Silverdale School

Inspection Report Silverdale Special School

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133432 Unique Reference Number North Tyneside LEA 282951 Inspection number 5 December 2005 to 5 December 2005 Inspection dates Ms A Berger Reporting inspector

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

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Langdale Gardens School address Special Type of school Howdon Maintained School category Wallsend, Tyne and Wear 7 to 16 Age range of pupils 0191 2005982 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0191 2006710 Fax number 23 Number on roll Mr G Mitchell Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr B Hedley Headteacher 1 March 2003 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282951 5 December 2005 - 7 to 16 5 December 2005 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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 one HMI for one day.

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Description of the school

Silverdale School makes provision for pupils in Key Stages 2, 3 and 4 with emotional social and behavioural difficulties (EBSD). More recent admissions have included a number of pupils diagnosed with significant mental health problems. Attainment on entry is very low because of the pupils’ history of poor behaviour and attendance. The school currently has 23 pupils on roll though it has the capacity to admit up to 40. Admissions had been halted due to safety concerns in the school but placements have now resumed on a phased basis of 3 pupils each half term. In the longer term the local authority intends to place pupils with the most severe EBSD in the school. A number of pupils, currently attending residential provision outside the area, are due to return to their community and attend Silverdale School. Plans are therefore being considered to extend residential provision in the borough for up to eight pupils.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Silverdale Special School, 5 December 2005 to 5 December 2005

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Grade: 2

In accordance with section 13 (4) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures. The outstanding leadership of the headteacher, supported well by the senior team, has resulted in consistently good teaching and learning in lessons. The pupils’ achievements are particularly good in literacy, numeracy, physical education (PE), music and information and communication technology (ICT). However, despite everyone’s good work the legacy of low standards has not yet been overcome as there are many gaps in the pupils’ learning. The pupils’ achievement overall is nevertheless satisfactory. The pupils’ motivation and enjoyment has improved considerably because the curriculum is relevant, varied and flexible. Behaviour is managed well, though this is in the context of very small classes and high staffing ratios. There is a strong emphasis on developing positive relationships and the pupils are beginning to resolve their differences through

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Grade: 2

discussion rather than action. The senior team have evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of the school very well and they are in full agreement with the recommendations for further improvements. The strong leadership and recent history of significant success demonstrates a good capacity to continue to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Develop further the behaviour management and therapeutic approaches needed to work with an increasingly large number of very challenging pupils. • Continue to ensure that the consistently good teaching is focused on helping pupils make up for lost ground and achieve well.

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Grade: 3

The pupils in Key Stage 2 continue to make good progress overall. The teaching in this area remains consistently good and as a result the pupils are developing well. Lessons are well structured and relationships promote a positive learning ethos. In Key Stages 3 and 4, standards are rising due to the much improve teaching, particularly this term. Teachers now have a clear understanding of what pupils need to learn next. They share this with their classes and as a result the pupils are highly motivated to achieve the next goal. During the visit, this was particularly evident in PE, where the pupils were discussing with each other what skill they needed to master to reach the next level in badminton. Despite this recent good progress in lessons there is still a long way to go to ensure the pupils in Key Stage 3 and 4 reach their potential. Standards are low and the pupils’ achievement over time is not yet as good as it could be. The older pupils have only

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Grade: 3

2 Inspection Report: Silverdale Special School, 5 December 2005 to 5 December 2005 just started to work towards nationally recognised qualifications and national test results and end-of-year assessments largely reflect the legacy of underperformance.

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Grade: 2

Personal development has improved substantially and the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall. Most pupils are now prepared to talk to visitors and discuss their work with enthusiasm. Behaviour overall is satisfactory though a few new students with the most serious difficulties disrupt others’ learning. Their behaviour, however, is being managed well and they are showing signs of committing themselves to the school community. Attendance is satisfactory. The pupils understand that their risk assessments are about keeping themselves safe as well as ensuring the well-being of others. They know what the consequences of their actions are and they make the right choice more consistently. Much has been done to promote healthy lifestyles. Fitness is promoted very well through the outstanding PE programme. Pupils are also encouraged to cycle to school and a new course has been established to assist with maintaining the pupils’ own

