Newlands School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Evidence gathered during this ungraded (section 8) inspection suggests that aspects of the school's work may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection. The school's next inspection will be a graded inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are made to feel valued as part of this school community. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and friendly. Staff spend time to get to know each pupil well.

Pupils, who all have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), typically behave well.

This is a time of change at Newlands School. This is because pupils now have an increasingly extensive range of complex needs.

The s...chool has high expectations for pupils. The school has started to make these necessary changes recently, for example by adapting the curriculum. However, most changes are still in the early stages of development.

Therefore, there is more to be done to ensure that pupils get the most out of their time at Newlands.

Pupils are safe in school. They understand that staff are there to support them.

Pupils are given support or aids to help them to communicate any worries or concerns that they have. Staff deal with any minor disagreements between pupils sensitively.

Pupils experience a wide range of events which support their broader development.

The school ensures that these are managed successfully. For example, many pupils attend a local residential activity centre to learn skills which build their independence.

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

Over time, pupils' educational needs have changed.

This meant that the school needed to adapt and change its curriculum provision. The school has made a positive start to this. For example, pupils are now organised into three pathways from early years to key stage 2.

This is making it easier for teachers to meet pupils' learning needs. The school's assessment systems are also being refined to match the new pathways and curriculum.

Within each pathway, the school is thinking carefully about what pupils need to learn and by when.

This includes for pupils who are at the very early stages of communication. In many areas, only the initial work has been completed. This means that in some instances, there is a lack of clarity for a few staff around what pupils need to learn in each topic area.

It also limits how well in some instances teachers choose activities to support pupils' learning.

Staff support pupils at the early stages of reading well. They ensure that pupils learn essential pre-reading skills, such as developing an awareness of environmental sounds.

As a result, more pupils are ready to move on to the school's phonics programme. There is some promotion of reading in different areas of the school, such as in the pupils' entrance and a few classrooms where pupils get to enjoy different stories.

The school has secure ways of identifying pupils' additional needs.

It works effectively with a variety of agencies, such as speech and language therapy, to support staff training. Staff use this knowledge effectively to help to meet pupils' needs.

Typically, pupils behave well in school.

They respond well to the instructions or guidance given to them by staff. This is because staff know their needs well. From time to time, some pupils are not as focused in lessons.

On occasion, this can disturb other pupils' learning. Generally, this tends to occur when pupils' work is not as directed as it needs to be for them. Some staff are more effective in re-engaging pupils in their learning when this happens.

The provision for pupils' wider development is a strength of the school. Pupils have opportunities to visit a variety of different places, such as the theatre or museums. This is carefully thought through so that pupils achieve the maximum benefit from each experience.

Pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe online and in the real world. Opportunities to join the school council help to develop pupils' confidence and understanding of democracy.

Governors and the school share a vision for pupils' education and achievement.

As a relatively new governing body, some of the procedures for keeping a check on the school's effectiveness lack precision. This means that the governing body sometimes does not have effective information to hold leaders fully to account for what is happening in school.

Overall, staff are supportive of the different changes at the school.

The school has spent time to ensure that that staff understand the reasons as to why these changes are needed. It is trying to mitigate the current workload for staff. However, a few staff still feel that their workload is high.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some staff are not as clear as they should be about aspects of the new curriculum. This means that, occasionally, they select activities which do not fully support the curriculum's effective implementation.

As a result, from time to time, activities can lack focus. The school should ensure that it finalises its curriculum thinking so that staff's curriculum knowledge improves, and they select more appropriate tasks for pupils. ? Sometimes, pupils lose focus in lessons.

Now and then, this can affect other pupils' learning. At times, some staff are not as effective as they could be in re-engaging pupils. The school should ensure that staff receive professional development to support them to re-engage pupils when this occurs.

• Governors' systems to monitor the school's provision at times lack rigour. This means that they cannot fully hold leaders to account for the school's effectiveness. Governors should refine their systems for gaining an oversight of the school's provision, so that they are more precise in holding the school to account for its performance.

• The rapid improvements to the curriculum have inadvertently increased the workload of some staff. Despite efforts from the school, some staff still view their workload to be high. The school should ensure it looks closely at how to support these staff during this period of change.

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.

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