Cann Bridge School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. The headteacher and senior leadership team have managed the school's move to the Tor Bridge campus very well. As a result, the pupils are already happily settled and say that they like their new school very much.

Pupils achieve well in key areas such as literacy and numeracy. They make excellent progress in learning to communicate because : staff are very skilled in using symbols and signing to support communication. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make outstanding progress.

Extremely detailed records demonstrate very clearly their pride, concentration and enjoyment in learning. Pupils' behaviour is outstanding. They try ver...y hard in lessons and are kind and friendly.

Excellent management of problematic behaviour, including exemplary behaviour plans, enable pupils to make outstanding progress in learning to manage their own behaviour. The sixth form is good. Students in the sixth form access a good variety of practical activities which enable them to make good progress in developing independent living skills.

Teaching is good with some outstanding practice. Teachers and support staff know the pupils very well and relationships are excellent. Teamwork is very good and all pupils, including those with more complex needs, are given good individual support.

Leadership and management are good. Planning for school development is very strong. Procedures to monitor the work of teachers and support staff are good.

Consequently, the contribution of support staff in lessons has improved well since the previous inspection. Links with the other schools in the Tor Bridge Partnership are developing well. Governors know the school well and provide good support.

They challenge senior leaders where necessary. Governors have very good expertise in financial management and monitor the school's budget extremely well. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Teachers do not always set clear, individual targets for learning which pupils understand.

In a small minority of lessons, pupils are not involved enough in whole-class activities.

Information about this school

Cann Bridge School is a special school for pupils with severe learning difficulties (SLD). A minority of pupils have autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and a few pupils have profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD).

All pupils have a statement of special educational needs. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for support through 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) is around the national average. Almost all pupils are of White British heritage and speak English as their first language.

A large majority of pupils are boys. The school takes pupils from Plymouth Local Authority as well as from Cornwall and Devon. The school holds the Healthy Schools award and the Basic Skills Quality Mark for both primary and secondary.

Since the previous inspection, the school no longer manages a class in a local primary school or any residential provision. However, the age range has been extended to 19 years with the creation of a sixth form in September 2011. The school has also established two off-site provisions for a few pupils with complex needs.

The school, which was previously known as Downham School, became part of a federation in July 2011. There are currently two schools in the federation, Cann Bridge School and Tor Bridge Primary School. The school moved on to a brand new campus in September 2012 along with Plym Bridge Nursery School and Children's Centre, Tor Bridge Primary School and Tor Bridge High School to form the Tor Bridge Partnership.

The headteacher of Cann Bridge School is Executive Principal of the four schools in the partnership. A company, which involves governors from all the schools in the partnership, has been created to oversee the strategic direction of the campus. Talks are underway with the Department for Education to establish, in September 2013, a multi-academy trust to include Cann Bridge School, Tor Bridge Primary School and Tor Bridge High School.

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