Jigsaw CABAS School

DCSF Registration Number 936/6579 Unique Reference Number 131976 Inspection number 316964 Inspection dates 13-14 November 2007 Reporting inspector Elisabeth Linley HMI

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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).

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Independent Special School

Inspection report 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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Independent Special School

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404040 www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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 Children, Schools and Families about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about the school

The Jigsaw School is an independent special school for day pupils. It is overseen by the Jigsaw Trust which is a registered charity. The school is located on two sites. The smaller of the two sites is based in a residential area of Guildford. The main site was relocated from Mytchett to premises at Dunsfold Park, Cranleigh in September 2007. To accommodate the change a number of new staff were appointed.

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Information about the school

The school opened in 1999 as a school following the methodology of the Comprehensive Application of Behaviour Analysis to Schooling (CABAS®) catering for six pupils with an autistic spectrum disorder. Since then the school has expanded and in 2003 Jigsaw School became a certified CABAS® school. The school is now registered to take pupils from 4–16 years of age and 31 pupils attend. The Jigsaw School is committed to: ‘providing a safe and caring environment where all our learners will be given an education of the highest standard and every opportunity to achieve their full potential’.

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Evaluation of the school

The Jigsaw School provides a good quality of education and care for all its pupils and is effective in meeting its aims. All staff have high expectations for pupils’ personal and academic achievement. In this the staff are led very well by both the Executive Headteacher and the school’s Director of Education. Pupils clearly enjoy being at school and their parents value all that the staff do to enable their children to achieve well. As one parent writes: ‘we do not know what life would be like without this wonderful school’. The school meets almost all of the requirements for registration.

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Quality of education

The good quality curriculum is supported by effective subject policies, appropriate schemes of work drawn from the National Curriculum and relevant guidance for personal, social, health and citizenship education (PSHEC). Religious education is part of the curriculum. The school places a strong emphasis on the development of communication skills as well as the teaching of key skills including literacy, numeracy and working with others. It employs CABAS® methodology to support the teaching of all subjects. The curriculum is very well planned to show how over a three-year period individual pupils will cover an appropriate curriculum. Medium term planning describes the outcomes teachers expect and some of the methods to be used. This in turn informs daily plans that have clear objectives for pupils. The school has recently adopted the ASDAN (Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network) Transition Challenge for Key Stage 4 pupils. However, the range of careers

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Quality of education

education and work related learning provided is limited.

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Quality of education

The curriculum fully meets the requirements of most pupils’ statements of special educational needs. The pupils have regular access to speech and language therapy that meets their specific needs. However, there are some pupils in Key Stage 3 who do not have access to a modern foreign language as required in their statements. The school’s themed approach to the curriculum promotes regular use of speech and language alongside creative arts; however, pupils’ access to information and communication technology (ICT) is not as well planned as it might be. The promotion of the pupils’ economic well-being, enjoyment and achievement, by recognition of success and the importance of working with others, is firmly embedded throughout the day. Lunch and break times are well supervised and increasingly well planned and assessed. However, the school day is very long for some pupils. Furthermore, some pupils experience daily journeys which total more

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Quality of education

than three hours between home and school. Extra curricular activities are limited by daily transport requirements.

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Quality of education

The good quality of teaching is characterised by the staff’s enthusiasm for their work and by the excellent relationships formed between teachers and their pupils. All staff praise pupils’ successes using comments such as ‘nice walking’ and ‘good listening’. They also correct pupils so that they can learn effectively through repetition and positive reinforcement. The teachers work with pupils on a one-to-one basis. As a result, they know their pupils very well and all staff promote their outstanding behaviour with encouragement and consistency. Where there is group work, one teacher will take the lead and others will support as appropriate. This was observed during a group music lesson, where the activity was both led and supported very well. Staff were careful when to use a prompt to encourage pupils to clap or beat the drum and pupils enjoyed the activity very much.

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Quality of education

The assessment of pupils’ needs and achievement is rigorous. Pupils’ progress is carefully and methodically tracked and analysed by all staff. Senior staff then consider the data and interpret this in terms of National Curriculum levels of attainment. The school’s data shows that most pupils make good progress and in some cases it is very good. This was seen during the inspection when a pupil who had joined the school with no verbal language was able to say ‘mummy’ and ‘daddy’ when he saw their pictures. This represents an example of the pupil’s outstanding achievement over time.

