Paddock School

101102 Unique Reference Number Wandsworth Local Authority 307583 Inspection number 25 °26 June 2007 Inspection dates James Bowden 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 3 °19 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 90 School 20 6th form

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Pam Amos Chair Mrs Peggy Walpole Headteacher 13 October 2003 Date of previous school inspection Priory Lane School address London SW15 5RT

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020 8878 1521 Telephone number 020 8392 9735 Fax number

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3 °19 Age group 25 °26 June 2007 Inspection dates 307583 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

Paddock School provides for learners with a range of needs. Though currently designated as a school for learners with severe learning difficulties (SLD), approximately one third of learners also have autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and nine have profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD). Some learners also have complex needs. Approximately 40 per cent of learners are non-verbal. Currently, approximately 50 per cent of learners (three times the national average) are entitled to free school meals though there is a broad social mix. Twelve per cent of learners come from other London boroughs. Learners come from a range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds and approximately a quarter (twice the national average) have English as an additional language. Recruitment of specialist teachers has been a problem, particularly in the secondary section. The school is subject to reorganisation arrangements and in September will move to a spilt site

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Description of the school

within the borough and change the nature of its intake. The head teacher has been in post ten weeks.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Paddock School, 25 °26 June 2007

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Grade: 2

Paddock is a really happy school. It is very effective in providing a well-ordered, stimulating and supportive learning environment where learners enjoy learning, experience success, develop to their full potential and become as independent as possible. Learners' personal development and well-being, the curriculum and the care, guidance and support of learners are real strengths of the school. A further strength is the multi-agency approach adopted by the school and partnerships with other providers that promote learners' well-being further. The school also works closely with parents and carers, who are very appreciative of its work. One commented: 'The care, love and patience shown towards my child is amazing, not forgetting the kindness.' Though there are currently three learners in the Foundation Stage there is no separate Foundation Stage section, these learners being part of the primary section. Provision for these

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Grade: 2

learners is good and they make good progress towards the targets set for them. Achievement is good. Although standards are very low because of the extent of learners' special needs and, in some instances, medical conditions, the progress they make is good. All learners operate at 'P' levels - levels that are well below standard National Curriculum levels in schools. Learners, including those with English as an additional language, make particularly good progress in communication skills, often using signs and symbols very effectively. Some develop their speaking skills well. Regular reviews of learners' individual education plans (IEPs) ensure that they meet the targets set for them. Learners' personal development and well-being are outstanding. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. Learners are encouraged to celebrate each other's success. For example, in a Year 7 and 8 class, learners behaved sensibly and applauded the work of those

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Grade: 2

involved in a role-play exercise about bullying. During the inspection learners behaved very well in lessons and around the school, some being very confident in welcoming visitors to their lessons. Attendance is good, being close to the national average for all schools. Teaching and learning are good. Teachers and support staff know their learners very well. As a result of the short-term targets set for learners in relation to communication, language and literacy, numeracy, and behaviour, achievement is good in lessons. Learners are managed well and occasional outbursts of inappropriate behaviour are dealt with calmly and effectively. However, not all learners are always actively supported by staff throughout the whole lesson, and this adversely affects their progress. Resources to develop learners' communications skills are used well, and teachers and support staff work well as a team. The curriculum is excellent

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Grade: 2

because it meets fully the needs of learners, and there is a focus on learning throughout the whole day. Enrichment activities are particularly strong and support learners' personal development really well. The school provides outstanding care guidance and support for learners. School staff and other visiting professionals are dedicated and highly committed to working with learners ensuring improvements in their personal and academic development. The dynamic and highly effective leadership of the newly appointed headteacher has provided a fresh impetus for the school as it prepares to move to a split site at the end of this summer term. The monitoring and evaluation of performance has improved, but is not yet fully embedded or consistent across the school. The issues raised at the time of the previous inspection have been dealt with. The governing body has worked tremendously hard with the local authority

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Grade: 2

to improve the quality of accommodation. This has resulted in the reorganisation of provision and planned works due to start soon to refurbish the present site. The headteacher and her 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Paddock School, 25 °26 June 2007 staff are highly committed to ensuring this reorganisation is successful. In the light of the school's track record of effectiveness in working with learners with special needs, the headteacher's planning and restructuring of staffing for the move to two sites and the clear direction set for further improvement, the school has excellent capacity to improve.

