Brent Knoll School

100760 Unique Reference Number Lewisham Local Authority 276376 Inspection number 22 °23 June 2006 Inspection dates Mark Evans Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Special Type of school Community special School category 4 °16 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr G Dolamore Chair Mr J Sharpe Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection Mayow Road School address London SE23 2XH

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020 8699 1047 Telephone number 020 8291 7216 Fax number

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4 °16 Age group 22 °23 June 2006 Inspection dates 276376 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Brent Knoll provides for pupils with a wide range of special educational needs. These include physical, medical, speech, language, communication, social and emotional difficulties, and autistic spectrum disorders including Asperger Syndrome. There are currently no pupils in the Foundation Stage. The needs of pupils have become more complex and challenging over the last few years. Pupils travel to school from all parts of the borough and from neighbouring local authorities. Half the pupils are entitled to free school meals.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 7 Inspection Report: Brent Knoll School, 22 °23 June 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

• Develop an efficient way to analyse information on the relative progress of groups of pupils to identify trends and further improve outcomes. • Ensure the attitudes to learning of the older pupils is consistently positive.

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Grade:

Teaching and learning are good; on many occasions, teaching is outstanding. The teachers know their pupils very well and the pupils benefit from this by having work that is very well matched to their needs. All staff at the school work well as a team, and learning assistants, therapists, learning mentors and the premises manager play a significant part in supporting the high quality of education provided. There are very positive relationships throughout the school. These support learning well, ensuring pupils feel valued and secure; in music for example, Year 9 pupils showed real confidence in the teacher and support staff when building up a rhythmical piece, involving all playing short solos. There is often laughter heard around the school, from adults and pupils alike, which underlines the effectiveness of the ethos of the school in supporting learning. Teachers' planning is detailed and based on good knowledge of the pupils' needs.

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Grade:

Assessment of what pupils learn is thorough and recorded in great detail. This wealth of information is very appropriate for knowing about individual pupils' progress, but the school is not yet analysing data to identify the relative achievement of different groups of pupils. Target setting on an individual basis is well established and monitoring of learning is very good.

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Grade:

The curriculum provided is excellent; the out-of-school-learning activities are outstanding. Based on the National Curriculum, but adapted to ensure relevance to the pupils, the school has created a flexible structure which helps teachers plan and pupils to learn progressively. It is very effective in supporting learning in all subjects, including English, mathematics and information and communication technology (ICT). Innovations are encouraged if they provide for pupils' needs more appropriately, such as offering the Land Studies and Skills for Working Life programmes, as well as other vocational courses. There is a very effective programme for the teaching of swimming. 4 of 7 Inspection Report: Brent Knoll School, 22 °23 June 2006 The enrichment activities provided for pupils outside school hours are a real strength of the school. The development followed identification through parental surveys and the pupil forum;

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Grade:

some 40% of pupils are involved. The school was recently awarded the Quality in Study Support charter mark. The activities have a very positive impact on the development of social skills, and on the traditional curriculum such as art, French, ICT, literacy, science, sport and physical education.

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Grade:

The care, guidance and support offered to pupils are good; the school provides an outstandingly supportive, caring and friendly atmosphere that ensures the pupils are safe and feel secure. This allows them to strive for and reach challenging targets without feeling threatened. Health and safety requirements are monitored and risk assessments carried out carefully. The school is very aware of pupils' social, physical, welfare and academic needs: this enables the pupils to make good progress. Child protection procedures are very well managed and staff are trained appropriately to meet the changing needs of the pupils. Pupils receive very good support to help them access learning. They have good access to the wider community, including other schools, in preparation for life beyond Brent Knoll. Careers education and work experience is very well organised; it adds to the preparedness of the pupils for life after school. Arrangements

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Grade:

for safeguarding pupils are very effective; the school does what it can within the current contractual restrictions to provide a healthy diet for pupils at lunchtime.

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Grade:

5 of 7 Inspection Report: Brent Knoll School, 22 °23 June 2006 .

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Grade:

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 7 Inspection Report: Brent Knoll School, 22 °23 June 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Pupils Hello everyone - you might have noticed me recently at your school. Some of you were kind enough to talk to me and others saw me in lessons. Thank you for making me welcome, for showing me your work and for telling me about your school. Owls class - thank you for my truffles!After my two days with you, I am clear that Brent Knoll is a very good school. I have prepared a list of things that the school does very well, and another list of things that it could do even better. Some of the things you told me about, like the very good teaching and all the different activities you can do at school (in lessons and out of lessons), are on my first list. Other very good things we saw were: your very good behaviour around the school, the way the managers at school have made things even better, and the work that the school does helping children in other schools. I've also talked to the headteacher about some ways of making the school even better. The

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

main one is to look at the ways in which all of you learn; to see if there are other ways the teachers can help groups of you learn even more. I've also suggested that it would be good if there was a way to sort out the cramped classrooms in the secondary department, and to find a way of making sure all the secondary pupils want to learn. It would also be great if you carry on telling the staff how you think things are going, and by talking to the pupil forum.I hope that explains a little bit about what I was doing at Brent Knoll. I really enjoyed my two days there. Thank you again for making me feel so welcome. Very best wishes, Mark Evans Lead Inspector 7 of 7 Inspection Report: Brent Knoll School, 22 °23 June 2006

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