Chelsea Community Hospital School

CHELSEA CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL SCHOOL

LEA area: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

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CHELSEA CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 11 th – 13 th November 2002

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CHELSEA CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL SCHOOL

Short inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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CHELSEA CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 1

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Special – Hospital School

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: c/o Chelsea and Westminster Hospital 369 Fulham Road London

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs Ann Gilbert

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 8 th – 12 th December 1997 Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 2

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Team members

21737 Alistair J M Bates Registered inspector 9563 Jeanette Reid Lay inspector 1458 Valerie Hider Team inspector 10449 Rowland Hull Team inspector

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Team members

PPI Group Ltd 7 Hill Street Bristol BS1 5RW

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Team members

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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Team members

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 3

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 4 - 7

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Chelsea Children’s Hospital School comprises four main teaching departments for nursery and school age children. The schools at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and at the Royal Brompton Hospital provide for children of all ages who are receiving treatment at the hospitals. The Cheyne Centre provides education for pupils from age 2 to 7 with profound and complex learning disabilities. Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit provides education for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and psychiatric illnesses. The school provides education for some post-16 students and young adults although the nature of the illnesses of these students mean that this provision was not inspected.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Chelsea Children’s Hospital School is a highly effective school. Pupils achieve very well despite their medical conditions. Pupils with special educational needs or those pupils for whom English is an additional language also achieve very well. Teaching is very good in all parts of the hospital school with high expectations for learning and personal development. The headteacher provides excellent leadership and is very well supported by her senior management team and governing body. The school provides excellent value for money.

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What the school does well

• Standards of achievement are very good. The children and pupils achieve very well in relation to their prior attainment. • Pupils’ learning and attitudes to work are excellent. Children and pupils, who often have highly complex medical needs enjoy learning and working hard. • The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils and they make excellent progress. • Teaching is very good. • The pupils’ work is very well planned to ensure that it meets their individual needs. • Very good links with parents and other schools. • The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team, governing body and all staff share a common vision for the benefit of the pupils. • The school has an excellent ethos of high standards and high expectations.

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What could be improved

• The classroom accommodation at both the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and at the Royal Brompton Hospital remains unsatisfactory. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the action plan prepared by the appropriate authority.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was previously inspected in December 1997 and has made considerable improvements since then. The adoption of the National Literacy Strategy, National Numeracy Strategy and Key Stage 3 National Strategy has brought improved structure to lessons and the pupils’ work is directly linked to that being studied in their mainstream schools. The school is making very good use of new technology to support teaching, learning and the personal development of the pupils, for example in developing an excellent web-site. Other strengths such as the provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development remain outstanding features. The school has been involved in national initiatives including the Healthy Schools initiative and has recently been awarded Beacon School status for leading national training and sharing its expertise with other hospital schools. The accommodation issues raised in the

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

last report have not been rectified although the school and governing body have made considerable efforts to improve in this area. Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 5

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STANDARDS

The table summarises inspectors’ judgements about how well pupils achieve in relation to their individual targets by the time they leave the school.

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R 6 11

speaking and listening B A A very good A

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R 6 11

Mathematics B A A unsatisfactory D personal, social and health education B A A poor E Other personal targets set at annual reviews or in IEPs* B A A

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R 6 11

* IEPs are individual education plans for pupils with special educational needs.

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R 6 11

Due to the complex nature of the admissions to the school it is not possible for the school to set long- term national targets. It is not therefore possible to make judgements on the progress of groups of pupils over long periods of time. However, teacher and pupil records show that pupils achieve very well towards the targets in their curriculum or individual education plans during their admission to the school. Children under five at the Cheyne Centre make good progress in their learning and personal development. Their progress is better when they are taught by staff from the hospital school.

