Oakfield

This inspection was carried out under section 3 of the School Inspections Act 1996 and was deemed a section 10 inspection under the same Act

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Kingston upon Hull Education Authority

Dates of inspection: 12-13 July 2004 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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Kingston upon Hull Education Authority

Inspection reports are available on the Ofsted web site (www.ofsted.gov.uk).

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Basic information about the school

Address of school: Inglemire Lane Hull HU6 8JH

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Basic information about the school

Name and address of appropriate authority: The governing body, address as above

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Basic information about the school

Local education authority area: Kingston upon Hull

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Basic information about the school

Name of reporting inspector: Mr E Craven HMI

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Basic information about the school

Dates of inspection: 12-13 July 2004 Inspection Report Teskey-King School

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Introduction

1. Teskey-King School is situated in a northern, urban area of the city of Hull. The school is a co-educational, day special school. There are 109 pupils on roll, with twice as many boys than girls. The pupils live throughout the city and a few come from the surrounding area of the East Riding of Yorkshire. All the pupils have a Statement of Special Educational Need for moderate or severe learning difficulties, social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, or communication difficulties. The proportion of pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties is increasing and is now close to half. Most of the pupils are in Key Stages 3 and 4, with just under a fifth in Key Stage 2. There is one pupil in Key Stage 1. Nearly two thirds of the pupils are entitled to free school meals and seven are in public care. There are no pupils of non-British heritage. The school also manages an inclusion service of a teacher and two teaching assistants who support over 100 pupils in 40

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Introduction

primary schools and two secondary schools. The local education authority (LEA) plans to reorganise its special school provision and options for the future of the school are soon to be published. Lessons for the Year 11 pupils were not observed during the inspection as they had already left the school.

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Introduction

2. The school was inspected in May 2003. The inspection was critical of many aspects of the work of the school and the school was made subject to special measures because it was failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education.

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Introduction

3. The governors drew up an action plan to address the key issues from the inspection of May 2003. The school was visited by Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools (HMI) on three occasions to monitor the progress being made.

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Introduction

4. In July 2004 two HMI inspected the school, assessing the standard of education provided and the progress the school has made, in particular in relation to the main findings and key issues in the inspection report of May 2003.

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Main findings

5. In accordance with section 14 of the School Inspections Act 1996, I am of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures, since it is now providing an acceptable standard of education for its pupils. The main findings of the inspection are:

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Main findings

 standards are slowly rising although most of the pupils achieve below or well below what is expected for their ages. This is due to the pupils’ special educational needs and in some cases their chequered educational histories. With the exception of a small number of pupils who took mathematics and science tests at the end of Key Stage 3, no other pupils were entered for the national end-of-key stage tests. A significant number of Key Stage 4 pupils, however, did achieve externally accredited awards in a number of curriculum areas;

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Main findings

 in all the lessons the pupils’ learning was satisfactory; it was good in five and very good in five. Most of the pupils are making at least satisfactory progress against the targets in their individual educational plans and in their curriculum subjects, with a small number making very good progress; Inspection Report Teskey-King School

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Main findings

12-13 July 2004 Page 2  in 13 out of 16 lessons the pupils’ behaviour and attitudes were satisfactory or better, including seven where they were good and three where they were very good. However, a growing number of older pupils pose significant challenges because of their social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Overall, the school manages these pupils effectively. The school has responded well to the problems posed by the changing pupil population, and is striving hard, with modest success, to enlist the support of other services;

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Main findings

 despite the school employing a suitable range of strategies to promote good attendance, the pupils’ attendance, currently 84.1 per cent, is unsatisfactory;

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Main findings

 the provision for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. The tutor periods and a developing programme for personal, social and health education enable the pupils to learn about social and moral issues. The staff respect and care for the pupils well and there are positive relationships;

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Main findings

 the quality of teaching was satisfactory or better in all the lessons; three quarters were good or very good. There has been a steady improvement in the quality of teaching over the last year. The contribution of adults other than teachers is at least satisfactory and often good or very good;

