Green Fold School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to Green Fold School. It is a place where all pupils flourish.

Staff are passionate and enthusiastic about providing the very best education for pupils. Relationships between staff and pupils are exceptional. Pupils know that staff care for them deeply and that there is always an adult there for them when needed.

Consequently, pupils feel happy and know that they are in safe hands.

From children in early years to the oldest pupils, there is no ceiling placed upon what staff want pupils to achieve. Staff have a thorough understanding of pupils' unique and complex needs.

This, along with an aspirational curriculum, ensures that pupil...s, all of whom have special educational needs and/or disabilities, are exceptionally well prepared for their next steps in education.

Staff skilfully help pupils to regulate their own behaviour and to manage their emotions. Staff are experts at noticing when pupils experience distress or discomfort, and they respond quickly and sensitively.

Pupils benefit from an impressive range of activities that promote their wider development. For example, staff make sure that they encourage every pupil in key stages 1 and 2 to attend a residential, where pupils begin to become independent and take part in activities that challenge and inspire them.

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

The school has designed a highly effective and ambitious curriculum.

The school's curriculum thinking is exceptionally well developed and reflects a strong determination that every pupil will benefit from rich and engaging learning experiences.

All staff receive frequent, high-quality training. In turn, many are experts in their field and have lots of opportunities to work collaboratively and to share best practice with others.

This includes working with mainstream and special schools across the local authority.

Teachers are confident in the subjects that they teach. They skilfully use the information that they have about each pupil to break down learning into small, manageable steps.

Staff have a deep understanding of how to adapt the delivery of the curriculum for all pupils. A range of professionals, including speech and language therapists and occupational therapists, work in unison with the teaching staff. Together, they use the education, health and care (EHC) plans so that individual targets are seamlessly interwoven into all aspects of the curriculum.

As a result, all pupils thrive.

At the forefront of the school's work is a focus on developing pupils' communication and language skills. Staff apply a wide range of communication strategies across the school and identify personalised communication pathways for each pupil.

From the early years, children are taught early reading skills. Pupils enjoy learning the foundations for reading through, for example, listening and responding to sounds around school. Pupils who are ready to learn phonics develop their early reading skills well.

They decode texts and read books that are closely matched to the sounds that they already know. Fostering a love of reading is a prominent feature in school. Pupils have regular access to a wealth of books.

They frequently share stories, songs, rhymes and poems with staff and with each other.

Staff support pupils impressively well to manage their own behaviour. Most pupils struggle at times and need extra help and understanding.

From the early years onwards, children are taught to follow routines and to take turns. As pupils get older, they are increasingly able to self-regulate and enjoy friendships, socialising and participating in all that the school has to offer. The school works tenaciously to ensure that pupils attend school regularly, demonstrating sensitivity to the difficulties and barriers that families face.

The school ensures that all pupils have access to a rich set of experiences that contribute well to their personal development. Decisions about what to offer begin with finding out about pupils' talents and interests. The school takes up many opportunities for joint activities with the neighbouring mainstream primary school.

Pupils enjoy regular outings and trips. They spoke with pride about their participation in sporting events, such as curling and boccia competitions, as well as their involvement in national challenges.

Governors share the school's ambition and commitment.

Staff value the support that they receive for their well-being and workload. For example, they feel that their ideas are listened to and appreciate the school's clear expectations for the year ahead. Staff are proud to work at the school and share the school's determination to make a real difference to the lives of pupils and their families.

Parents and carers were effusive about Green Fold. Typical comments were that staff at the school 'go above and beyond' in all that they do for their children and for them as parents.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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