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Grade: 2

bicycles. The school listens carefully to the pupils’ views and acts on them wherever possible. The pupils have very good opportunities to influence the developments in the school. The pupils are beginning to recognise their part in the local community. Good emphasis is paid to developing local partnerships and the pupils have become more aware of their region through many and varied visits. They have also been successful in raising money for charities such as the Tsunami appeal. Two boys have taken the initiative and arranged to visit a local care home each week to help the elderly in their community. They were able to explain that it was their way of helping others and they had a good understanding of the importance of giving as well as taking.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching is good. Lessons are planned well to ensure that the pupils are more active and engaged in their work. Great care is taken to make the activities relevant. Teachers use practical demonstrations to illustrate new ideas rather than just explaining them and so pupils find it easier to understand. Progress is monitored and tracked very well. The good practice in the lower school has now extended into all classrooms. The pupils know what they have achieved and what they need to do to next. Teaching assistants and link workers support learning well. The educational psychologist also provides very effective support to staff to continuously reflect on their practice and improve their effectiveness. 3 Inspection Report: Silverdale Special School, 5 December 2005 to 5 December 2005

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is carefully planned to ensure that there are a good variety of subjects each day. The students have responded well to the shorter lessons and the new accredited courses in Key Stage 4 are suitable for the age and attainment of the students. Very good work is done by the senior link worker to ensure that the pupils have suitable skills in preparation for work and their place in society, and there is a very wide range of community-based curricula opportunities. Particularly impressive was the participation of the two boys in Year 11 who attended a 10 day camp with many students from other countries. This took great courage given their lack of previous residential experiences and was very successful in improving their confidence and self-esteem.

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Grade: 2

There are very good arrangements for ensuring the pupils are safe. The regular risk assessments have been developed with the very good support of the school educational psychologist. Relationships with other agencies have been developed very well and a regular structure for meetings between the school support teams and others involved with individual pupils have begun. Advice and guidance for pupils in deciding on their future careers is good. The current Year 10 and 11 pupils have a clear idea about what they want to do next and have spoken very highly of the help and guidance provided for them.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher provides outstanding leadership. He has vigorously pursued weaknesses in teaching in the upper school. As staff have left he has taken care to appoint good new teachers and provide management opportunities internally for those who have shown promise, building particularly on the strengths in the lower school. He has developed the multi-disciplinary team very well and the link workers, psychology services, and other partners work together very well to promote the pupils’ achievements. There is a strong sense of team work and staff are now growing into their new roles. The governing body has provided very good direction for the school. The chair has used his extensive experience to provide the right balance of challenge and support. The local authority has provided some very good support for the school. In particular, the recent support from their human resources team has made a significant impact on

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Grade: 2

improving the quality of teaching. The local authority has now clarified its vision for the school in the long term and this has helped the headteacher and governors plan and develop appropriately. 4 Inspection Report: Silverdale Special School, 5 December 2005 to 5 December 2005 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 5 Inspection Report: Silverdale Special School, 5 December 2005 to 5 December 2005

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA NA The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 4 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 3 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 1 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 1 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams Yes Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form Yes Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0207 421 6800 F 0207 421 6707 www.ofsted.gov.uk Silverdale Special School Langdale Gardens Howdon Wallsend Tyne & Wear 5 December 2005 Dear Pupils Thank you very much for the way you made us welcome when we came to visit you. You’re a credit to your school and we know that you have helped towards improving things. All that hard work has really paid off and the school no longer needs special measures. Well done! The teaching has always been good in the lower school and we saw how much better things are now in the upper school. Now we need to see that all these improvements lead to good exam results. You know how important this is. Some of you still find it very difficult to control behaviour but you are responding well to the help staff give you with this. You’re enjoying most of your lessons and trying hard to discuss any problems as they come up. If you behave well and continue to concentrate in class you will

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

achieve well. We think that two main things need to happen to make the school better still. The school needs to prepare for becoming much larger. The staff will have to share their time between more pupils whilst still helping you all to behave well. You need to catch up with some of things you have missed over the years so that you can do well in your examinations and tests. Of course you also need to continue to work hard and attend regularly. Finally, we’re sure you’ll be saying thank you to Mr Hedley for the great job he has done in leading your school. We did! Ann Berger HM Inspector

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