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Grade: 1

Sixth form provision is highly effective and learners achieve exceptionally well. Their independence and social skills improve considerably and they are particularly well prepared for the next stage in their life, most continuing on to further education. As a result, their attitudes are very positive towards the work and activities they are involved in. This was, for example, clearly evident in the group running a stall selling plants grown in the school greenhouse. Teaching is outstanding because it is purposeful and challenging and the work is matched fully to the capabilities of learners. The curriculum, including enrichment activities, is outstanding because it matches learners' needs very well. The care, guidance and support provided for learners are also outstanding. Teachers, support staff and outside professional agencies have learners' best interests at heart, which supports both their personal and academic development.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are good and there is a clear direction and purpose to promote high quality provision. However, monitoring and evaluation of this section is not yet fully embedded or consistent.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Develop a systematic cycle of monitoring and evaluation of all its work to inform improvement planning. • Ensure all learners are actively supported throughout the whole lesson in the primary and senior sections.

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Grade for sixth form: 1

Learning is individualised with each learner having individual targets for communication, language and literature, numeracy, other National Curriculum subjects and personal and social skills. Teachers closely monitor progress towards these targets, both within lessons and over time, at regular reviews. In a sensory development lesson in the early years all staff carefully noted the progress being made by learners so that they could plan their next lesson to build on learners' current achievements. Older learners also make good progress and some are working at the lower end of the National Curriculum levels in some subjects. Learners also grow in confidence and are willing to apply their physical and social skills in a range of settings, the former, for example, in competitive events.

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Grade for sixth form: 1

Learners receive a high level of individual support from all who work in the school. Staff care, and form warm and very trusting relationships with learners. Consequently, learners have very positive attitudes to school; their smiling faces and positive comments and gestures on arrival 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Paddock School, 25 °26 June 2007 being indicative of this. In section assemblies and daily collective acts of worship they are encouraged to reflect on what they have achieved during the day. Learners also develop well their awareness of other cultures and religions; older learners, for example, visit a variety of local places of worship. Learners fully understand the need to eat healthily and eat fresh and healthy food prepared on site. They relish the many opportunities to take part in physical activity throughout the day. These improve not only their physical development but also personal

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Grade for sixth form: 1

and social skills. Sixth form learners, including some who are unable to walk unaided, make excellent progress in their physical development at sessions at the Rehabilitation Centre at the nearby hospital. Learners report that there is no bullying and that they feel safe at school. At annual reviews learners are enabled to put forward their views. The newly formed school council has representatives from each class, who discuss issues such as healthy food and school uniform. These issues are then discussed further in individual classes to ensure all are enabled to express their opinions. Because of clear improvements in communication skills and developing independence, learners are being very well prepared for the next stage of their education. Older learners, for example, visit local shops to buy ingredients for their planned recipes in food technology lessons and have work experience opportunities.

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Grade for sixth form: 1

Teachers and support staff work very well together, classes are well managed and there is a caring and supportive learning atmosphere. This is enhanced by high quality display provided in classrooms to celebrate learners' achievements. Detailed and focused planning ensures the needs of learners are met fully, thus ensuring progress is made towards targets set in their individual education plans (IEPs). In the early years, good quality visual, tactile and auditory resources motivate learners very well. Teachers use information and communication technology (ICT) well to enliven learning. They ensure that learners present their work using computers and, for example, digital video cameras. Staff expertise ensures learning is purposeful and challenging, not only in lessons but also in other activities throughout the day. A visiting football coach, for example, provides challenging activities for older learners who rise very well to the

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Grade for sixth form: 1

occasion and strive to do their best. Teaching in the sixth form is particularly effective because of the focus it has on preparing learners for life beyond the school, developing their independence and involving them in group activities. Sometimes the start of lessons in the primary and senior sections lacks pace and in other lessons some learners are left to their own devices for too long.

