Clifford Holroyde Specialist Sen College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Clifford Holroyde Specialist SEN College has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Clifford Holroyde is a caring and nurturing school where pupils feel safe. Prior to joining this school, many pupils have attended several schools and have experienced long periods of disrupted education.

Coming to the school marks a turning point in their lives. Pupils reported that they are happy and valued by the school. Most pupils rise to the school's high expectations and achieve well.

Almost all pupils go on to education, training and employment when they leave Year 11.

Many pupils have e...xhibited challenging behaviour in their mainstream schools. Staff work hard to build trusting relationships with pupils from the moment that they join the school.

This helps pupils who struggle to manage their behaviour remain calm and refocus. Pupils typically behave well in lessons and around the school. They show positive attitudes to learning.

Pupils benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular activities, such as football, swimming, rowing and The Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme. These opportunities help to build their confidence and self-esteem. Pupils enjoy taking part in community initiatives, such as selling Christmas trees to the public during the weekend, serving at a local church soup kitchen and baking and selling cakes.

These activities help to develop their independence and prepare them for adulthood.

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

The school is ambitious for its pupils. Since the previous inspection, the school has broadened the range of subjects that pupils can study.

Pupils spoke positively about the opportunity to study a modern foreign language and take music lessons. Most subject curriculums are designed to enable pupils to build their knowledge in a logical way as they move through the school.

Many pupils have significant gaps in their learning.

These can be due to a range of significant experiences, including trauma, high anxiety and poor mental health. The school carries out careful checks, when pupils join, to identify their social, emotional, mental health and academic needs. Staff are also alert to any other additional needs that pupils may have and identify these swiftly.

This enables the school to tailor curriculum pathways and therapeutic approaches to address each pupil's individual challenges.

In the main, staff deliver the curriculum well. They revisit important content regularly.

Pupils receive appropriate support in class. Most staff use assessment strategies well to check what pupils know and can do. This helps pupils to build their knowledge and remember more over time.

Pupils being able to read well is a key priority. The school has introduced a new programme to improve pupils' reading. Many staff have received appropriate training to deliver this.

Pupils now have more opportunities to read in school than they had previously. However, the school's strategies for supporting pupils who struggle with reading are still in the early stages of implementation. This means that a small number of pupils have gaps in their reading knowledge.

This affects their ability to access the wider curriculum.

The school has created clear routines that are understood and followed by most pupils. This helps pupils to settle quickly into lessons.

Pupils' mental health and well-being are central to the school's pastoral care. This leads to the behaviour of many pupils improving over time. The school is typically a calm and orderly place.

Attendance is a high priority. Before joining the school, many pupils had very poor attendance. For some pupils, the journey to school can be a negative factor in them attending every day.

The school uses a range of strategies to encourage regular attendance. This has led to an improvement for some pupils. Despite these efforts, the absence rates for some pupils are still too high.

Consequently, these pupils miss out on vital learning.

The school places a strong focus on developing pupils' character and resilience. Pupils learn about healthy and respectful relationships.

They find out about different faiths and beliefs. This helps to foster tolerance and respect for others. A recent trip to a local theatre raised pupils' awareness of local risks, such as gang and knife crime.

Pupils receive high-quality careers advice and guidance. They benefit from work placements. This enables them to be well prepared for their next steps.

Staff work together as a close-knit, highly committed team. They enjoy working at the school. Staff appreciate the support that they receive for their well-being and workload.

Governors offer support and hold the school to account effectively. They have a clear understanding of what needs to improve.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school's plans to develop a minority of pupils' reading fluency and confidence are not fully in place. This means that those pupils who find reading difficult do not access the curriculum as well as they could. The school should continue to implement its reading strategy so that these pupils catch up quickly with their reading.

• Some pupils do not attend school as often as they should. Consequently, they miss too much learning and develop gaps in their knowledge. The school should continue to work with pupils and their families to ensure that pupils attend school regularly.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

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

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in November 2014.