Beatrice Tate School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Beatrice Tate School continues to be an outstanding school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to Beatrice Tate School.

They are greeted by staff, as they enter the school, with wide smiles and joyous music. Pupils enjoy their learning and are proud of their achievements. Parents and carers appreciate the regular communication that they have with the staff.

Parents know how the staff are supporting and caring for their children while they are at school.

Pupils who attend the school have a wide range of severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties. Leaders and staff have very high expectations of all pupils.

Staff are well ...trained to support pupils as they develop their communication skills. They help pupils to gain the knowledge and skills that they will need for their lives ahead.

Pupils' behaviour is excellent.

Staff skilfully support pupils, recognising that pupils' behaviour is a form of communication. Staff have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. If a pupil's behaviour slips, staff use personalised strategies to remind them of what is expected and quickly bring them back on track.

Staff care greatly for the pupils they work with. Bullying is very rare, but staff recognise that it can happen. Staff receive appropriate training to support pupils who are more at risk of being bullied.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have designed a highly ambitious curriculum which also closely matches the needs of each individual pupil. Pupils are taught a broad range of subjects to increase their knowledge. Teachers provide a wealth of expertly planned opportunities for pupils to develop their communication skills and independence.

Students and parents are prepared for the transition to new settings as soon as students begin in the sixth form. Day-care providers and colleges are invited into school to meet prospective students and ensure a smooth transition to the next stage in education.

The curriculum has a strong focus on communication.

This provides pupils with the building blocks they need for adult life, such as being able to express their wishes and regulate their behaviour. Pupils are supported step by step to communicate using a range of means, including picture cards and electronic devices. Pupils develop their communication skills exceptionally well.

This also helps pupils to manage their behaviour. Learning is not disrupted due to poor behaviour or bullying.

Staff use well-chosen books and stories to support pupils' communication skills and to develop a sense of enjoyment around language.

Pupils join in with aspects of call and response to develop their understanding of the texts. Other pupils experience story through a range of sensory stimulation, including taste, touch and smell. Pupils gain an enjoyment of reading.

Through the curriculum, staff use music skilfully to further develop concepts around communication and emotion. For example, the school has participated in the London Symphony Orchestra outreach programme, where pupils are taught about musical concepts such as pitch and tempo. Pupils use this knowledge when they perform in group compositions on things they enjoy, such as their favourite foods.

Pupils also learn how to understand and express emotions through the carefully planned curriculum for drama and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. Teachers skilfully use plays, such as Shakespeare's The Tempest, to help pupils understand emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger and confusion. Pupils have plentiful opportunities to celebrate the differences within their community.

For example, during Eid celebrations, pupils prepared food and decorations.

Pupils move around the school calmly. During lunchtimes and playtimes, staff support pupils' play very well.

They join in with them, involving pupils in dance and games.

The physical, sensory, and motor development curriculums help pupils to better understand how they control their bodies. Yoga and dance support pupils to develop their physical flexibility.

Sports such as hockey and boccia help pupils to learn how to play games and use equipment safely.

Staff prepare sixth-form students very well for the next phase of their education or life out of school. Students are supported to learn life skills that will enable them to have a higher degree of independence.

Students spoke about activities such as 'Hotel in the Park', where they learn about cooking, making beds, using public transport and other transferable skills. Students also learn about their changing bodies and how to keep themselves safe.

Leaders have developed systems that closely check how well pupils are learning the curriculum.

Teachers have a detailed understanding of how each pupil is developing. Staff share the information they gather in school so that parents can also see what their children are learning. Pupils achieve very well.

Staff receive regular training. This helps them to better support the pupils they work with. Staff also said that they feel well supported by leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff make sure that pupils' well-being and safety are of great importance. All staff and governors have regular training, which helps to ensure a consistent approach to safeguarding.

As a result, staff know how to identify risks and what to do if they have concerns about pupils' welfare. Pupils are treated with dignity and gentleness. Leaders work effectively with other agencies and are not afraid to challenge other professionals if necessary.

Leaders ensure that detailed records are kept. Records are monitored regularly to ensure that when changes or patterns appear in pupils' behaviour, leaders are able to act on them.

Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that a good school could now be better than good, or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in November 2011.