Camberwell Park Specialist Support School

Inspection Report Camberwell Park Community Special School

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105606 Unique Reference Number Manchester Local Authority 287275 Inspection number 20 °21 September 2006 Inspection dates Michael McDowell 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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Bank House Road School address Special Type of school Blackley, Manchester Community special School category Lancashire M9 8LT 2 °11 Age range of pupils 0161 7401897 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0161 7403473 Fax number 86 Number on roll (school) Ms Stephanie Pritz Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Miss Isherwood Headteacher 23 September 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 287275 20 °21 September 2006 2°11 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This school provides for pupils with severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties, and complex communication difficulties. It also maintains six places for pupils with emotional, behavioural and social difficulties. All pupils have statements of special educational need or are undergoing full assessment. Three quarters of pupils are from White British backgrounds. A quarter come from minority ethnic groups and, for many, English is not the language spoken at home. Camberwell Park has recently been designated a specialist support school.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Camberwell Park Community Special School, 20 °21 September 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that works effectively with pupils who have a broad range of learning difficulties and/or disabilities. It has recently developed outstanding expertise in meeting the needs of pupils with autistic spectrum disorders or emotional, behavioural and social difficulties. Parents believe that the school helps their children become more self-reliant and sociable and makes a great difference to their lives. The school takes the views of parents and carers seriously and adapts its practice in the light of what they say. Pupils show that they like coming to school. They feel safe and cared for. They enjoy having the chance to put forward their ideas and suggestions, and feel that these are acted upon. Older and more capable children understand that they need a good diet and exercise to stay healthy; they know the rules that help keep them safe. They are also keen to look after others and, while they are not themselves afraid of being bullied,

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Grade: 2

they are very proud of taking part in the 'buddy' system in which they are given responsibility to look after more vulnerable children. Children enter the Foundation Stage with a variety of very significant learning difficulties and their standards are much below those expected for their age. The standards of pupils who enter the school beyond the Foundation Stage are also well below average. However, achievement is good and a very large majority of children in the Foundation Stage and pupils across the age range make good progress towards the challenging targets set for them. Achievement by a significant minority of pupils in English and mathematics is outstanding, but a small number of pupils in the middle ability band fail to reach their targets in reading and comprehension. Pupils who do not have English as their home language are chiefly at a very early stage of acquiring this language. They make good progress in developing communication skills, similar

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Grade: 2

to those who are from English speaking backgrounds. The chief reason for pupils' good achievement is that teaching and learning are good throughout the school. Pupils are cheerful and confident because their relationships with their teachers and those who support and care for them are very positive. Teachers share their delight at each child's success and consistently make known to them what their next step should be. The curriculum is good and captures the interest of pupils. It is enriched by visits and themed weeks that strongly support spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Special attention is paid to the emotional development of pupils. As a result, personal development is good. However, while assessments are made of each pupil's personal and social progress, this information is not readily accessible and the use made of it is weak. The school provides good value for money. Leadership and management are good.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher, who took up her post this term, has effectively maintained the stability and forward momentum of the school. Because the senior management and the governors have an accurate view of its strengths and areas for development, the school knows the steps it must take to maintain the good improvement it has made since the last inspection. 2 Inspection Report: Camberwell Park Community Special School, 20 °21 September 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

• Take all necessary steps to raise standards in reading and comprehension for the small group currently underachieving by analysing their performance and assessment information and discovering the reasons for the underachievement. • Collate the data for pupils' personal development so that individual and year group progress can easily be checked and targets set to improve achievement.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good. The youngest children respond well to the safe and stimulating setting provided in the Foundation Stage, grow in confidence as pupils, and begin to make gains. They make good progress towards the goals for learning expected of children aged five. These early achievements prepare them well for entry into the infant classes. Pupils in Years 1 to 6 flourish in an ethos where expectations are clear and there is good support. Pupils across the age range, irrespective of the nature of their learning difficulties and including those recognised as particularly vulnerable, make good progress in English and mathematics. A few make outstanding gains and the great majority meet or exceed the challenging targets that are set for them. A small number in the middle of the ability range, however, make less progress than expected in reading and comprehension.