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Quality of education

Staff are monitored to ensure that the recording of pupils’ achievement is accurate and to ensure that their targets are appropriate and challenging. Teachers that are new to school are supported effectively in their work by senior staff and they are developing well in their skills and expertise. The very good staff team focus at all times on what is best for the pupils at the school.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils is good due to the curriculum and support provided. The pupils’ spiritual development is promoted effectively through planned opportunities to reflect upon their behaviour. Where possible, pupils contribute to their annual reviews and give feedback about what they enjoy and aspects of the school day that they find difficult. Moral issues are addressed through stories and pupils receive prompt praise when they show consideration for others. Trips to the local recycling centre enable them to have an appreciation of care for the environment.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

Social development is a strength of the school. Pupils make great strides in their abilities to access the community and show much improved communication skills at home and at school. Pupils’ attendance and behaviour are outstanding and they clearly enjoy being at school. A very strong emphasis is given to encouraging the pupils to manage their behaviour, gain self esteem and take pride in their achievements. They understand and respond very well to the school’s reward systems. Where possible, pupils are offered and accept responsibilities for helping the school to run smoothly. There is however some scope to allow pupils more choice over activities such as ‘options’. Pupils’ cultural development is promoted well through art and music lessons and visits to theatres, museums and local places of interest. The school also promotes insight into the beliefs of other faiths in their local communities through, for example, religious education and ASDAN studies.

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

The provision for the welfare, health and safety of pupils is good. Detailed policies are in place to promote their safety and well-being. Risk assessments are thorough and cover all aspects of pupil and staff activity. The child protection policy meets current requirements. The school establishes positive links with external agencies and utilises the expertise of other professionals very well. The staff benefit from the training received from the professionals and this contributes effectively to all staff’s understanding of the school’s multi-agency working.

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

The school liaises very well with parents to ensure that pupils’ welfare and pastoral needs are met effectively. There is an excellent staffing ratio in school which ensures that pupils are closely supervised and receive very good support in all activities. Pupils’ safety awareness is promoted well through the activities that they do, for example when out in the community staff promote their road safety awareness. Through their topic work and by taking regular exercise, pupils are also helped to understand about keeping healthy.

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

The school has a one year plan in place to consider pupils’ improved access to the buildings and the curriculum. In respect to the site in Guildford, issues remain for pupils who may in the future have mobility difficulties or disabilities and planning to improve provision here is yet to be completed for the longer term. As a result, the school does not fulfil its duties under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2002. During the inspection, the senior staff were also made aware of a number of minor issues that require the school’s attention.

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Suitability of the proprietor and staff

Appropriate checks are made on staff prior to appointment to confirm their suitability to work with children. All staff and governors have undergone Criminal Records Bureau screening at the enhanced level.

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School’s premises and accommodation

The school’s premises and accommodation on both sites are adequate. Teachers and teaching assistants make good use of all available space. Rooms at the Dunsfold site are much more spacious for teaching, administration and storage than at Guildford. Both sites have rooms set aside for pupils who are ill during the school day. However, the room on the Dunsfold site requires a wash-basin to fully meet the requirements. There is no specialist subject accommodation on either site. However, the school makes very good use of local schools for food technology, science, and physical education. The outdoor play areas are adequate. Large play apparatus is well used at the Guildford site and the installation of suitable equipment is imminent at Dunsfold. The premises are well maintained and in good decorative order.

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Provision of information for parents, carers and others

Information to parents is of a high quality. School policies are routinely shared with parents whilst other information is readily available upon request. The prospectus and information pack for parents provide a range of helpful information about the school and how it is run. The school’s web-site also contributes very well to the information available about the school as does the governors’ annual report to parents. Regular contact is made with parents about their children’s progress through communication booklets that are sent home on a daily basis and through a more detailed monthly communication. Parents also receive copies of their children’s annual review reports. Workshops for parents are run so that they are familiar with the specialised work of a CABAS® school and, through the school’s research and training, Jigsaw School also contributes to information for other organisations.

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Procedures for handling complaints

The school’s recently revised complaints policy and procedures for handling complaints are clearly written and meet requirements. The school has not received any formal written complaints in the last 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 the curriculum (standard 1) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 provide a modern foreign language for those pupils for whom it is appropriate according to their statements (paragraph 1(2)(e)).

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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

 provide appropriate facilities for pupils who are ill (paragraph 5(l)).

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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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What the school could do to improve further

While not required by the regulations, the school might wish to consider the following points for development:

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What the school could do to improve further

 extend the range of careers education and work related learning  improve provision for pupils to access ICT  increase the opportunities for pupils to make independent choices.

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School details

Name of school The Jigsaw School DCSF number 936/6579 Unique reference number 131976 Type of school Special day school for pupils with autistic spectrum disorders Status Independent Date school opened September 1999 Age range of pupils 4–16 years Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll Boys: 27 Girls: 4 Total: 31 Number of pupils with a statement of special educational need Boys: 27 Girls: 4 Total: 31 Number of pupils who are looked after Boys: 2 Girls: 0 Total: 2 Annual fees £44,381–£46,920 Address of school Building 21 Dunsfold Park Stovolds Hill Cranleigh Surrey GU6 8TB Telephone number 01483 273874 Fax number 01483 548986 Email address kategrant@jigsawschool.co.uk Headteacher Ms Kate Grant Proprietor The Jigsaw Trust Reporting inspector Elisabeth Linley HMI Dates of inspection 13-14 November 2007

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