Linden Lodge School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Senior leaders and governors have worked effectively to improve the school.

They have a clear vision for further improvement which is supported by most staff. The governors know the school well and provide a good balance of challenge and support. The early years classes give the youngest pupils an excellent start.

The strengths in the primary and secondary sections of the school are also present in the sixth form. Safeguarding arrangements are effective and meet legal requirements. Leaders check the quality of teaching very regularly and provide training and support for staff so that they can improve their skills.

Teaching is goo...d because staff plan carefully to meet pupils' individual needs. This helps them to make good progress. Attractive displays show what pupils are capable of achieving and encourage everyone to aim high.

The school's ethos reflects British values such as respect for others and democracy. Through the school council, pupils are involved in making decisions about the life of the school. Pupils enjoy school and make good progress particularly in communication skills and mobility, often from very low starting points.

Disadvantaged pupils are now making broadly the same progress as other pupils, as are those who speak English as an additional language. Pupils' behaviour is excellent. They are polite and friendly to each other and to adults, and have very good attitudes to learning.

Teachers and support staff work closely together to provide good support for their pupils. Middle leaders contribute strongly to improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Surveys of parents' views show that most parents believe that their children like school and are well cared for.

Staff know that expectations have not always been high enough for older pupils, particularly the most able. They do not have enough opportunities to take recognised qualifications where this is appropriate. Where teaching is best, teachers give good feedback throughout the lesson which helps pupils to made really rapid progress.

This is not consistent across all classes.

Information about this school

The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website. Linden Lodge accepts pupils from a wide range of local authorities in London and the south east.

The school caters for children from the age of 2 to 19, though currently there are no children aged two or three on roll. Almost all pupils have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care (EHC) plan. Pupils all have visual impairment and many have other special educational needs and disabilities, including hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorders, epilepsy and cerebral palsy.

Many children have profound and multiple physical disabilities as well as educational needs. The school has boarding provision on site for 40 pupils. This provision was last inspected in November 2016 and judged good.

The provision was not part of this inspection. The school does not use any off-site training. The management of the school is in a state of transition.

The principal has executive responsibility but the day-to-day running of the school is now the responsibility of the interim headteacher. The governing body is about to start the appointment process for a substantive headteacher. A clinical lead was appointed in September 2016 to work with both the school and the health authority.

Just over a third of pupils are from White British families. Other pupils come from a range of other ethnic backgrounds. The largest other group is of Black African origin.

Just over a third of pupils speak English as an additional language, though few are at an early stage of learning English. The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium is slightly above average. The school holds a number of awards, including the Arts Mark Gold, the Safety Mark and Investors in People.

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