Ernest Cookson School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils across the two sites have very different experiences at this school. The majority of pupils who attend the main school receive a poor standard of education. They have been let down by frequent changes in leadership and a curriculum which does not meet their special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively.

The experience of a small group of pupils could not be more different. These pupils receive their education at the school's satellite site. They have been protected from the turmoil that the school has recently faced.

These pupils are much more positive about school than the majority of their peers. They behave well and they learn and achieve ...more.

Pupils in the main school site are frequently exposed to aggressive and unruly behaviour.

Many pupils told inspectors that this makes them feel unsafe. For them, school is often an unhappy place to be. Many staff do not believe that they have the support that they need to successfully address incidents of misbehaviour.

Over a period of time, the school's expectations of what most pupils can and should achieve have fallen sharply. As a result, most pupils do not achieve well. They make little or no progress towards the targets in their education, health and care (EHC) plans.

Until very recently, the school has done little to halt this decline in its effectiveness.

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

This school has been devoid of effective leadership for a long time. A rapid succession of temporary leadership arrangements has created confusion for staff and inconsistency in their approaches to supporting pupils.

Governors' actions to stem the decline in pupils' behaviour and achievement since the previous inspection have been unsuccessful.

Very recently, intensive support from the local authority has provided some glimmer of hope. This support is helping the school to begin to take positive steps towards improvement.

However, the weaknesses in the school's provision are wide-ranging and entrenched. As a result, there is little evidence to indicate that the recent changes are making real or sustained differences to pupils' experiences at school. Many staff are new, others are temporary and some positions remain unfilled.

Overall, there is very limited capacity to bring about much-needed improvements.

Some decisions taken in the interests of managing poor behaviour have curtailed the school's ambition for most pupils. For instance, the school day has been shortened in length.

In addition, pupils who attend the main site experience fewer subject lessons than their peers at the satellite site. Furthermore, the curriculum in many subjects is newly established. These subjects have only just begun to be taught at all.

The school is still identifying the knowledge that pupils should learn. Most staff are unclear about what they should be teaching. Many do not have the expertise that they need to select effective ways to teach.

Added to this, lessons are frequently interrupted or abandoned due to poor behaviour. This considerably limits how well pupils learn.

In sharp contrast, the efforts of staff at the satellite site have ensured that a minority of pupils experience a better quality of education.

This aspect of the school is an oasis of calm. Pupils learn what they should and they achieve well. The school has not acted to address the gulf of inequality that exists between the two sites.

Nor has it ensured that successful practices at the satellite site are replicated in the main school.

The deficiencies in the curriculum also extend to the school's provision for personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. This is of poor quality.

Added to this, pupils at the main site take part in enrichment activities which are unavailable to those on the satellite site. The school has not considered how these experiences will contribute to pupils' wider understanding of the world. Consequently, pupils are not developing into respectful, responsible citizens.

They have not learned enough to prepare them adequately for life in modern Britain.

All pupils at the school have SEND. The school's systems for assessing and meeting their needs are poorly developed.

Often, individual plans for pupils do not adequately break down their EHC plans into achievable targets. Staff do not know how best to help these pupils to succeed. In addition, the school has not successfully established strategies to check what pupils know and can do.

As a result, staff are often unaware of, and fail to address, the deficits in pupils' knowledge, skills and understanding. Overall, neither the school's curriculum nor the way in which staff deliver it are helping pupils to develop their social and emotional skills appropriately.

Many pupils cannot read well enough for their age.

The school has begun to prioritise reading. It has introduced a suitable phonics programme for pupils in key stage 1. This is starting to help the youngest pupils to learn sounds and the letters that they represent.

Pupils in key stage 2 who struggle to read have not received any support to catch up. A considerable number have missing phonics knowledge. This places a further barrier in the way of their achievement.

In recent months, the school has renewed its expectations of pupils' conduct. There has been a reduction in the frequency of serious incidents. However, these still occur too often.

Some pupils' lack of respect for each other undermines the positive environment that the school is striving to create. Staff described the daily disruption to learning, and the additional workload that it creates, as a major challenge to their well-being.

A considerable proportion of pupils, including some of the most vulnerable pupils, are persistently absent from school.

The school engages with appropriate external agencies to support these pupils to attend school. This has led to a reduction in absence levels for some pupils. However, there is a lack of systematic analysis to identify the reasons why some pupils do not attend.

Consequently, the school's actions to bring about improvement have not made enough difference to some pupils' rates of attendance.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The governing body has not ensured that the school's safer recruitment policy is enacted effectively.

They have failed to carry out all of the checks on new governors that are required by law. While this does not place pupils at risk of harm, it represents a clear breach in the duties that governors must uphold.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leadership capacity at all levels is weak.

The school does not have the ability to address the shortcomings in pupils' education without considerable support. As a result, pupils' achievement has declined sharply since the previous inspection. Governors must ensure that there is sufficient capacity, knowledge and expertise within the school to bring about successful and sustainable improvements.

• Over time, some pupils' behaviour has deteriorated to the point that it has prevented the majority of pupils from learning effectively in an orderly environment. It also makes some pupils feel unsafe and unhappy. In addition, many pupils are persistently absent from school.

The school must take urgent steps to ensure that consistent strategies to improve pupils' behaviour and attendance are in place, and that staff are supported to use them effectively. ? In most subjects, the curriculum is ineffective. Pupils' experience of learning is often disjointed and lacking in structure.

Added to this, the curriculum does not appropriately support pupils' social and emotional needs. As a result, pupils underachieve considerably. The school must design and implement a curriculum that is coherent, meets pupils' needs and allows them to securely develop their knowledge and skills over time.

• Some staff lack the expertise to teach effectively. The school has not supported them sufficiently well to design learning and select appropriate pedagogies that meet pupils' needs. This further hinders how well pupils learn.

The school should ensure that staff receive appropriate guidance and support to deliver subject curriculums consistently well. ? The school's systems to assess pupils' learning, including their social and emotional learning and how well they can read, are embryonic. Consequently, staff do not know where pupils have developed gaps or misconceptions in their learning, nor how well they are progressing towards the objectives in their EHC plans.

The school must ensure that there is a coherent approach to checking how well pupils are learning the curriculum and to addressing gaps in pupils' knowledge, including their reading knowledge. The majority of pupils do not receive a suitable quality PSHE education. Added to this, the opportunities that the school provides to support pupils' wider development are not made available to all pupils equitably.

Pupils' preparation for later life is starkly uneven. The school must ensure that its provision for pupils' personal development is of a high quality, delivered consistently well and accessible by all. ? The governing body has failed to uphold some of its duties.

It has not ensured that the safer recruitment checks carried out on governors are in line with those required by law. Furthermore, the governing body has not ensured that pupils at the school have an equal access to education. Governors must ensure that all of their responsibilities are met.