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Main findings

 the curriculum is broad and balanced, and there are sound plans to make the Key Stage 4 curriculum better suited to the learners’ needs and interests. Good use is made of assessment data to modify the curriculum and track the progress the pupils make. Feedback to pupils on their progress is satisfactory. Targets, which are shared with parents as well as pupils, make clear what is required for future progress. Homework is not set consistently across the school;

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Main findings

 the leadership and management of the school are good overall. The headteacher provides good leadership and she is very well supported by the deputy headteacher. Other members of the senior leadership team have been varied in their effectiveness, but some have contributed significantly to recent improvements. The arrangements for school-self review, including the monitoring of lessons, are very good. There are effective policies and procedures for managing the school, and the staff have been successfully focused on school improvement. The governors are strongly led by the chair, who is well supported by a core of other governors. They have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and are holding the school appropriately to account;

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Main findings

 the LEA has provided a great deal of effective support for the school since it became subject to special measures. This has been generally well received and valued by the school. The LEA is rightly planning to continue to provide a high level of support for the school. The uncertainty over the future, in the light of the LEA’s planned reorganisation of special schools, has inevitably had a detrimental effect on staff morale. Inspection Report Teskey-King School

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Key issues

6. In order to improve the pupils’ quality of education further, the governors, headteacher, senior managers and staff need to:

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Key issues

 formulate and implement a strategic plan to address the changes emerging for the school following the LEA’s reorganisation of special schools and the changing population of pupils.

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Standards achieved by the pupils

7. Standards are slowly rising and the pace of improvement has recently increased. However, most of the pupils achieve generally below or well below what is expected for their ages. This is due to the pupils’ special educational needs and in some cases their chequered educational histories. No pupils were entered for the end-of-key-stage national tests in Year 2 or Year 6. In the 2004 end-of-Key Stage 3 tests in mathematics and science, six of the 24 eligible pupils took the tests and their provisional grades were at Level 3, below the expectations for their age. However, this is an improvement compared with the number of pupils who achieved Level 3 in 2003. Most of the other pupils were judged to be working below the level of the tests. Although no pupils were entered for GCSE examinations in 2004, a significant number of Key Stage 4 pupils did achieve externally accredited awards in a number of curriculum areas, including science, Spanish, sporting activities, vocational

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Standards achieved by the pupils

skills, and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

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Standards achieved by the pupils

8. In all the lessons the pupils’ learning was satisfactory or better; it was good in five and very good in five. Most of the pupils are making at least satisfactory progress against the targets in their individual educational plans and in their curriculum subjects, with a small number making very good progress. Where the pupils’ learning was very good they were enthused by the work set for them and were consequently attentive and focused on the tasks in hand. In a Key Stage 3 design and technology lesson, for example, the pupils designed and made simple pneumatic systems. They placed high value on their finished products, explained how their system worked, and learned to use a variety of tools with confidence and skill; one pupil used computer-aided design to record his finished artefact.

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The pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

9. The pupils’ behaviour and attitudes were very good in three lessons, good in seven, satisfactory in three, and unsatisfactory in three. The attitudes of the pupils to their learning were good overall and very good in Key Stages 1 and 2. A growing number of older pupils, notably in Key Stage 3, pose significant challenges because of their social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The school mostly manages these pupils effectively, but a small number of pupils impeded the learning of others. There were also a few instances of immature and silly behaviour in lessons and there was some inconsistency in how the staff dealt with these incidents. A tracking system generates useful data on the pupils’ behaviour, Inspection Report Teskey-King School

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The pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12-13 July 2004 Page 4 and is used well to measure the success of the school’s interventions. The school has responded well to the problems posed by the changing pupil population, and is striving hard, with modest success, to enlist the support of other services. Nevertheless, appropriate training has been undertaken and adjustments have been made to the curriculum to meet the needs of the pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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The pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

10. Behaviour around the school, during changes of lesson, and at breaks and lunchtime was satisfactory. The pupils were well supervised and, although there were a few instances of challenging behaviour, these were suitably managed by staff. The number of fixed-term exclusions is high and reflects the challenges faced by the school. In the last school year there were 99 fixed-term exclusions, although this has reduced to 82 in the current school year with 22 pupils being involved. The great majority of the exclusions relate to pupils in Key Stages 3 and 4 and are mainly in response to incidents of serious disruption and acts of aggression.