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R 6 11

School aged pupils achieve very well in communication, literacy, numeracy and in the use of information and communication technology. They make very good gains in their knowledge and understanding in all the subjects of the National Curriculum. This achievement results from the impact of very good teaching, excellent attitudes and relationships and the good organisation of the curriculum. Pupils at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit with severe social, emotional and behavioural difficulties make very good progress in learning to manage their own behaviour and this enables very good learning to take place. Pupils with special educational needs and pupils for whom English is an additional language make very good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Excellent. Pupils are very keen to work, despite their medical conditions and apply themselves very well to their tasks. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. The behaviour of pupils at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, the Royal Brompton Hospital and Cheyne Centre is excellent. Pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit behave very well most of the time. Personal development and relationships Excellent. Pupils are aware of the medical conditions of other pupils and are very supportive. Relationships with adults are excellent and the pupils gain significantly in confidence. Attendance No judgement made as attendance is not compulsory.

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Aspect Comment

Although not required to attend the school and despite their serious medical conditions, the children and pupils have very positive attitudes to their learning and school work. The pupils behave very well and work throughout the lessons, often showing considerable perseverance. The behaviour of the pupils at the hospital sites is excellent. The pupils at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit behave very well most of the time and are beginning to learn to manage their own behaviour. Due to their social, emotional and Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 6 behavioural difficulties there are times when individuals do not settle to their work. These situations are generally well managed, allowing the pupils to overcome their immediate difficulties and make progress.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 aged 5-11 aged 11-16

Lessons seen overall Good Very Good Very Good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 aged 5-11 aged 11-16

All teaching observed was at least satisfactory or better. In over half the lessons (55 per cent) teaching was very good or excellent. It was good or better in nearly 90 per cent of lessons. The strengths of teaching are the high expectations of all teachers, the high quality of planning, the organisation of the lessons and the use of individual plans. The National Literacy Strategy, National Numeracy Strategy and Key Stage 3 National Strategy are implemented very well and the teaching in these areas is very good. Personal, social and health education is very well taught particularly at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit. The quality of planning and the knowledge of individual strengths and weaknesses mean that the teachers are able to deal very effectively with the wide range of pupil attainment in their lessons.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 aged 5-11 aged 11-16

The children and pupils’ learning is very good. Pupils are made aware of the targets for each lesson and this enables them to make judgements about their own progress. The pupils at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit identify how well they have behaved at the end of the lesson and are beginning to consider how they might deal with difficult situations.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The school provides a broad, balanced curriculum. This is well planned to ensure that all pupils who are admitted receive good teaching and learning opportunities. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language The school makes very good provision for pupils with English as an additional language. Many staff are fluent in a range of languages and the school uses other support services effectively to ensure that pupils can participate in learning. Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural, development The provision for all aspects of pupils’ personal development is excellent. The curriculum provided for the arts, music and cultural development is outstanding.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school provides very high quality care for its pupils with a very clear understanding of the nature of the pupils’ illnesses.

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Aspect Comment

The school curriculum is very well planned to provide a structure for the teaching. The curriculum is then well adapted to meet the changing needs of the pupil population. Where possible the curriculum provided to individual pupils is directly linked to that in their home schools. School staff are very sensitive to the medical and personal needs of the children and pupils. Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 7

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher provides excellent leadership and ensures that all members of the school share a commitment to high standards of education and pupil support. She is very well supported by the other members of the senior management team. How well the appropriate authority fulfils its responsibilities The governing body has a very good awareness of the issues facing the school and provides very good support for its work.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school has established effective systems for monitoring its performance including ongoing review of pupils’ outcomes and their need for ongoing support once they leave hospital. The strategic use of resources The school uses its funds excellently to ensure that it provides a high quality of education. It also successfully raises funds for additional projects such as improvements to the accommodation.

