Setting

CONTENTS

How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

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CONTENTS

How well does the school care for its pupils?

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CONTENTS

How well does the school work in partnership with parents?

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CONTENTS

What should the school do to improve further?

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Basic information about the school

Name of school: The Jigsaw School 103 Coleford Bridge Road Mytchett Surrey Address of school:

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Basic information about the school

GU16 6DW Type of school: Day school for pupils with autistic spectrum disorders Status: Independent Age range of pupils: 4-11 Gender of pupils: Mixed Annual fees: Day: £34,125 Telephone number: 01252 521730 Fax number: 01252 516816 Headteacher: Kate Grant Proprietor: The Jigsaw Trust Chair of governing body: Mrs Mary Pond DfES Number: SI (D) 936/6579/02 Reporting inspector: Helen Morgan HMI Dates of inspection: 25th-27th November 2002

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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.

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Information about the school

2. The Jigsaw School is a day school which was granted final registration by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in June 2000 to cater for up to 14 children aged 4-11 years who have autistic spectrum disorders. Currently there are nine pupils on roll, eight boys and one girl, whose age ranges from 5-11. No pupils have English as an additional language or come from ethnic their local education authorities (LEAs). Pupils come from a number of different LEAs across London and the south of England. Over half of the pupils have been at the school since it opened in 1999. The school operates for 45 weeks a year, divided into three terms.

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Information about the school

3. There is a staffing ratio of one member of staff to each pupil. The school aims to employ two qualified teachers but despite the school's efforts to recruit, currently no members of staff hold qualified teacher status. All staff have either completed or are completing training which leads to a teaching qualification in an American teaching system based on the application of behaviour analysis.

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Information about the school

4. The Jigsaw School offers a structured programme of intensive intervention based on the principles of applied behaviour analysis. On admission to the school pupils are placed in one of three classes according to their verbal ability. The founding principle is to enable each child to achieve his or her full potential in a safe, caring and enjoyable environment where children can thrive and grow towards independence. The school aims to offer early intensive intervention; to provide a curriculum which meets each child's individual education plan; to offer access to the National Curriculum; to enable children where possible to integrate into mainstream schools; and to provide parent education and build partnerships between parents and staff.

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How good the school is

5. Jigsaw is a developing school that provides a sound education for its pupils. Good progress has been made in developing the school during the last three years. The process has been well managed by the executive headteacher and the governing body.

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How good the school is

6. There is a very positive and caring ethos in which pupils feel safe and make good progress in improving their ability to behave appropriately and sustain concentration. The quality of teaching and learning is at least satisfactory and pupils make steady progress towards their individual targets. Pupils behave well and are interested learners. Relationships between pupils and staff are very good.

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How good the school is

7. The school is beginning to incorporate the National Curriculum into the structured programmes which are designed for each pupil, but the curriculum does not yet have enough emphasis on a broad range of subjects. The staff form a hardworking and effective team, committed to improving their own knowledge and understanding and improving the quality of the school's provision.

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What the school does well

• Pupils make steady progress towards the learning objectives which are planned for them in specific areas of literacy and numeracy. • Pupils enjoy school. Their behaviour is good and they are generally eager to learn. They sustain concentration for increasing periods of time. • Relationships between staff and pupils are very good. Staff know pupils well and provide a caring environment in which pupils feel safe. If pupils become distressed, there is a consistent application of suitable, clear, well-understood and sensitively managed support, which quickly restores calm. • The school is well organised and day-to-day management and administration is good. There is a very positive ethos and the dedicated staff support each other well and form an effective team. • The school has a strong partnership with parents. Parents are very pleased with the education the school provides and communication between parents and the school is

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What the school does well

good. • All staff follow training which develops their knowledge and understanding of the structured teaching system. They apply their knowledge of this system well when teaching the structured, individual programmes.

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What could be improved

• The curriculum is too narrow and pupils do not make sufficient progress across a range of subjects. • The assessment procedures do not enable the school to measure pupils' progress accurately over the whole curriculum. • The range of teaching strategies used by staff is limited and the teaching of literacy and numeracy is not as good as it needs to be. • Not enough opportunity or encouragement is provided for pupils to work with each other. • Insufficient emphasis is placed on developing pupils' skills in information and communication technology (ICT). • Staff need to develop their knowledge and understanding of the National Curriculum and related initiatives.

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What could be improved

The areas for improvement will form the basis of the school's action plan.