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The pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

11. Despite the school employing a suitable range of strategies to promote good attendance, the pupils’ attendance, currently 84.1 per cent, is unsatisfactory and is similar to the rate recorded for the previous year. The school works earnestly with the LEA’s education welfare service but the very poor attendance of a small number of pupils, some with significant emotional and psychological problems and histories of poor attendance, adversely affects the overall figures; six of the pupils had an attendance rate of less than 40 per cent.

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The pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. The provision for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. The tutor periods and a developing programme for personal, social and health education enable the pupils to learn about social and moral issues. Tutors know their pupils’ strengths and weaknesses and all of the staff demonstrate good respect and care for the pupils. The pupils are well supported. In their interactions with each other the staff model appropriate behaviour well. Visits and visitors are employed to extend the pupils’ experiences, knowledge and understanding. The school council is a useful vehicle for the pupils to contribute to developments and to help them learn about citizenship. There is a suitable range of lunchtime activities and the gardening club has created some very attractive areas around the school, which the pupils treat with respect.

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The quality of education

13. The quality of teaching was satisfactory or better in all the lessons; six lessons were good and six were very good. There has been a steady improvement in the quality of teaching throughout the time the school has been subject to special measures. The school has surpassed its target of having all teaching at least at a satisfactory level with 65 per cent good by the summer term 2004. Characteristics common to all the lessons included: sound planning; clear learning objectives; a range of teaching and learning strategies; and productive relationships between adults and pupils. The best lessons were taught with energy and enthusiasm, capturing and holding the interest of the pupils through activities that were well matched to their learning needs. Assessment was used as a basis for regular feedback to the pupils, helping them to improve. Good use was made of relevant resources in these lessons.

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The quality of education

Remaining weaknesses in the teaching include: unsuccessful management of behaviour; low expectations; and a failure to encourage the pupils to make their own attempts before providing help. Inspection Report Teskey-King School

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The quality of education

12-13 July 2004 Page 5 14. With the support of the LEA there has been a focus on improving the quality of the teaching through a mixture of training and lesson observations, including recent opportunities for the teachers to watch each other. This hard work has been successful and staff are now willing to share their experiences and are keen to improve further.

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The quality of education

15. The contribution of adults other than teachers to the quality of teaching is satisfactory and often good or very good. In most lessons they made helpful notes on the progress made by individual pupils, and they refocused pupils on the work in hand and initiated activities with small groups. These other adults related well to the pupils and in some cases, for example in an end-of-day tutor group session with a particularly challenging Key Stage 3 group, discussed things that the pupils had done wrong and what they might do to improve, with a good-humoured and interested response from the pupils. Recent training and sharing of good practice have been valued by teaching assistants, and the idea of an experienced teaching assistant acting as a mentor for new colleagues has been well received.

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The quality of education

16. It is too often the case, however, that adults provide the pupils with assistance before they have had an opportunity to try for themselves. Most pupils, for example, lack confidence in spelling but are expected to make their first attempt at the word on the piece of paper that is intended to be their final draft. This creates another obstacle for the pupils. Individual whiteboards, which the school has, are rarely made available for the pupils to practise the spelling. Many pupils do know how to spell with reasonable accuracy when encouraged to do so. The fact that they are not encouraged to do so perpetuates weaknesses in their writing and discourages both teachers and pupils from embarking on extended pieces of writing. This approach is also indicative of expectations that are too low on the part of some adults.

