Chesnut Lodge Special School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Pupils make good progress from very low starting points because adults quickly build excellent and supportive relationships which help build knowledge, skills and understanding.

Achievement is good across all key stages. The quality of teaching is good. The best teaching encourages pupils to think for themselves and makes use of every opportunity to enhance their communication skills.

Reading, writing and mathematics are taught well through the thematic curriculum which has been planned and modified creatively to meet the needs of all pupils effectively. Teaching assistants and other adults in the class effectively and sensitively suppor...t pupils' medical, sensory and behaviour needs and encourage a positive attitude to learning. Behaviour is good in lessons and around the school.

Pupils benefit from well-planned and rigorously implemented rules. Pupils feel safe in school and are confident that any concerns they share with staff will be dealt with effectively. The school is well led and managed.

Leaders and managers have a clear understanding of the steps needed to ensure the school provides a good quality education. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and their physical well-being are good. They are well-prepared for when they leave the school.

The governing body is highly supportive and challenging of the school and supports on-going improvements in all aspects of the school's work. Safeguarding arrangements are secure. It is not yet an outstanding school because : The analysis of data about attainment does not enable leaders and governors to challenge the level of progress pupils make over time.

Greater use could be made of the positive links with outstanding schools to improve teaching and raise the level of challenge for pupils to work more independently. The school could do more for a small number of pupils during their extended absence due to medical reasons.

Information about this school

Chesnut Lodge Special School provides education for pupils aged 2 to16 with a wide range of physical disabilities; medical and increasingly complex learning needs, including profound and multiple learning difficulties.

Pupils' skills on entry are below the level expected for their chronological age. Pupils are drawn from the Halton area and some from Warrington. Pupils join at any stage in their school life but most start in the Nursery, with some attending on a part-time basis from mainstream schools.

The Early Years Foundation Stage consists of a Nursery class that provides for children who will remain at Chesnut Lodge Special School and for children who will attend other primary schools. Nearly all pupils are of White British backgrounds and none speaks English as an additional language. The proportion of students for whom the school receives pupil premium funding (additional funding allocated by the government for certain groups of pupils, in this case, those who are known to be eligible for free school meals and who are looked after by the local authority) is above average.

The school has Arts Mark Gold, Full International School Award, Silver Kite Mark for School Games, Enhanced Healthy School status, and is an accredited expert centre for global learning. The school provides an outreach service and hosts the local assistive technology service. The school provides help and support for pupils with physical disabilities who attend local schools in the county.