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Aspect Comment

The headteacher’s vision and commitment to high standards and equal opportunities underpins the entire ethos of the school and ensures that all members of the school community are well supported. This commitment is based on the principle that all children and pupils should have access to appropriate educational and other opportunities. The school evaluated its own performance and applies the principles of best value well in its work.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Parents feel that the school provides high standards of education and care. • They feel that the teaching provided is very good. • They feel that the leadership and management of the school is very good. • Parents feel that the school makes very good efforts to work with other schools to help their children to return successfully. • The parents welcome the flexibility that the school applies to ensure that the pupils can make progress. • They feel very able to approach the school with a problem. • Parents recognise the limitations in the accommodation at the Chelsea and Westminster and Royal Brompton Hospitals.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The findings of the inspection confirm the positive views of parents. The school has made considerable efforts (as yet unsuccessful) to improve the limitations in the accommodation. Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 8

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ADDITIONAL CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION

1. The pupils at Chelsea Children’s Hospital School can be admitted to any of the four hospital sites for a range of time. This includes short stay admissions, long-term admissions (defined by the school as being over ten days) and recurrent admissions, where pupils are readmitted during periods of medical treatment. The nature of these admissions means that whole school performance information is not available for a period of time. Therefore judgements in the report are based on the standards achieved by the pupils on roll at the time of the inspection. This includes:

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ADDITIONAL CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION

• pupils at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital who have been on roll for between one day and up to four months including those who are readmitted on a recurrent basis; • pupils at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit who have been on roll for between six weeks and up to a year, with an average stay of four months; • pupils at the Royal Brompton Hospital who have been on roll between one day and three months. The majority of pupils have had many admissions due to their medical conditions; and • children up to the age of seven who have been admitted to the Cheyne Centre for periods up to five years.

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ADDITIONAL CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION

2. Due to the nature of the pupils’ admissions, their medical conditions and special educational needs it is not possible to make judgements in relation to national averages or expectations, in or at the end of key stages. Judgements on standards of achievement are based on evidence of pupils’ previous attainment or information in their individual education plans.

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Standards of achievement are very good. The children and pupils achieve very well

3. Children under five and pupils of all ages achieve very well in relation to their prior attainment. Boys and girls achieve equally as well. Pupils with special educational needs or who speak English as an additional language achieve very well. The very good achievement of the children and pupils is the result of very good teaching, very good planning understanding of pupils’ needs and the positive attitudes and behaviour of the children and pupils.

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Standards of achievement are very good. The children and pupils achieve very well

4. The children at the Cheyne Centre make good progress in all areas of their development despite their profound and complex learning disabilities. They begin to develop their awareness of themselves and others through group lessons, for example, responding to their names and familiar sounds when they arrive in the morning. They develop their communication skills when attending to individual members of staff and in response to sounds. For example, in an excellent lesson, led by the poet-in-residence the children responded very well to the range of different sounds provided such as a drum and particularly to the rhythm of the poetry. The children develop their literacy skills in their work on computers where they use a range of switches to make things happen on the computer.

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Standards of achievement are very good. The children and pupils achieve very well

5. Pupils in Key Stage 1 and 2 achieve very well in literacy and numeracy. Key Stage 1 pupils at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital School are able to identify characters in fiction and describe the events from stories. A group of Key Stage 2 pupils at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit were able to rewrite a scene from a story and act the parts of the different characters. In numeracy, Key Stage 1 pupils at Collingham Gardens identify the importance of place value and decompose numbers into hundreds, tens and units.

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Standards of achievement are very good. The children and pupils achieve very well

6. Pupils in Key Stages 3 and 4 achieve very well in literacy and numeracy following the implementation of the Key Stage 3 National Strategy. In a literacy lesson at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit, pupils with special educational needs identify the sounds of different groups of Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 9 letters and recall and use the rule for spelling the present participle of words such as “make” becoming “making”. In mathematics, pupils understand a variety of ways to present information including information in diagrams.

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Standards of achievement are very good. The children and pupils achieve very well

7. Pupils in all key stages achieve very well in the core subjects of science and information and communication technology. Although individual targets are not set, they make very good progress in the foundation subjects, particularly art and music. The pottery lessons at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit allow pupils to develop their creativity while basing their work on examples from other cultures.