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The quality of education

17. Good use is made of assessment data to modify the curriculum and track the progress that the pupils make. Feedback to pupils on their progress and on individual pieces of work is given in a helpful manner. A range of symbols, stickers and logging of work covered and targets achieved enables pupils, when combined with good quality oral feedback, to understand what has been successful and what they could do next to improve. Some teachers deliberately write comments on the pupils’ work, telling them what they are writing even though the pupils may have difficulty in re-reading it later. This shows that the work is valued and provides the pupils with something that they will want to read. Targets, which are shared with parents as well as pupils, make clear what is required for future progress. Every pupil has an English and a mathematics target as well as the targets in their individual education plans. Recent termly reviews of assessment data are indicating that standards are

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The quality of education

rising at a more rapid rate than in the past.

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The quality of education

18. Homework is not set consistently across the school, although strenuous efforts are made in Key Stages 1 and 2 to involve the parents in supporting the pupils’ progress. In too many cases homework is written on the teachers’ plans and then not set.

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The quality of education

19. The curriculum has been audited to ensure that within subjects, as well as across them, there is breadth and balance. The primary curriculum is taught as separate subjects, but given coherence and meaning for the pupils through a theme that links different areas. For example, during the inspection the theme of houses and homes ran comfortably across most subjects, enabling the pupils to engage with their English, history or art work within a familiar context. There are plans to incorporate more vocational and life skills opportunities within Key Stage 4 next term, to suit the curriculum to the learners’ needs and interests. Inspection Report Teskey-King School

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The quality of education

12-13 July 2004 Page 6 Subjects that were identified as having weaknesses in the last inspection have been strengthened as subjects leaders are increasingly held to account, whilst also benefiting from advice from the LEA and visits to other schools. Approaches taken from the national strategies have been used to good effect, in the structure of lessons and in teaching styles. Lessons in personal, social and health education, which include citizenship, contribute powerfully to the curriculum by covering important topics in a sensible and sensitive manner; for example, older pupils were learning about contraception, safer sex and how to find help if necessary. Good and plentiful links with outside organisations and agencies strengthen the school’s curriculum.

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The quality of education

20. Many teachers had made or brought to school resources which supported the pupils well in their learning. In a Key Stage 3 English lesson, for instance, the teacher had filled one of her own bags with objects that were either precious or useful and the pupils were invited to select a random object from the bag and decide which category it fell into. This interesting task, coupled with the unexpectedness of the objects caught the pupils’ interest and supported their subsequent work well. The school has improved its range and use of resources in design and technology, personal, social and health education, and information and communication technology. The library is suitably stocked with age-appropriate material. Recent improvements to the internal and external environment have been beneficial, reflecting the school’s recently revised aims.

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Leadership and management

21. The leadership and management of the school are good overall. The headteacher provides good and indefatigable leadership and she is very well supported by the deputy headteacher. Other members of the senior leadership team have been varied in their effectiveness, but some have contributed significantly to recent improvements. The chairs of the assessment and curriculum teams, who are members of the senior team, are fulfilling these roles well. The headteacher and senior managers are rightly attending to their own professional development and have, ensured that their recent training has centred on school improvement.

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Leadership and management

22. The roles of the curriculum co-ordinators are clear. They are being guided in developing their middle management roles and the expectations of them are suitably high. Most carry out their responsibilities well while a few are receiving additional support.

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Leadership and management

23. The school reviews its own performance very well. A variety of strategies is used to monitor provision including scrutinised planning and work, data collection and analysis, and lesson observations with feedback to the teachers. There are effective policies and procedures for managing the school and the staff have been successfully focused on school improvement.

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Leadership and management

24. The governors are strongly led by the chair, who is well supported by a core of other governors, including two additional appointments by the LEA. The governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and some have a lead role on the key issues in the school’s action plan. The governing body is holding the school appropriately to account.

