Brays School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.

Pupils make outstanding progress in English and mathematics. This is because teaching is outstanding and every moment is used to promote learning. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make rapid gains in communicating by using signs, pictures, switches or words.

Pupils make huge strides towards becoming independent in moving around freely and feeding themselves. Teaching is inspirational. Teachers know exactly what each pupil should learn next.

They plan effectively and creatively to make sure that this learning takes place. The provision of exceptional care to meet pupils' complex medical needs lies at the heart... of the school. Teachers and health workers ensure pupils are seated comfortably so they are free from pain and able to learn.

Very imaginative adaptations are made to wheelchairs and furniture to achieve this. Behaviour is outstanding. Pupils are very good at keeping themselves safe to the best of their ability.

Teachers and teaching assistants are highly creative. They provide an outstanding range of teaching methods, resources and demanding activities to meet pupils' widely varying needs. Support for communication and physical development is a part of every lesson in all subjects, so pupils make excellent progress.

All leaders, including the governing body, are committed to equipping every pupil with the skills needed to move on to secondary education. Rigorous checking of teaching and a thorough understanding of how each pupil learns best means that pupils' achievement constantly improves. Expertise from this school makes a valuable contribution to supporting pupils with physical disabilities in mainstream schools throughout the City of Birmingham.

Very occasionally, pupils are taken out of the class for routine personal hygiene at the very moment they are learning something new. This interferes with their rate of learning. On rare occasions, staff do not act quickly enough to remove distractions for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder so that they continue to concentrate well.

Staff do not always use pupils' own interests well enough to inspire their learning further.

Information about this school

This school makes provision for pupils with physical difficulties, severe learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties, autistic spectrum disorder, specific communication and language disorders, visual impairment and hearing impairment. Most pupils have additional complex medical needs.

All pupils have a statement of special educational needs. The number on roll has increased since the previous inspection, particularly in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The needs of these children are more complex than they were previously.

This school does not use any other alternative schools or locations to provide regular education for its pupils. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds, including those from families where English is an additional language, are above average. These pupils are represented across all the different disability and special educational needs groups in the school.

An above average proportion of pupils are eligible for pupil premium funding, which is extra government funding for pupils looked after by the local authority and known to be eligible for free school meals. The school has a service level agreement with Birmingham City Local Authority to support mainstream schools across the city in providing for pupils with physical difficulties. Brays has status as a National Teaching School, a National Support School and a National School of Creativity.