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Standards of achievement are very good. The children and pupils achieve very well

Pupils’ learning and attitudes to work are excellent.

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Standards of achievement are very good. The children and pupils achieve very well

8. The pupils show very positive attitudes to their schooling despite their complex medical conditions. At Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties are aware of the need to make the most of their opportunities. They are generally attentive to the teachers, follow instructions well and complete the work that has been set. In the discussions at the end of the lessons they are beginning to evaluate their work and progress. At the Royal Brompton Hospital pupils manage to work very well despite the limitations of the accommodation where the two different age group classes share the same room. They concentrate well and work throughout the session. In a geography lesson, the sister of a pupil who was currently admitted, worked well with the teacher identifying different types of climate and weather. She also helped a much younger pupil who was spending his first day at school. Pupils at Chelsea and Westminster

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Standards of achievement are very good. The children and pupils achieve very well

Hospital work very well throughout the lesson, showing considerable perseverance, for example, a pupil working on the same material as the remainder of the group while confined to her bed. Children with profound and complex learning disabilities attending the Cheyne Centre make very good progress in their personal development, becoming more aware of themselves and others.

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Standards of achievement are very good. The children and pupils achieve very well

9. The pupils’ behaviour is very good overall. At the Royal Brompton Hospital and the Cheyne Centre it is excellent. At both Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital there are a number of pupils with severe emotional and behavioural difficulties. These pupils behave very well most of the time, following instructions and working well with each other. There have been no exclusions. Pupils at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit learn to review their own behaviour at the end of lessons and listen to the constructive criticism offered by the teachers. In an excellent literacy session, a pupil who had been in considerable difficulties earlier in the day was able to offer fair advice to resolve a disagreement between two other pupils. In a very small number of lessons individual pupils were unable to settle to their work but generally responded well to the support offered.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

10. The provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. This was the case at the time of the last inspection and the school has continued to develop its programme of events and its personal, social and health education programme.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

11. The pupils’ spiritual development is enhanced by regular observation of the festivals of different faiths. Specialist rooms at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital such as the chapel and sanctuary are used well to meet with parents or for quiet times. The teaching of the specialist teachers in art, music and poetry provide many opportunities for children to express their feelings and these are shown in the high quality artwork and poetry that they produce. Several books have been published and an exhibition of the children’s artwork is touring the country.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

12. The full programme at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit provides very good opportunities for developing the pupils’ moral and social development. The school day is preceded by an opportunity for the community to celebrate its successes. During the inspection, an assembly focused on the work of a pupil who was about to return to his home school. Other pupils offered positive comments about the quality of his work, particularly his art and pottery work, and he was Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 10 able to explain how the work had been completed. Pupils also work well together in a weekly “Circle Time”. The pupils participated fully in the activities and these promoted their co-operation, self-discipline and teamwork. The school has an effective means for dealing with personal or prejudicial remarks; a meeting of all the pupils and adults is called and the incident is discussed fully.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

13. The provision for the pupils’ cultural development is outstanding. Much of this results from the work of the specialist teachers described above. However, all programmes of study include work about other nationalities, faiths and beliefs. The pupils’ cultural development is supported by the range of outside activities, links with other schools and a climate where creativity is actively encouraged.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

14. Teaching is very good at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, the Royal Brompton Hospital and Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit. It is good at the Cheyne Centre. There was no unsatisfactory teaching during the inspection and teaching was good or better in nearly nine-tenths of lessons. It was very good or better in over half of the lessons. The teaching of communication, literacy, numeracy and of pupils for whom English is an additional language is very good.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

15. The key features of the very good teaching are the use of information about the pupils, the high expectations of teachers and the quality of planning. Teachers make very good use of a range of resources, particularly information and communication technology.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

