Red Rose School

Independent Special School

DfES Registration Number 888/6032 Unique Reference Number 131163 Inspection number 296862 Inspection dates 13-14 March 2007 Reporting inspector Caroline Broomhead HMI

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Independent Special School

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 162A of the Education Act 2002 (as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005). Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Independent Special School

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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Purpose and scope of the inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005, in order to advise the Secretary of State for Education and Skills about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about the school

Red Rose School is an independent day special school registered for 48 pupils aged 7 – 16 who have specific learning difficulties, although some have other complex needs including autism and attention deficit disorder. There are currently 50 on roll, 41 of whom are boys. 46 pupils have a statement of special educational needs. 45 pupils are placed and funded by local authorities and the remaining five are funded privately by their parents. All pupils have attended mainstream school prior to starting at Red Rose School. The school is also registered as a ‘faith’ Christian school, and is a registered charity. The school was last inspected in 2001.

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Evaluation of the school

Red Rose School provides a good standard of education for its pupils. It adopts a child-centred approach when planning educational programmes and provides good guidance and support for individuals. The curriculum is well taught and as a result the pupils make good progress in their learning and considerable strides in boosting their self esteem. Positive relationships are at the heart of the school’s success. Provision for safeguarding pupils’ welfare is satisfactory. However, the school has traditionally had an informal approach to record keeping and consequently some of its procedures do not meet current regulations. The proprietors are now aware of the need to review the school’s policies and procedures to ensure they are sufficiently robust.

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Quality of education

The good curriculum successfully motivates pupils to learn. It provides them with the opportunity to study a broad range of subjects, as well as having a suitable emphasis on literacy and numeracy to address their specific learning difficulties. The school’s move towards appointing more subjects specialists, creating more specialist facilities and re-organising the timetable and class groups, has added significantly to its capacity to bring about improvements since the last inspection. Provision for information and communication technology (ICT) has been enhanced, but opportunities to study other aspects of design technology are limited. Pupils’ creativity is very successfully nurtured throughout the curriculum. The school has responded well to the wide ability range and to pupils’ aspirations. It has extended the range of accredited courses which pupils can take and these now include GCSE’s in five subjects:

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Quality of education

ICT, art, English, mathematics, and music. The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) unit award scheme has been successfully running in the school for some years and the range of units offered is appropriately being extended to show more accurately pupils’ different levels of attainment.

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Quality of education

Personal, social and health education is taught in class groups and is enhanced by the involvement of visiting speakers. It also permeates all aspects of school life, for example through assemblies and group circle time. Older pupils, in the latter half of their final year at school, take part in a ‘Leavers Programme’ which focuses on preparation for adult life. In addition, pupils take part in work experience placements in years 10 and 11. Pupils receive appropriate individual support and guidance from year 9 onwards from the Connexions adviser who is a regular visitor to the school. Visits take place to colleges of further education when pupils are planning for leaving, but the school recognises that its careers education programme could be developed further to broaden pupils’ knowledge of the world of work, their possible place within it and the qualities needed for different roles.

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Quality of education

Teaching and learning are good. Staff have outstanding relationships with pupils, based on mutual respect. There is a calm and purposeful atmosphere in lessons, created by the playing of mood music and the good management of pupils. Teachers and their assistants work well together. Good diagnostic assessment identifies where there are gaps in pupils’ learning. Teachers use assessment information, their knowledge of pupil’s abilities and learning styles to plan tasks and activities that offer a suitable challenge and are both interesting and enjoyable. They make good use of ICT in classroom teaching and in helping pupils to improve their coordination skills. Many pupils experience difficulties with handwriting which the school seeks to address but teaching approaches are not yet adopted consistently in all subjects. Some pupils do not always use the most appropriate writing instruments nor give enough thought to how their work is presented. Practical activities engage

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Quality of education

pupils well, and there is good use of games to encourage the development of literacy skills; pupils enjoy these. Teachers build carefully on pupils’ previous learning, ensuring that they understand each step; this keeps motivation high. Questioning is used well to check understanding, but does not always encourage pupils to extend their answers. Pupils are well supported in lessons and they appreciate the immediate help they receive. Where there is a good pace in lessons, and teachers communicate a sense of urgency, pupils respond well and complete a good volume of work. Work is marked well and helps pupils to improve. Although pupils are well aware of their behaviour and study skills targets, they do not always know their individual targets for learning.

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Quality of education

Because teaching and learning are good, pupils make good progress. From a very low baseline on entry, they soon begin to make gains in their reading, spelling and mathematical ages and their progress continues to accelerate as they gain confidence and move through the school. Pupils are well motivated by the accredited units, which provide ‘bite-sized’ chunks of work that result in them achieving certificates of achievement in a relatively short period of time. By the time they leave school they have amassed a large number of AQA unit awards in a range of subjects. Where appropriate, pupils are entered for GCSE examinations. In the summer of 2006, four Year 11 pupils between them achieved 13 GCSE passes, graded B or C, in English, mathematics, ICT and art. Those entered for the ICT examination had worked on this for only three months.

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pupils

Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The pupils soon settle into school and develop a positive attitude to learning. Their self esteem grows and this gives them the confidence to take risks and try new things. They soon begin to achieve success and recognise their own strengths. The school’s Christian values underpin everyday life at the school. The pupils show empathy for others, for example through their voluntary support for local and international charities. They learn about other cultures through subjects such as music and art but their opportunities to learn about other faiths are too limited.