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The school's results and achievements

8. The pupils' achievements across most areas of the curriculum are below average as a result of their complex needs. On entry to the school detailed assessments of their literacy, communication, personal, social and emotional skills are made and from these, very specific objectives are set. Pupils make at least steady progress towards these objectives. They make good progress in improving their concentration and behaviour and soon become ready and willing to learn.

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The school's results and achievements

9. In English, the pupils make steady progress overall. Most pupils are making appropriate gains in the development of their reading, writing and listening skills, but there could be more opportunities for pupils to develop their speaking skills. All pupils recognise their names, enjoy and handle books appropriately, listen carefully to stories and follow instructions well. Most pupils can recognise initial letter sounds and copy letter shapes. Some pupils write in simple sentences, at times using capital letters and full stops. A few pupils, with limited oral language skills, use simple pictures and symbols to communicate their needs. Opportunities to make links between the range of literacy activities provided are not fully exploited by the staff and, as a result, the pupils are not always achieving their full potential. For example, in a `show and tell' session with older pupils, sound progress was made

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The school's results and achievements

in the pupils' speaking and understanding, yet the opportunity to reinforce these gains in later writing sessions was missed.

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The school's results and achievements

10. In mathematics, the pupils make steady progress towards their individual objectives. Most pupils can trace and recognise numbers up to ten and sequence numbers to five. Some are able to count sets of objects and use addition and subtraction up to ten. A few pupils have well developed skills in telling the time, counting in twos, measuring shapes and understanding and using terms such as longer and shorter, heavier and lighter. Some pupils know the value of different coins and apply their knowledge of number well when counting money. Although progress over the short term is steady, progress over the longer term is not as good because units of work are rather fragmented. The lack of a clear long term scheme prevents pupils from building on their existing knowledge and understanding in a systematic way.

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The school's results and achievements

11. The pupils make satisfactory progress in a few aspects of science. The narrow curriculum hinders their progress over time and there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to develop their understanding through investigation. One or two pupils can name parts of a flower and some internal organs of the body. From a limited selection of objects they can distinguish between hot and cold, and living organisms and things that have never lived.

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The school's results and achievements

12. Owing to the very limited range of opportunities provided, the pupils make insufficient progress in ICT. When the pupils choose to use computers, most have good mouse control. Some pupils use computers more regularly to play games or to record their work, sometimes changing the size or style of the font. However, opportunities to extend the pupils' skills in this area are not systematic. Most activities are incidental, do not follow a planned programme of study and concentrate on too narrow a range of skills.

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The school's results and achievements

13. The school provides for the pupils' religious education through regular participation in the festivals of the Christian faith, a termly focus on stories from the Bible and through hymns at assembly.

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The school's results and achievements

14. Since the last HMI visit good progress has been made in providing a varied programme of physical education. The pupils make good progress in their music and movement lessons, and in gymnastics, their skills and confidence in exploring apparatus develop well. The good range of equipment available to pupils at playtimes encourages physical activity and makes a positive contribution to the development of pupils' co-ordination skills and general fitness.

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The school's results and achievements

15. In other subjects pupils generally make satisfactory progress towards their termly objectives but these cover only narrow aspects of each subject.

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Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development

16. All pupils show a keen interest in the activities presented to them and co-operate positively with the adults with whom they work. They listen carefully and work independently during their planned individual programmes. All pupils make satisfactory progress in developing their ability to sustain concentration. They have very positive attitudes to learning, and are generally calm and happy. The pupils behave well and enjoy the successes they achieve.

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Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development

17. Relationships between the pupils and all staff members are very good. Staff know their pupils well and adopt suitable individual approaches in improving their behaviour and attention. Behaviour guidelines are consistently applied and have a positive effect on the pupils' development. The pupils make good progress in their personal development, although currently there are insufficient opportunities for them to work as a part of larger groups. This limits their social development. During the inspection the pupils joined in a suitable range of social activities at breaktimes, lunchtimes and during sessions for physical development, although their interaction with adults was more common than interaction with their peers. When the pupils are given opportunities to work with other children, it has a positive effect . For example, one pupil who is included at a local primary school for a session each week joined in a playground game with a mainstream pupil. On his return to the

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Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development

school, insufficient attempts were made to continue this development.

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Pupils' attitudes, values and personal development

18. The school provides a safe environment in which all pupils are able, with close adult support, to build their confidence and develop some aspects of independence. The pupils' progress is strongly encouraged and frequently rewarded. All staff are quick to recognise and respond when the pupils' attention fades or they are distracted by other activities. As a result they are seldom allowed to fail or reinforce inappropriate responses. Should they become distressed, there is a consistent application of suitable, clear, well-understood and sensitively managed support, which quickly restores calm. This practice is a most positive aspect of the school.