16. When pupils are initially admitted to the school, teachers make contact with the child’s home school as soon as is practical. They try to obtain relevant information such as the pupil’s level of attainment and current targets. This enables them to produce an individual plan, known as a “curriculum plan” to ensure that the teaching provided is relevant. For example, in a very good numeracy lesson for Key Stage 1 pupils at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit, the initial activity related directly to the work the children had been following in their mainstream schools. The initial and group activities built upon the pupils’ knowledge of place value and the final task enabled the pupils’ progress to be identified and recorded.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

17. Teachers on all the different sites have high expectations of the pupils’ work and behaviour. In a very good pottery lesson at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit, the teacher had a list of key- words related to the task, the construction of a model shrine. As the pupils completed their clay models, they were encouraged to use the correct terms and also to use a range of reference materials to identify the purpose and features of shrines. The pupils at the end of the lesson identified their own progress in the lesson, both in their learning and their behaviour and were able to give and receive constructive criticism. All teachers share the lesson targets with the pupils at the beginning of the lesson and emphasise new ideas or vocabulary.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

18. Teachers keep very good records of the pupils’ work and progress. These are used to devise the individual curriculum plans that inform future teaching. This information is particularly well used in literacy and numeracy lessons. For example, in a lesson at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, a pupil with profound and complex learning disabilities used a touch-screen on the computer to control the events in a story. She began to anticipate events and was enthusiastic when the program responded to her action. The staff working with her recorded her progress and this was used to provide valuable information to a new support worker who would help her when she was discharged from hospital.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

19. The teachers’ planning is comprehensive. As detailed below, the teachers plan a long-term programme so that the work has a structure that is similar to the curriculum in the pupils’ home schools. However, they have to adapt this planning to the individual pupils who actually attend. Given the wide age-range in the groups this can mean that although all pupils are working on similar materials, they are doing so at very different levels. The teachers therefore adapt their planning accordingly. For example, in a very good science lesson at the Royal Brompton Hospital, one pupil who had been attending for some time worked independently to solve equations related to measuring work. Another pupil, readmitted to the hospital for treatment studied similar material Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 11 while judging her own knowledge and understanding. A third, newly admitted, pupil was supported to continue work that had been provided by her own school. The teacher managed the group very

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

well, providing very good support and encouragement to individuals while carrying out detailed assessments of their progress.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

20. Teachers and support staff generally work well together. In an excellent literacy lesson at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit the teacher and support assistant worked very well together working with individual pupils, sharing their responses and making accurate judgements about the pupils’ individual progress.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

21. Teachers make very good use of information and communication technology to support teaching and learning. The children at the Cheyne Centre are provided with a wide range of switches to interact with computers and to control events. At Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit teachers use the Internet well to allow pupils to carry out research, for example for a planned visit using the Underground. The use of information and communication technology is being developed at the Royal Brompton Hospital. During the inspection, a group of pupils were able to video-conference with other children at Great Ormond Street Hospital to compose a poem.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

22. The school employs a number of specialists to enhance the curriculum and this teaching is very good. In the lesson using video-conferencing described above, the teacher, a poet, was able to support an pupil newly arrived from overseas who had little English. The group of children composed a poem based on her knowledge of numbers together with some Arabic names for everyday items. Children and pupils also achieve well in the arts and music when taught by the specialists.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

23. The teachers manage their lessons very well. Often they are unaware of which pupils may attend, particularly at the hospitals. Despite this, they adapt their planning to meet the needs of the individual pupils. They manage difficult behaviour well. When this is most effective, the teachers make the pupils aware of their expectation, dealing with difficulties as they arise and using praise and encouragement to help the pupils to make progress.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

24. On a small number of occasions (three lessons out of the 38 seen) individual pupils with complex behavioural difficulties were unable to settle and their behaviour became more difficult. It is the school policy that staff work through these difficulties, using other health authority staff to support individuals as necessary. Where the health authority workers became involved, the behaviour of the individual pupils was managed and did not interfere with the learning of the other pupils. However, when the behaviour was not as well managed, other pupils became distracted and although they completed the work that was set they were not as fully involved in their learning as in other lessons.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