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Grade: 2

Personal development, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. Through the well planned curriculum, visits to performances and special times such as assemblies, pupils' cultural and spiritual development is enhanced. Children are encouraged from their first days in the school to be sociable and to consider others. Over time, they make great strides in learning to relate positively to their teachers and classmates, in sharing and in taking their turn. Pupils, including those with profound and multiple learning difficulties, make great efforts to do what is required of them in lessons. Those who are able to do so are happy to take personal responsibility within the classroom. They show that they enjoy school by attending regularly and behaving well. Those with behavioural difficulties make significant progress in controlling their impulses. Pupils know about keeping themselves healthy, especially through diet and

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Grade: 2

exercise. They learn to recognise their own emotions and to be sensitive to the emotions of others. They respond very positively to praise and, through the school council, contribute their ideas to make the school even better. 3 Inspection Report: Camberwell Park Community Special School, 20 °21 September 2006

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Pupils work hard and make good progress. They enjoy their lessons and, because they know that teachers and teaching assistants will give them all the help they need, they are confident that they will succeed. Staff know their responsibilities very well and make it clear to pupils what is expected. Individual targets are shared with each pupil and care is taken to provide classroom activities that will enable them to achieve these. The ethos in lessons is busy and cheerful and teachers encourage this by taking every opportunity to praise pupils and celebrate their successes. The quality of teaching for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties and for some pupils with autism is outstanding. In their commitment to inclusion, teachers ensure that all pupils are fully involved in lessons by using different forms of communication. Signing is very consistently used to accompany speech and

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Grade: 2

the picture exchange communication system is well established.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. It captures and maintains the interest of pupils and makes learning fun. It is enriched by a carefully constructed programme of outside visits and by off-timetable weeks in which areas of interest or activity may be explored in depth. In the Foundation Stage, there is an emphasis on play complemented by well directed sessions that develop social awareness, communication and learning skills. In the infant and junior classes, topics are chosen that have instant appeal to children. Good account is taken of the diverse needs of the pupils. For higher attainers, the curriculum resembles that of a mainstream primary school and opportunities are provided for pupils to work in mainstream settings. To support the learning of those with autistic spectrum disorders, an effective methodology based on individual diagnosis and assessment is used very expertly. For a small minority of pupils who have English as

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Grade: 2

an additional language and who are at a stage to benefit from it, good support in Urdu and Punjabi is given.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good with some outstanding features. Assessment is used effectively to check the progress of pupils and to plan the next steps in their learning. The use made of short-term targets to engage and motivate each pupil throughout the day is exemplary. By this means, pupils are given the clearest message about what they have achieved and what they need to work on. Monitoring of pupils' personal development is undertaken but the information collected is recorded in a complicated way that does not lend itself to easy analysis. Progress is therefore more difficult to check. Child protection procedures are effective and sufficient attention 4 Inspection Report: Camberwell Park Community Special School, 20 °21 September 2006 is paid to ensuring the safety of pupils. Links with other agencies are productive and helpful in ensuring that the needs of vulnerable pupils are recognised and met.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. This inspection was carried out shortly after the new headteacher started, but both she and the governors are aware of the challenges the school faces, particularly in relation to developing an outreach role and securing new buildings. The school has a clear and accurate view about its strengths and areas for development. It has achieved this good level of self-knowledge because it has checked closely on the quality of teaching and learning and the achievements of its pupils in the four years since the last inspection. It has improved well since then and is well placed to continue to improve. Governors carry out their duties well and are working with the senior management team to plan for the changes that arise from the designation of the school as a specialist support school. The school has responded promptly to recent changes in regulations on safeguarding children and its procedures

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Grade: 2

and record keeping fully meet national requirements. 5 Inspection Report: Camberwell Park Community Special School, 20 °21 September 2006 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Camberwell Park Community Special School, 20 °21 September 2006

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 4 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

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

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and interests of learners?

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

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 7 Inspection Report: Camberwell Park Community Special School, 20 °21 September 2006

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: Camberwell Park Community Special School, 20 °21 September 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for being so polite and helpful when I visited your school. You told me that you think it is a good school and I am pleased to say that I agree with you. Your school is well led and managed. I found that you enjoy your lessons, find them interesting, and try hard to reach your targets. Your teachers and teaching assistants know and teach you well and give you the help you need. You learn well and make good progress. I saw that you made good use of signing, pictures and symbol writing to help you understand and share your ideas with others, and that most of you are improving your speaking, listening, and reading. A few of you have found it hard to make progress in reading and the school is not certain why this is. I have asked your teachers to find out why this is happening and to make sure you all do as well as each other. I noticed that you enjoy playtimes and lunch times, and that you behave safely and are

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

considerate towards others. The older ones among you are very pleased to act as 'buddies' for younger ones. You like to take part in the school council and are sure that the school listens to your views. Your school works hard to make sure you are cared for and protected. As a result of the opportunities you get, you are becoming much more independent and interested in the world around you. Your teachers know how much more grown-up you are becoming year on year but the school needs to improve the way it collects information about this so that it can help you more. 9 Inspection Report: Camberwell Park Community Special School, 20 °21 September 2006

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