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pupils

Positive relationships between staff and pupils are at the heart of the pupils’ outstanding behaviour in and around school. The pupils know right from wrong and are very aware of the ‘1, 2, 3 magic’ system of sanctions which gives them the opportunity to put right any wrongs before they become serious. The head boy and head girl take seriously their responsibilities for awarding house points to deserving groups of pupils. Through the Leavers’ Programme older pupils learn about their responsibilities as citizens. Pupils speak confidently about their successes since coming to the school. These include managing their own behaviour, making friends, improving their reading and having more confidence in themselves. Past pupils have successfully gone on into further or higher education or employment.

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

Provision for the welfare, health and safety of pupils is satisfactory. There is a suitable range of policies to guide staff in this area of the school’s work. Although staff are required to read these and sign to indicate that they have done so, the school does not maintain a record of this. The child protection policy does not contain all the information that it should. It omits details about staff training. The designated child protection co-ordinator has not attended an update in the last two years as required, although a course has now been booked for May, and there is no record to show that staff have all had training in the last three years.

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

Pupils are encouraged well to adopt healthy lifestyles. There are healthy options at lunchtimes and opportunities to take part in physical activities at break times as well as in physical education lessons. Through the personal, social and health education curriculum pupils learn well about the dangers of smoking, drugs, alcohol and sexually transmitted diseases. Pupils feel safe and secure in school. There are good levels of supervision. When out and about in the community, risks are assessed beforehand and suitable action taken to minimise these. The building allows full access for pupils currently on roll, but the school has not drawn up a three-year accessibility plan as required.

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Suitability of the proprietor and staff

The proprietors have recruited staff who are well qualified and have additional specialist qualifications relevant to the teaching of pupils with dyslexia. However, the school’s recruitment procedures are too informal and have not taken account of DfES guidance or statutory requirements. As a result, the school does not have evidence of the identity, qualifications, previous employment history or medical fitness of its staff. There was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that where appropriate checks on staff had been carried out with the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The school now recognises the deficiencies in this aspect of its work and intends to set up appropriate checks and systems which will meet regulations.

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School’s premises and accommodation

The school has improved the premises and accommodation since the last inspection with the addition of specialist rooms for music, design and technology and ICT. There is a good standard of lighting, decoration and maintenance throughout. However, the ICT room is not well ventilated enough and can become very warm and stuffy. The school has limited outdoor space available for play, but compensates for this by using local community facilities for physical education and recreation.

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Provision of information for parents, carers and others

There is a good range of communications with parents through newsletters, year books, parents’ evenings, annual reviews and the school’s website. Annual reports give details of the progress pupils are making in reading, spelling and mathematics and in other subjects. The school intends to include more detail about pupils’ levels of attainment in all subjects; a step which parents and local authorities would welcome because some do not feel that they have sufficient information at the moment. The school’s prospectus has been updated but does not include all the information which is required by regulations; the omissions are detailed at the end of this report. Information about the complaints policy is sparse and both parents and local authorities say that they do not know about the procedures for handling complaints. Most parents are satisfied with the school’s provision and some speak highly of the improvements their children

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Procedures for handling complaints

The recently revised procedures for handling complaints now meet requirements. There have been no formal complaints in the previous year.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school meets all of the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 as amended January 2005, with the exception of those listed below.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (standard 2) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 provide more opportunities for pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures, in a way that promotes tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions (paragraph 2(e)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of provision for pupils’ welfare, health and safety (standard 3) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 prepare and implement written policies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children who are pupils at the school in compliance with DfES guidance Safeguarding children and safer recruitment in education (2007) (paragraph 3(2)(b)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of suitability of staff (standard 4) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that any staff appointed at the school after September 2003 have been subject to a check with the Criminal Records Bureau to confirm their suitability to work with children (paragraph 4(b))

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 prior to the confirmation of the appointment of all staff, carry out appropriate checks to confirm their identity, medical fitness, previous employment history, character references and, where appropriate, qualifications and professional references and take such information into account in determining whether their appointment will be confirmed (paragraph 4(c)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the premises and accommodation (standard 5) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure adequate ventilation in the ICT room (paragraph 5(p)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the provision of information for parents, carers and others (standard 6) and must make the following information available and make it clear to parents and others that they may request it:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 particulars of policies relating to bullying, child protection, health and safety (paragraph 6 (2)(h))  particulars of academic performance during the preceding school year, including the results of any public examinations (paragraph 6(2)(i))  details of the complaints procedure adopted by the school, together with details of the number of complaints registered under the formal procedure during the preceding school year (paragraph 6(2)(j))  information about the number of staff employed at the school, including temporary staff, and a summary of their qualifications (paragraph 6(2)(k)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

In order to comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2002 the school should devise a three-year accessibility plan.

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School details

Name of school Red Rose School DfES number 888/6032 Unique reference number 131163 Type of school Independent school Status Special school Date school opened 1997 Age range of pupils 7 - 16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll (full-time pupils) Boys: 41 Girls: 9 Total: 50 Number of pupils with a statement of special educational need Boys: 41 Girls: 9 Total: 50 Number of pupils who are looked after Boys: 1 Girls: 0 Total: 1 Annual fees (day pupils) £12,048 Address of school 28 – 30 North Promenade St Annes on Sea Lytham St Annes Lancashire FY8 2NQ Telephone number 01253 720570 Fax number 01253 720750 Email address redroseschool@btopenworld.com Headteacher Dr Sionah Lannen Proprietors Mr Colin Lannen, Dr Sionah Lannen, Mr Gavin Reid Reporting inspector Mrs Caroline Broomhead HMI Dates of inspection 13 – 14 March 2007

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