25. The teaching of children of nursery and reception age at the Cheyne Centre is good overall. When the children were taught by school teaching staff, the teaching was very good with all the staff involved in supporting the children’s learning and working on specific skills with individual pupils. However, in a lesson when the health authority staff led the session, the main focus for learning was lost and the children did not make as much progress.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

The pupils’ work is very well planned to ensure that it meets their individual needs.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

26. Given the ever-changing nature of the school population the school has adopted a very good approach to planning. This is based on providing a long-term framework in each subject. This is then adapted to meet the experience, attainment and needs of the current pupils. The school is not required to teach all the National Curriculum programmes of study but tries very well to ensure that the work provided links directly with that being provided in the pupils’ home schools. Given the very wide geographical background of the pupils (particularly at the Royal Brompton Hospital and Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit) this is a considerable achievement and reflects the quality of the teaching and planning. Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 12 27. The schools’ curriculum has been enhanced by the adoption of the National Literacy Strategy, the National Numeracy Strategy and the Key Stage 3 National Strategy. This has enabled the

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

teachers to work within these common frameworks to ensure that the work that pupils undertake is directly relevant to the work they have in their home schools. 28. A significant number of pupils have special educational needs in addition to their medical conditions. The lessons are well planned to meet these individual needs. Once any child or pupil has been admitted for more than ten days the school provides an individual curriculum plan for the pupil. This includes targets in communication, literacy and numeracy. Specific targets are set in other subjects. Pupils at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit have individual behaviour targets. The pupil’s progress is then reviewed regularly until they are discharged. The communication, literacy and numeracy targets are very good being detailed and identify specific learning and attainment. The school’s own evaluation has identified that the targets for behaviour were

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

insufficiently detailed and more recent targets are more specific than those set in the past.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

29. The whole target setting process is based on accurate assessment and recording of progress. Teachers identify significant learning towards the lesson objectives at the end of each lesson. This information is then used effectively when targets are set or reviewed. The school provides very comprehensive reports to parents and home schools even after relatively short admissions. When a pupil has been in school for longer periods of time, the teachers visit the home school to provide information about the pupils’ attainment during their stay. This is particularly important when pupils are recurrent patients and was particularly valued by parents at the pre-inspection meeting.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

30. The provision for pupils for whom English is an additional language is very good, particularly considering the wide range of nationalities who attend the school, for example at the Royal Brompton Hospital. During the course of the inspection, a pupil was admitted who had very limited English. She was enabled to participate fully in a range of sessions including poetry and music. The teacher and support staff listened to her speak and used her own language and words for objects to encourage her confidence. As a result she began to use the English equivalent in her conversation. Many school staff are proficient in a large range of languages and the school makes good use of local interpreters.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

31. The curriculum provided for the children at the Cheyne Centre is very good. There is a good emphasis on developing the children’s communication skills and their personal and social development.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

32. The formal school curriculum is enhanced by a wide range of educational and cultural visits. The school makes good use of its location in Central London to visit a range of national institutions such as the Natural History and Science Museums, the National Gallery and historic buildings.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

The school has developed very good links with parents and other schools.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

33. The parents’ questionnaire and the pre-inspection parents’ meeting confirm that the school has developed a highly effective relationship with the parents. Parents commented how they were personally supported by the staff who are very approachable and “work tirelessly” for the benefit of the children. Specific support includes a weekly meeting for parents of pupils at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit. Parents indicated how this meeting helped them to manage difficult behaviour. Parents feel that the school not only provides an essential routine for their children when they are admitted to hospital but enhances this with the quality of teaching provided. They praised the links made between the hospital school staff and their children’s home schools and how this eased the pupils’ return to school.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

34. The school has developed excellent links with other schools. This includes schools in the local area but also hospital schools across different countries of Europe as part of the Comenius project. Several books of the children’s poetry have been published as a joint venture between the different schools. Information and communication technology is being used increasingly to develop further links in new areas. The school is committed to the Healthy Schools initiative and this is supporting links with other services. The school has an excellent web-site which includes contributions from all areas of the school community including pupils’ work, information for other Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 13 providers and useful links to a range of other support services. The pupils value their contributions to the site and the support of the staff to enable them to participate.

