There are also plans to improve facilities for the teaching of music and for pottery and for providing an all-weather hard court area.
p.10
What should the school do to improve further?
51. In order to improve the quality of its provision and of pupils' achievements, the school should:
p.10
What should the school do to improve further?
• improve the progress of the pupils in English and mathematics by adopting a wider range of teaching styles and monitoring the teaching and learning more rigorously; • use assessment information to set more challenging targets for the pupils and to plan the next stages in learning; • develop a wider range of strategies, through curriculum provision and behaviour management, to meet the needs of the more challenging pupils; • establish ways of using additional adults in lessons more productively.
p.10
What should the school do to improve further?
52. In addition, the school should ensure, as a matter of urgency, that drivers of the schools' minibuses take the appropriate test.
p.10
Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection
Number of lessons observed 34 Total number of hours 18 Number of discussions with staff, other adults and pupils 25
p.10
Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor
The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.
p.10
Year Boys Girls Total
7 6 0 6 8 3 0 3 9 6 2 8 10 8 4 12 11 8 1 9 12 0 0 0
p.11
Permanent
Black Caribbean heritage 0 Black Caribbean heritage 0 0 Black African heritage 0 Black African heritage 0 0 Black other 0 Black other 0 0 Indian 0 Indian 0 0 Pakistani 0 Pakistani 0 0 Bangladeshi 0 Bangladeshi 0 0 Chinese 0 Chinese 0 0 White 38 White 2 0 Other minority ethnic group 0 Other minority ethnic group 0 0 This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.
p.11
Pupil mobility in the last school year No. of pupils
Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 19 Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 2
p.11
Total % Years R-6 Years 7-11
Authorised absence 6.1 0 6.1 Unauthorised absence 0 0 0
p.11
Total % Years R-6 Years 7-11
Percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year.
p.11
Attainment at the end of Key Stage 3
Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 3 for the latest reporting year 2002 4 2 6
p.11
National Curriculum test/task results English Maths Science
Boys 0 2 1 Girls 0 1 1 Numbers of pupils at Level 5 or above Total 0 3 2
p.11
Teachers' assessments English Mathematics Science
Boys 0 3 1 Girls 0 1 1 Numbers of pupils at Level 5 or above Total 0 4 2
p.12
Attainment at the end of Key Stage 4
Year Boys Girls Total Number of 15 year olds on roll in January of the latest reporting year 2002 8 0 8
p.12
grades A*-G
Boys 0 11 16 Girls 0 1 2 Number of pupils achieving the standard specified Total 0 12 18 School Number of pupils achieving the standard specified
p.12
Teachers and classes
Number of qualified teachers (FTE*) 8 Number of unqualified teachers (FTE*) 1 Number of pupils per teacher 4.2 Average class size 6
p.12
Deployment of teachers
Percentage of time teachers spend in contact with classes 85%
p.12
Average teaching group size
Total number of teaching assistants 13 Total aggregate hours worked per week 420
p.12
Care staff*
Total number of care staff 23 Total aggregate hours worked per week 960
p.13
Private 0
Barnet LEA 1 Bath and North East Somerset 1 Bexley LEA 1 Bristol LEA 1 Bromley LEA 1 Cornwall LEA 1 Dorset LEA 1 Gloucester LEA 1 Hampshire LEA 1 Hertfordshire LEA 2 Hillingdon LEA 1 Hounslow LEA 1 Kensington and Chelsea LEA 1 Kent LEA 1 North Somerset LEA 1 Oxfordshire LEA 1 Plymouth LEA 1 Portsmouth LEA 1 Royal Kingston LEA 1 Somerset LEA 1 South Gloucestershire LEA 1 Staffordshire LEA 1 Surrey LEA 3 Swansea LEA 1 Swindon LEA 1 Warwickshire LEA 1 West Sussex LEA 1 Wiltshire LEA 6 Social Services 0 Joint LEA/ Social Services 2
p.13
(£)
Basic budget 1,790,495 1,970,895 Grants 0 0 Income from facilities and services 0 0 Donations/private funds 0 0 Other income 0 0 Total income 1,790,495 1,970,895 Income per pupil 47,118 48,070
p.13
Fees
Day: £34,305; Residential: £49,833-£79,035.
p.14
Questionnaire return rate
Number of questionnaires sent out 38 Number of questionnaires returned 19
p.14
Agree Disagree
I am happy with the school my child attends. 19 0 I think this school meets my child's special educational needs. 16 3 I believe that the school helps me to understand what my child is taught. 13 5
p.14
Agree Disagree
I think that the school keeps me well informed about my child's progress. 18 1
p.14
Agree Disagree
I am happy with the standards of behaviour at this school. 18 1 I believe that this school helps my child have positive attitudes to school work. 18 0
p.14
Agree Disagree
I believe that this school helps my child to mix well with other children. 17 2
p.14
Agree Disagree
I believe that this school promotes the personal and social development of my child. 18 1
p.14
Agree Disagree
I think that this school prepares my child for the next stage of education and training. 15 4
p.14
Agree Disagree
I feel supported by the school. 19 0 I feel that my child is safe at this school. 19 0 I believe my child likes this school. 17 2
p.14
Summary of responses
In addition to the questionnaire responses, there were two responses by telephone to the reporting inspector.
p.15
Summary of responses
Nearly all parents feel that their child's special educational needs are well met, that they are well informed of their child's progress and that the college is successful in promoting pupils' personal development. They are fulsome in their praise of the high quality of care that is given and find care staff are very approachable.
p.15
Issues that concerned parents
Some parents expressed a desire for their children to have more contact with pupils from other schools. The school is planning to have a class based in the nearby comprehensive school, which should help to address this concern.
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Issues that concerned parents
A small but significant number of parents commented that their child needed more intellectual challenge. The inspectors agree with parents that more challenge is needed in the teaching of English and mathematics.
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Issues that concerned parents
A small minority of parents commented that effective arrangements for meeting the specific needs of their child had not been made.
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Issues that concerned parents
commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated. Inspection reports are available on the Ofsted web site (www.ofsted.gov.uk).
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