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Attendance

19. The pupils enjoy coming to school and they are rarely absent. The school maintains accurate attendance registers. Many children live a considerable distance away from the school but they arrive punctually, are eager to get into class and quickly settle into the familiar routines.

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How well are pupils or students taught?

20. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall, with some good aspects. During the inspection 90% of teaching was satisfactory or better, 40% was good or better and a small number of sessions were very good. Staff have a very good knowledge and understanding of the pupils and develop strong relationships with them. They apply the school's agreed teaching strategies effectively and the very structured, individual programmes are taught well.

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How well are pupils or students taught?

21. All staff have an enthusiastic, encouraging approach, giving pupils plenty of praise as they successfully work towards their objectives. There is a highly consistent approach in each classsroom. Staff are firm yet encouraging and they reinforce their expectations well. The pupils are familiar with the well-established routines and as a result feel safe and make steady progress, especially in their behaviour and their readiness to learn.

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How well are pupils or students taught?

22. Lessons start promptly and continue at a good pace. Pupils' progress towards their objectives is recorded constantly and meticulously. However, at times the focus on detailed recording prevents staff from concentrating fully on the pupil's answer. As a result opportunities to use these responses to further develop the pupils' learning are lost.

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How well are pupils or students taught?

23. Teaching staff spend most of each day working with individual pupils on their programmes. They have a patient approach and persevere with the prescribed tasks, constantly reinforcing the importance of appropriate sitting and looking. Questioning is constant and helps to sustain the pupils' concentration. However, only a narrow range of teaching strategies is used and too few opportunities are provided for pupils to develop their speaking skills. Sometimes the tasks are unstimulating and the range and quality of resources used are limited. There is little emphasis on learning through investigation or on using ICT to extend pupils' knowledge and understanding. The focus on the very structured and prescribed individual programmes means that at times teaching staff miss opportunities to extend the breadth and depth of pupils' learning.

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How well are pupils or students taught?

24. Teaching was most effective in the small number of lessons where staff extended pupil's understanding of language effectively through discussion. This enabled one pupil to make very good gains in his acquisition of language relating to facial features. In a few situations staff deviated from the prescribed programme as a result of the pupil's response. This too was successful in holding the pupil's attention and in extending his learning. In a music and movement lesson there was a very good emphasis on encouraging pupils to work together. The well-chosen music and the simple but appropriate step patterns, combined with the tremendous enthusiasm from staff, resulted in pupils holding hands and performing a group dance. The pupils were engrossed in the actions and demonstrated real enjoyment as they danced together in their circle. In most lessons there is not enough emphasis on encouraging pupils to communicate and co-operate with each other in

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How well are pupils or students taught?

25. Staff are confident in their knowledge and understanding of the principles of the agreed teaching system and as a result they teach the programmes well. However, they are less secure in the teaching of literacy and numeracy, and in the requirements of the National Curriculum. This impacts on pupils' learning across the wider curriculum.

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How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

26. The school has improved the breadth of its curriculum since the last HMI visit. Further development is now required in particular, to ensure the inclusion of more relevant aspects of the National Curriculum as required by the pupils' statements of special educational need. Although there is an adequate amount of time allocated to the various subject areas, only a limited range of activities is offered. There are particular restrictions in the opportunities for the pupils to participate in a sufficiently broad range of literacy and numeracy activities. There are also insufficient links between individual activities and the pupils are not given enough opportunities to build and reinforce their skills in a meaningful way across the range of National Curriculum subjects.

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How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

27. In general, the activities presented have been carefully selected to support the pupils needs and to ensure that they are well motivated. In the course of the individually tailored programmes, the pupils work intensely with teaching staff and make sound progress. However, the fragmented activities are not consolidated into coherent schemes for each subject. The staff have only a limited understanding of the National Curriculum and the related national strategies. Currently insufficient attention is given to the sequential development of specific skills and understanding, particularly in literacy and numeracy. The appointment of a qualified teacher next term should improve this situation.

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How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

28. Currently, the senior managers have direct responsibility for curriculum planning. This enables teaching staff to give more attention to supporting and monitoring the pupils' progress, liaising with parents and maintaining the day to day classroom organisation. However, teaching staff are not sufficiently involved in planning. As a result they miss too many opportunities for linking the activities together more meaningfully and in extending the pupils' existing knowledge and skills.

