Briarwood School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Briarwood School is a place where pupils feel safe, secure and understood. The school is calm and orderly. It is a place where pupils thrive.

A skilled, patient staff team warmly welcomes pupils each morning. Pupils settle into consistent, safe routines. Pupils know that what lies ahead is a carefully planned day that takes their unique character as well as their communication and learning needs into account.

As a result, pupils love their time at Briarwood and want to be there. They know that the school helps them to learn the things they need so that they can be as ready as they can for their next steps.

The curriculum is crystal clear.

Ambitious, ...yet realistic, goals are set out in tiny, detailed steps. Consequently, learning activities help to get the absolute best from everyone. Pupils respond by trying hard in lessons.

Staff celebrate achievements, however small, with joy.

Briarwood achieves the vision it has set out. Pupils enjoy what they do, engage with their learning, and learn to the best of their ability.

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

Pupils who attend Briarwood School face complex challenges. What they experience at the school is heartening. Staff do everything possible to understand pupils' starting points as well as their communication and learning needs.

This leads to bespoke, individualised learning pathways. These are based on a well-constructed curriculum that has a clear set of goals.

The school is determined to achieve the absolute best it can for all pupils.

No stone is left unturned when seeking to understand pupils' challenges and barriers. Staff ensure that pupils have the support they need to develop essential skills, such as reading, writing and mathematics. Close partnership working ensures that, wherever possible, pupils achieve relevant qualifications.

The school centres on preparing pupils for their futures.

Pupils in key stage 1 experience stories such as 'We're going on a bear hunt'. Stories come to life through sensory experiences such as dance, music, light, sounds and sensations.

In key stage 2, pupils continue to learn to love books and reading. The school library provides a wide range of accessible reading materials to attract all pupils. As a result, pupils enjoy choosing books and sharing them.

The school carefully considers how to support pupils' personal development. Pupils across Briarwood experience a wide range of activities. To enrich their learning, staff enable pupils to access visits to local sites.

Clubs such as sing-and-sign choir build on pupils' interests and provide relevant opportunities to develop confidence and character.

In the sixth form, the personal and social curriculum helps pupils to develop independent skills. Pupils are supported to be prepared for the world of work as much as is possible and relevant.

The school advocates for each pupil, working with determination to support career choices and secure workplace experiences. Pupils attend the Duke of Edinburgh's Award activities, including residentials. This contributes well to pupils' confidence to move on to their next steps.

A strength of Briarwood is how effectively everyone works together to share and consider information. Systems to check how well pupils learn the curriculum are particularly effective. The school identifies a wide range of factors that could affect learning or attendance.

Pastoral and academic teams collaborate closely to build a complete and detailed understanding of every pupil. The school works positively with parents and carers to ensure that families have any extra help they need from a wide range of agencies. This approach leads to successful adaptations to learning and improvements to attendance.

Consequently, pupils at Briarwood achieve well.

Staff report high satisfaction with the support they receive to do their jobs well. Well-considered, continuous professional development ensures that staff have the precise knowledge they need to implement the curriculum effectively.

Briarwood leads the way in the local area, providing highly bespoke provision for pupils, including for pupils with the most challenging of behaviours. Pupils at the Nexus Centre are supported very effectively to learn, step by step, how to manage their anxieties, how to communicate and join in with their peers.

There is no complacency here.

Governors and leaders work together to continually review and check quality. The whole team is absolutely determined that everything will continue to be done to secure the best possible outcomes for all pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.