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The school makes excellent provision for the personal development of the pupils

35. The school has a detailed programme which is followed to try and reintegrate pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties into new placements. A multi-disciplinary programme of support is planned and co-ordinated by the school. This includes training of learning support staff and providing training for the staff at the receiving school. The school has recently employed a Connexions personal adviser to enhance this programme and forge links in complex cases. A further example is the support offered to pupils who return to school after major surgery. Teachers and other staff visit the receiving school talking to pupils and staff to enable them to understand how the returning pupil is feeling. This work fully incorporates the spirit of the new disability access requirements and illustrates the whole school ethos in action.

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

governing body and all staff share a common vision for the benefit of the pupils.

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

36. The headteacher provides outstanding leadership for the school. She has a very clear vision of the school as a national centre of excellence and this has led to the school being awarded “Beacon School” status. She ensures that her vision is shared by all members of the school community through regular contact with all staff on each of the sites. She demonstrates considerable personal commitment to all children and pupils and this is very much appreciated by pupils and parents alike. An example is the weekly parents’ group held at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit which enables parents to share their concerns about their children and be supported fully.

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

37. The headteacher is very well supported by the other members of the senior management team and the administrative staff. Each of the school sites is managed effectively while each member of the team has whole-school responsibility for the management of different areas of the school’s work such as Key Stages 1 and 2 or the Key Stage 3 National Strategy. The headteacher’s vision and commitment is echoed by other staff, for example each teacher is involved in the co-ordination of two subjects and this involves detailed planning.

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

38. The headteacher’s vision is shared through the excellent school development plan. This is based on a three year plan where different areas of the school are prioritised. National initiatives such as the National Literacy Strategy, National Numeracy Strategy and Key Stage 3 National Strategy are fully incorporated into the plan. When a subject is a priority the co-ordinators are required to produce a detailed implementation plan which includes leading training and other sessions for all school staff. All parts of the plan include detailed success criteria, procedures for monitoring and evaluation and detailed costs. A good example of development planning in action is the introduction of the Key Stage 3 National Strategy where detailed audits have been carried out of planning, teaching and what pupils know and understand. The co-ordinators have been very well supported by consultants from the local education authority. The introduction of the strategy has

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

had a positive impact on pupils’ achievement, for example there is an increased emphasis on pupils’ self-evaluation of their progress in lessons.

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

39. The headteacher and senior management team are very effective in monitoring and evaluating the schools’ performance. The statutory performance management of teachers has been fully implemented with objectives linked to the school development plan. There are weekly meetings to consider specific aspects of the plan. The school has effective methods for evaluating its own success including targets for the development of curriculum plans and individual education plans together with long-term studies of the reintegration process for children following their discharge from the hospitals or Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit.

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

40. The governing body provides excellent support and fully meets its statutory responsibilities and the guidance or requirements of DfES Circulars on the education of children with medical conditions. Several members of the governing body have specific areas of expertise such as accountancy or information and communications technology and they are fully involved in monitoring and Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 14 evaluating areas of the school’s development. The governing body follow the principles of Best Value and ensure that decisions take account of the benefits.

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

41. The school uses its resources well. Specific funds such as Standards Fund allocations are used to enhance areas of provision such as providing training and lap-top computers for teaching staff in order to support them in their work. The award of funds for Beacon School status has enabled the school to further develop its existing very good range of training for other hospital school staff and this has been very well received. The headteacher, school staff, governors and other friends of the school work very hard to gain additional funding for the school from a range of sources including national initiatives such as the Seed Challenge. Other fundraising has involved the Friends of Chelsea Children’s Hospital School which raises a considerable amount of money each year and specific donations, for example the Wooden Spoon Society supported the development of a new playground at Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit.

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

The school has an excellent ethos of high standards and high expectations.