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How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

29. Good use is made of the local environment and wider community to broaden the curriculum. The pupils learn to swim in a local pool, they borrow books and toys during visits to the library and practise their skills in handling money by making purchases at the supermarket or the garden centre. Some pupils learn to horse ride and all pupils make use of the facilities in a nearby community hall during their dance and physical activity sessions. These activities make a very important contribution to pupils' personal and social development.

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How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

30. The school has developed some links with local primary schools and one pupil currently spends one morning each week at a local school. Other opportunities for the pupils to mix with their peers in other schools are limited. The response to the parents' questionnaire indicated that a few parents would like the school to offer more opportunities for their children to meet other pupils.

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How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

31. The school's provision for the pupils' spiritual, social and cultural development is sound. The provision for the pupils' moral development is good. The school values each pupil's progress, celebrates their successes and works hard to raise their self-confidence and independence. Opportunities to share and take turns are carefully planned and sound use is made of stories, music and art to develop the pupils' cultural understanding. The school is very successful in supporting the pupils' personal development. Staff work closely with parents to ensure that a common and co- ordinated approach is adopted. There are clear policies to support this good practice.

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How well does the school care for its pupils?

32. The school provides a very high standard of care for its pupils. All staff know the pupils well, have a thorough knowledge of their needs and a conscientious approach to their welfare. This is reflected in the positive, shared ethos of the school, which ensures that the pupils are able to work in a safe, secure and watchful environment. The school fulfils its health and safety responsibilities effectively. All staff are properly trained in safety matters and carry out risk assessments rigorously. The staff deal with accidents, first aid, challenging behaviour and fire precaution and prevention matters efficiently and keep appropriate records. The designated person responsible for child protection monitors issues effectively and ensures that all staff are kept up to date. The pupils' welfare is a priority of all who are involved with the school.

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How well does the school care for its pupils?

33. Teaching staff constantly and meticulously assess and record the pupils' progress towards their specific objectives. The assessment of the progress the pupils make in improving their behaviour is very detailed and the information is used well to develop individual guidelines and further improve behaviour. However, the arrangements for monitoring the pupils' academic progress, especially in literacy and numeracy, are less rigorous. Currently little reference is made to National Curriculum levels but the school intends to review this as it develops the whole curriculum. The existing procedures for monitoring and recording pupils' progress in each subject area are not yet sufficiently developed to ensure that links between the skills that the pupils have acquired are fully understood and built upon.

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How well does the school work in partnership with parents?

34. The school has established strong links with parents and carers and works closely with them to support their children's progress. Almost all parents and carers are pleased with the education their children receive and feel that the school communicates with them well.

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How well does the school work in partnership with parents?

35. There is daily communication with parents and carers through a home-school book and at the start and end of each day when some parents bring and collect their children. Parents respond regularly through the contact book. They provide information about any special activities undertaken at weekends and any sleeping, eating or behaviour difficulties. This helps maintain the close link between home and school and contributes to pupils' good progress in their personal development. Termly meetings are held to discuss pupils' progress, individual education plans are given to parents and evening sessions are held at which parents learn more about the school's agreed teaching system. Most parents find these very useful. Annual review meetings are attended by all parents or carers.

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How well does the school work in partnership with parents?

36. The parents actively support the school. School performances are well attended and parents give up their time to raise additional funds for the school.

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How well is the school led and managed?

37. The leadership and management of the school are sound overall, with some good features. Rapid progress has been made over the last three years in setting up and developing the school. This development has been well managed by the executive headteacher and the governing body. The day-to-day organisation and management are good. Useful policies have been established effectively and all members of that team are committed to the further development of the school.

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How well is the school led and managed?

38. The governing body supports the executive headteacher well. Some governors regularly attend school and monitor the quality of teaching and learning. The new chair of governors offers good expertise to the school and is well aware of its current strengths and weaknesses. The school development plan includes appropriate targets aimed at improving the quality of the provision. This plan outlines development over the next few years but it is not currently linked to finance.

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How well is the school led and managed?

39. The administrative assistant deals efficiently with day-to-day financial matters in collaboration with the headteacher. A governor and the treasurer provide advice and expertise on all financial matters.

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How well is the school led and managed?

40. There is a good number of staff; the ratio is one adult to each child. All staff are following training and almost half are already qualified in the agreed teaching system. Each class team is led by a qualified member of staff and monitored by the Director of Education. Staff have a good knowledge of the agreed teaching system and they are committed to extending this knowledge further. This knowledge and commitment, combined with the thorough system of monitoring teaching and learning, results in effective teaching of the individual structured programmes. However, staff have had very little training in the National Curriculum or related national strategies; consequently, they have only limited knowledge and understanding of these areas. This has an adverse effect on pupils' progress across a range of subjects.

