Oscott Manor School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils come to school happily.

They have positive relationships with staff. Students in the sixth form particularly enjoy the quiet and calm environment and the help that they get from teachers to prepare them for the future.

The school's expectations of pupils are not high enough.

They do not benefit from a sufficiently ambitious curriculum. While the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified and shared, these needs are not put at the heart of pupils' provision and, as a result, pupils do not make the progress that they should.

Pupils are not prepared well enough for adulthood.

They do not lear...n how to keep safe or how to manage their behaviour and emotions well enough. Many pupils disengage from their learning and staff do not make sure that they are re-directed or re-engaged. This hampers their progress.

Too many pupils are outside of classrooms, struggling to manage their feelings. This disturbs their learning and that of other pupils.

Outdoor spaces are poorly designed.

In social times, most pupils wander aimlessly with no activities or resources to support their social and emotional development. There are few opportunities for pupils to develop their curiosity or to follow their talents and interests.

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

Leaders are committed to improving the school.

However, the school has not demonstrated the capacity, skills or knowledge to make the changes needed. Those responsible for governance have not provided the focused support the school needs. As a result, the school has continued to decline.

Pupils do not experience the quality of education that they should do to make good progress.

The school has not ensured that all staff understand the precise SEND needs of the pupils that they teach. As a result, some of the provision that should be in place for pupils is not provided.

Communication is poorly promoted. Pupils who need to use communication tools, such as Makaton, picture exchange or symbols, do not do so. Staff lack the expertise to meet pupils' communication needs.

Because of this, some pupils are not able to express their wants and needs.

The curriculum does not meet the needs of pupils. Although the school has begun work on the curriculum for pupils with the most complex needs, it has not made sure that it is sufficiently focused on pupils' SEND needs.

Staff are not sufficiently skilled in delivering this curriculum. Pupils studying the subject-specific curriculum do not benefit from a coherent, well-sequenced curriculum. As a result, pupils experience disconnected lessons that do not build on their learning over time.

Pupils are not being prepared well enough for their next steps.

The school has a phonics programme in place to make sure that all pupils can learn to read well. However, it has not made sure that staff are trained to deliver the programme.

Pupils who are pre-verbal do not participate fully in the phonics curriculum. As a result, pupils do not learn to read fluently as quickly as they could. Some pupils do not have the opportunity to use phonics to support their reading at all.

Pupils do not benefit from an adequate personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum. The curriculum for pupils in the formal pathways is very new. It does not cover all the important topics that pupils need to keep themselves safe and to be prepared for adulthood.

Pupils with more complex needs do not learn how to understand and communicate choices or to ask for help. Activities designed to promote independence are not well considered. Pupils are not taught how to keep safe.

Students in the sixth form are better prepared for adulthood. They learn about the world of work through carefully considered vocational placements and are taught about different careers.

Pupils are not supported well enough to manage their behaviours.

There are few clear routines used in lessons to support behaviour and there are no clear communication strategies used to reinforce staff expectations. This means that pupils are left struggling to make sense of their day with little guided support. The school has not made sure that staff record pupils' behaviour systematically.

This hampers the school's ability to analyse patterns and trends in behaviour and means that pupils do not get the right support quickly enough.

Attendance is well managed. The school follows up on absence tenaciously and, as a result, pupils attend well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Staff do not know the precise needs of the pupils that they teach. As a result, they do not plan the small steps needed to make sure that pupils make progress in learning or in reaching their education, health and care plan outcomes.

The school should make sure that all staff know the precise needs of pupils and use this information to inform their educational provision. ? Pupils are not supported well enough to develop effective communication using the range of strategies identified by the school. This means that some pupils are not able to communicate their wants and needs, and others are not able to communicate well enough.

The school should devise clear plans to develop pupils' communication and ensure that all staff have the necessary skills and knowledge to deliver this and to ensure that all pupils can communicate effectively. ? Staff recording of pupils' behaviour is not robust or rigorous enough. This means that the school cannot identify patterns of pupils' behaviours that may exist or put in place the appropriate support or interventions.

The school should establish clear expectations for recording behaviours, monitor the recording of this information and use this information to provide the right support for pupils. ? The curriculum for pupils with the most complex needs does not meet their needs. This means that pupils are not prepared well enough for their next steps.

The school should review the curriculum to make sure that it meets the needs of pupils and ensure that all staff have the necessary information and training to implement the curriculum well. ? The subject-specific curriculum in most subject areas is not ambitious enough. It is not well planned and sequenced.

This means that pupils do not build their learning towards appropriate endpoints. The school should make sure that the subject-specific curriculum identifies the important knowledge that pupils need to learn and is built towards suitably ambitious endpoints. ? Staff have not been trained to deliver the phonics programme.

This means that pupils do not learn to read as well as they could. The school should make sure that all staff are trained to deliver the phonics curriculum well.

The school may not appoint early career teachers before the next monitoring inspection.