Gosberton House Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Key findings

Gosberton House is an outstanding school.

All groups of pupils, including boys and girls and those who have the most complex learning needs, achieve extremely well from their starting points on entering the school. This is because : the teaching is outstanding overall. Teachers are expert at helping pupils who have autistic spectrum conditions to learn and to self-manage their behaviour.

As a result, pupils' behaviour and their understanding of how to keep themselves safe are excellent. Pupils make significant strides in their willingness to be flexible and in the ways in which they are aware of and take account of others needs. Teachers know each pupil's needs and challenges very well indeed ...and plan lessons that are extremely well targeted on next steps in learning for each pupil.

Very occasionally the pace and challenge of a lesson is too easy for a few, for example when everyone in a class is being taught together. Partnership working with families and other agencies is a real strength of the school. Families say that they have total confidence in the way that the school provides for their children and keeps them safe and used many superlatives such as 'brilliant' and 'wonderful' to describe the teaching, the care and the leadership team.

Leadership and management at all levels are excellent, including that of the Early Years Foundation Stage and outreach service. Excellent leadership of teaching includes highly accurate evaluation of the performance of staff. Leaders analyse the school's data rigorously to make sure that every pupil has the opportunity to succeed, that their talents are nurtured and their well being secured.

They ensure that an excellent range of experiences promote pupils' spiritual moral social and cultural development and their personal development exceptionally well.

Information about the school

Gosberton House School is an average-sized special school in the village of Gosberton in Lincolnshire. It caters mainly for pupils with autistic spectrum conditions and social, communication and language difficulties, although most have additional needs such as moderate or severe learning difficulties or medical needs.

Pupils enter the school at varying times during their primary education, many transferring from mainstream schools. Some enter the school as late as Year 6. The school has an assessment facility in its Early Years Foundation Stage class and some of these children transfer when they are five years old to mainstream schools or other special schools.

All pupils have a statement of special educational needs. There are many more boys than girls and the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is high. The majority of pupils are from a White British background.

A very few speak English as an additional language or are looked after by the local authority. The school has an outreach role providing over 60 schools with advice about pupils with autistic spectrum and social, communication and language difficulties. The school has numerous prestigious awards, including Autism Accreditation through the National Autistic Society.