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How well is the school led and managed?

41. Currently there are no qualified teachers on the staff. The governing body and heateacher are committed to employing two qualified teachers yet, despite their best efforts, they have been unable to recruit a teacher for this term. The lack of a qualified teacher is restricting the progress the school makes in developing a broad curriculum that incorporates the parts of the National Curriculum necessary to meet the requirements stated on pupils' statements of special educational need. A qualified teacher has been appointed for next term and it is hoped that another can be appointed to start at the beginning of the following term.

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How well is the school led and managed?

42. The accommodation is satisfactory overall, although space for creative activities when classes are combined, is limited. Good use is made of local facilities, such as for dance and gymnastics. There is sufficient outdoor space and this is shortly to be improved when new, large climbing apparatus is installed. There are adequate resources for teaching and a good range of interesting resources is available at playtimes. These encourage pupils to participate in physical activities. These times are enjoyed by pupils and make an important contribution to their physical development.

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What should the school do to improve further?

43. In order to improve further the quality of education provided and the progress made by the pupils the school should:

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What should the school do to improve further?

o recruit teachers with the expertise to take responsibility for developing a broad curriculum alongside the structured, individual programmes (paragraphs 10, 11, 12, 15, 26, 27, 28, 41); o improve the quality of teaching to include a wider range of teaching strategies, especially in literacy and numeracy (paragraphs 9, 23, 27); o ensure all staff develop their knowledge and understanding of the National Curriculum and associated initiatives (paragraphs 25, 28, 40); o increase the opportunities for pupils to develop their ICT skills (paragraphs 12, 23); o develop the assessment procedures so that staff have a more accurate understanding of the pupils' achievement across the whole curriculum (paragraphs 33); o provide more opportunities throughout the school day for pupils to work and play together (paragraphs 17, 24).

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of lessons observed 27 Total number of hours 21 Number of discussions with staff, other adults and pupils 8

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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.

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Year Boys Girls Total

1 0 0 0 2 2 0 2 3 2 0 2 4 1 0 1 5 2 1 3 6 1 0 1

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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 9 White 0 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.

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Pupil mobility in the last school year No. of pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 1 Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 0

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Total % Years R-6 Years 7-11

Authorised absence 5.6 5.6 0.0 Unauthorised absence 0.0 0.0 0.0

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Total % Years R-6 Years 7-11

Percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year.

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2002 2 0 2

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Teachers and classes

Number of qualified teachers (FTE*) 0 Number of unqualified teachers (FTE*) 9 Number of pupils per teacher 1.0 Average class size 3

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Deployment of teachers

Percentage of time teachers spend in contact with classes 100%

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Private None

Hampshire LEA 1 Hillingdon LEA 1 Kensington and Chelsea LEA 1 Richmond LEA 1 Surrey LEA 4 Wokingham LEA 1

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(£)

Basic budget Grants Income from facilities and services 217,000 309,750

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(£)

Donations/private funds 15,000 54,000 Other income Total income 232,000 383,750 Income per pupil 29,000 33,000

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Questionnaire return rate

Number of questionnaires sent out 9 Number of questionnaires returned 8

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Agree Disagree

I am happy with the school my child attends. 7 1 I think this school meets my child's special educational needs. 7 1 I believe that the school helps me to understand what my child is taught. 7 1

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Agree Disagree

I think that the school keeps me well informed about my child's progress. 7 1

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Agree Disagree

I am happy with the standards of behaviour at this school. 7 1 I believe that this school helps my child have positive attitudes to school work. 7 1

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Agree Disagree

I believe that this school helps my child to mix well with other children. 6 2

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Agree Disagree

I believe that this school promotes the personal and social development of my child. 7 1

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Agree Disagree

I think that this school prepares my child for the next stage of education and training. 7 1

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Agree Disagree

I feel supported by the school. 7 1 I feel that my child is safe at this school. 7 1 I believe my child likes this school. 7 1

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Summary of responses

Parents are very happy that Jigsaw School is available to them. They feel that the structured programmes and individual support that each child receives helps them to make good progress, especially in their social development. Parents are fully aware of pupils' long term objectives and receive communication from staff on a daily basis. They find the parents' education evenings very helpful as they help parents to understand what is being taught and how.

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Summary of responses

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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