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Leadership and management

25. The senior leadership team and the governing body have sensibly begun to prepare an interim strategic plan to enable the school to move from its action plan to one which will include a response to local and national imperatives; the governors are suitably linked to each of the major thrusts in the new plan. Inspection Report Teskey-King School

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Leadership and management

12-13 July 2004 Page 7 26. The LEA has provided a great deal of effective support for the school since it became subject to special measures; recently this has also included financial help. This has been well co-ordinated by the school’s link adviser. Despite some early hitches, which necessitated adjustments, the support has generally been well received and valued by the school. The LEA’s personnel have varied their approach according to need; for example, advisers have provided coaching for individuals to complement whole-staff training. The LEA is rightly planning to continue to provide a high level of support for the school. The uncertainty over the future, in the light of the LEA’s planned re-organisation of special schools, has inevitably had a detrimental effect on staff morale. Nevertheless, the school has remained focused on school improvement and on adjusting its provision to meet the needs of

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Implementation of the action plan

27. The inspection report of May 2003 required the school to address six key issues. These related to: the effectiveness of the senior management team; the systematic monitoring of the work of the school; ensuring the effectiveness of the curriculum; improving the quality of teaching; improving assessment arrangements; and providing suitable resources for learning. There has been good progress in all of the issues.

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Implementation of the action plan

28. The headteacher has ensured that school improvement has been the paramount concern for the leadership and management. The roles of senior and middle managers are now well defined although the effectiveness of the senior managers is not uniform. The governing body has been strengthened by the appointment of two additional LEA-nominated members. The governors are well led by the chair and are operating as a critical friend to the school.

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Implementation of the action plan

29. The systems for monitoring and evaluating the school’s performance have been introduced successfully and are now well embedded in the school’s practice. Good use is made of data, and monitoring routinely features in management practices at all levels.

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Implementation of the action plan

30. The quality of teaching has improved significantly, with three quarters now being good or very good. The LEA’s training and support and programme of lesson observations have made a significant impact in the time the school has required special measures. The work of the teaching assistants has also improved. However, too much support is provided for pupils on occasion and the promotion of their independence is therefore hampered.

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Implementation of the action plan

31. The teachers’ skills in assessing the progress made by the pupils have developed and a portfolio of examples of work assessed at National Curriculum levels has been used to ensure teachers’ assessments are consistent. Good use is made of assessment data to measure the pupils’ progress, to determine appropriate teaching groups and to set targets for the pupils.

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Implementation of the action plan

32. Subjects that were identified as having weaknesses in the inspection in 2003 have been strengthened, and the curriculum is suitably broad and balanced. Provision for personal, social and health education is improving rapidly, and there are plans to make the programme for Key Stage 4 more relevant for the pupils. The school achieved a Healthy School Award in April 2004.

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Implementation of the action plan

33. The school has improved its range and use of resources and there have been some beneficial changes to the buildings. Inspection Report Teskey-King School

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Appendix – Information about the inspection

The school was inspected under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 by a Registered Inspector and a team of inspectors in May 2003. The inspection was critical of many aspects of the work of the school and, in accordance with that Act, the school was made subject to special measures because it was failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education.

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Appendix – Information about the inspection

The school was visited by HMI in December 2003, and in March 2004 to assess the progress it was making to implement its action plan and address the key issues in the inspection report of May 2003.

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Appendix – Information about the inspection

In July 2004, two HMI returned to inspect the school for two days. The inspection was carried out under section 3 of the School Inspections Act 1996, which gives Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools the authority to cause any school to be inspected. The inspection was also deemed a section 10 inspection under the same Act.

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Appendix – Information about the inspection

Sixteen lessons or parts of lessons and four registration sessions were inspected. The pupils were observed around the school and samples of their work were inspected. Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior staff, the chair of governors and a representative of the LEA; informal discussions were held with other staff and pupils. A wide range of the school’s documentation was scrutinised. Account was also taken of the evidence from previous monitoring inspections.

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Appendix – Information about the inspection

The inspection assessed the quality of education provided and the progress the school has made, in particular in relation to the main findings and key issues in the inspection report of May 2003 and the action plan prepared by the governing body to address those key issues.

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