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

42. The school community shares a common ethos of providing a high quality of education and commitment to learning. Children and parents are approached as soon as the child is admitted to hospital and offered the opportunity to talk to teachers and other staff. As a result, pupils are encouraged to attend the school and the majority take advantage of this opportunity.

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

43. Once in class, all teachers expect all children to participate in the learning at their own level. Pupils who are new to the school are given good support and encouragement and this encourages them to join in with the lessons and make progress.

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

44. This ethos of individual care and support is well exemplified by the new initiative for video- conferencing at the Royal Brompton Hospital. Here pupils with serious medical conditions often have to remain in isolation due to dangers of infection. The school has attracted considerable sums of charity funding to provide individual work stations for these pupils. This will be used to allow video-conferences to take place, enabling pupils to have contact with their peers.

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

45. A further example of the support that the school provides to its pupils is the development of a programme of support for young people over the school leaving age. Charity funds are used to employ a part-time teacher who works with these young people who are often chronically ill and in isolation. This support is highly valued by the young people, their parents and by the other hospital staff who welcome the range of experiences that are provided.

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The leadership of the headteacher is excellent. The senior management team,

46. Although the school is only officially open for the school year, the headteacher, other staff and friends continue to provide a programme of education, art and cultural development for children and pupils who remain in hospital. This work is supported by charity funds but much of the time is given as a result of the commitment and dedication of the school staff.

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The classroom accommodation at both the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and at

the Royal Brompton Hospital remains unsatisfactory.

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The classroom accommodation at both the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and at

47. The school has worked hard to try and improve its accommodation since the last inspection. It has used fund raising very effectively to improve the facilities at both Collingham Gardens Psychiatric Unit and at the Cheyne Centre. Information and communication technology facilities have been significantly improved including computer networks. However, at the two hospital sites there are still serious limitations to the accommodation. These are:

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The classroom accommodation at both the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and at

• The classroom at the Royal Brompton Hospital has been moved and now pupils of all ages are required to share a limited space which is divided into two classrooms. The rooms are very cramped meaning that pupils have limited areas in which to work. This situation is exacerbated by the need for pupils to bring medical equipment with them for example, a Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 15 computer has to be switched off to allow medical equipment to be plugged in. Specialist subject teaching has to take place in inadequate conditions, for example a music lesson had to take place in a small waiting room.

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The classroom accommodation at both the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and at

• The classrooms at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital are very small. As there is insufficient other storage space all the resources have to be stored in the classrooms and this reduces the space available for other activities.

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The classroom accommodation at both the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and at

• The space allocated for school administration is very limited and means that the headteacher, teachers and administration staff have to share facilities, for example the telephones when staff wish to contact parents or other schools. During the inspection, the management team of the hospital trust indicated that this situation would be remedied in the near future.

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The classroom accommodation at both the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and at

48. The inspection team identified a health and safety issue matter that was reported to the headteacher and governing body.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

49. The headteacher and governing body should continue to try and improve the accommodation available at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and at the Royal Brompton Hospital.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 47 – 48) Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 16

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 49

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very Good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents more than two percentage points.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Much of this data is not applicable due to the nature of the school and its pupils.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll 65 (Jan 02)

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals N/A

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language N/A

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 1095

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 905

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 17

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – any other White background 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – any other Black background 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

The table gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 11 Financial year 2002

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 5:1

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Total income 597870

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: Total expenditure 577700

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 4 Expenditure per pupil 9318

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 129 Balance brought forward from previous year 7700

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 27870 Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 18

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 1.8

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) .8

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 2

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Chelsea Children’s Hospital School - 19

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Percentage of responses in each category

Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 65 30 2 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 65 35 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 42 28 2 2 9

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 63 30 0 0 5

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 91 9 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 70 26 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 67 26 2 0 5

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 77 19 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 65 26 0 0 7

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 72 9 0 0 14

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Other issues raised by parents

Parents raised concerns about the quality of the accommodation.

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