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Grade for sixth form: 1

The curriculum is exceptionally well matched to the needs of all learners throughout the school and ensures they are successful in meeting the targets in their IEPs. Learners in the sixth form are enabled to follow an accredited course in life skills and successfully achieve the award before they leave. There is a clear focus on communication, language, literacy and on numeracy as well as an ongoing focus on learners' personal skills and attributes. This ensures learners are very well prepared for the next stage in their education. A superb range of other on and off-site 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Paddock School, 25 °26 June 2007 activities greatly enrich the school day and broaden learners' experience even further. These include dance, drama, music, physical activities, an annual arts festival held at the school and visits to places of educational interest. In addition, the school makes good use of the expertise

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Grade for sixth form: 1

of many visiting groups. Sensory rooms and soft play resources and the use of outside sporting facilities enhance further the quality of provision. Though some teaching rooms are small, teachers make the best use possible of these and ensuring they are exciting learning environments.

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Grade for sixth form: 1

The school provides an exceptionally strong caring and supporting environment that encourages learners to be happy and to develop their personal qualities. In this respect the school ethos really does ensure that every child matters. Arrangements for ensuring health and safety are outstanding, both on and off-site. Child protection and risk assessment procedures are securely in place and staff are aware of their responsibilities. Incidents and physical restraint records are carefully annotated when appropriate. The school's multi-agency approach greatly enhances the quality of support learners receive and adds considerably to the progress they make. This includes the use of outside professional agencies, full-time nursing provision and a social worker. Annual reviews of statements of special educational need involve parents and carers and keep them fully informed of the progress their child is making. The progress that learners

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Grade for sixth form: 1

make towards IEP targets is carefully recorded and targets are then modified as appropriate.

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Grade for sixth form: 2

The newly appointed headteacher has quickly established herself. She has a clear vision for the school and has been instrumental in developing further the ethos for learning and achievement. She is very ably supported by her two assistant head teachers. Staff are enthusiastic and want the best for their learners. Self-evaluation is generally accurate but is not yet fully embedded in terms of all aspects of the school's provision. The quality of monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning has improved since the previous inspection, but that of support staff is in its infancy. Nevertheless clear areas for improvement have been identified in the whole school development plan. The governing body has been highly supportive of the school throughout the reorganisation of special needs provision within the local authority, but is aware that its role of a critical and supportive friend of the school could be sharper, particularly in

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Grade for sixth form: 2

helping it evaluate its effectiveness in all that it does. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Paddock School, 25 °26 June 2007 .

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Grade for sixth form: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Paddock School, 25 °26 June 2007

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Inspection judgements

16-19 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

1 2 How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? 1 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

1 2 How well do learners achieve? 4 4 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

1 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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well-being of the learners?

The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 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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range of needs and interests of learners?

1 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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range of 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 to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Paddock School, 25 °26 June 2007

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achievement 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 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Paddock School, 25 °26 June 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

5 July 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Paddock School,London,SW15 5RT I recently spent two days in your school, visited you in lessons, saw you in other activities around the school and chatted to a small group of you about the education you receive. I particularly enjoyed visiting your school council meeting and joining an older group of you to visit the local shops to buy ingredients for the pizzas you had planned to make. Although I didn't get the chance to taste them, they smelled wonderful! I was also impressed with the senior groups' skills in the line dancing session I saw. Paddock is a good school and the college section is excellent. This is because: • the new headteacher leads the school exceptionally well • teaching is good in the school and outstanding in the college section, which means you all make progress towards your personal targets • the teachers and all other adults who work with you make sure you are safe and really well

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

cared for • they are really dedicated, have your best interests at heart and want to make sure you do well in the future • the curriculum and other activities during the day make your education very interesting. There are a couple of things the school could do to make things even better for you: • the headteacher and the senior staff need to check more carefully on how well the school is doing so it can plan to help you succeed even more • the school needs to make sure you are all helped all of the time in all your lessons in both the primary and senior sections. Best wishes and all the best for the future. James Bowden(Lead inspector) 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Paddock School, 25 °26 June 2007

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