Barley Lane School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. The headteacher has very successfully created a calm and ordered environment where staff and pupils feel safe and good learning can take place. Staff are proud of working at the school and very committed to helping the pupils to succeed.

Senior leaders, including governors, monitor the work of the school very well and have successfully raised achievement and improved the quality of teaching. Development planning is strong. Relationships are very good and teachers and support staff have good skills in managing problematic behaviour.

As a result, lessons proceed smoothly, pupils try hard and are keen to join in with all activities. Parents... and carers are very pleased with the good progress which their children make in improving their attitudes and behaviour. Pupils learn well because teaching is good, with some outstanding teaching.

Teachers are good at explaining new topics to pupils and asking the right questions to make sure that they understand. Pupils of all ages achieve well, with some outstanding achievement in Key Stage 4, particularly in information and communication technology (ICT) and physical education (PE). Outcomes for pupils are good, with virtually all Year 11 leavers moving on successfully to colleges of further education.

It is not yet an outstanding school because : In a very few lessons teachers do not always set work at exactly the right level for individual pupils and marking, particularly in the secondary school, does not always show pupils exactly what they have to do to gain better marks. Attendance has improved well. However, the attendance of a few pupils is too low.

Although pupils are generally supported very well in lessons, there are a few instances where they are given too much support so they do not have the chance to work things out for themselves. Curriculum planning does not always provide enough opportunities to develop pupils' literacy and numeracy skills through the other subjects of the curriculum.

Information about this school

Barley Lane School is a special school for boys with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.

All pupils have a statement of special educational needs. Almost all pupils are of White British heritage and speak English as their first language. The school serves the whole of Devon, with a few pupils from the Plymouth local authority.

The school receives the pupil premium (additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children who are looked after by the local authority and the children of service families) for around half of the total number of pupils. This is high in comparison with the national average. In September 2011, the school began to admit a small number of pupils in Years 3 to 6 and, in September 2012, a three class Key Stage 2 unit was established.

In 2012, Barley Lane, together with the other special schools in the local authority, formed the SENtient Trust. This is a cooperative trust which works to benefit all its members by, for example, appointing a business manager to work across the schools. The school works with two alternative providers, Exeter College and Combe Pafford (a special school in Torbay), to offer practical courses for pupils in Years 10 and 11.