Park Lane School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

From the moment that pupils enter school at the start of each day, they feel happy, safe and have a strong sense of belonging. Children who join the school in the early years feel welcome from the outset. They swiftly engage in learning and join in activities with their peers with enthusiasm.

They relish the wealth of opportunities that the school provides. Pupils in all age groups value their relationships with staff and with each other.

Staff have high expectations of pupils' personal development and of their behaviour.

Across most of the school, these high expectations extend to pupils' achievement. Most pupils rise to the challenge of meeting these expect...ations and learn well. They show genuine interest in their learning and try hard during lessons.

Pupils are kind and enthusiastic. They are understanding of the needs of others. Pupils are proud to be given responsibilities, such as librarians and members of the pupil council.

Pupils increase their independence and develop their self-awareness during their time at school. They learn how to regulate their feelings and to use a range of systems to communicate their thoughts. Pupils enjoy many enrichment opportunities, such as film, choir and multi-sports clubs.

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

The school has improved significantly since the last inspection. The school has worked closely with the governing body to improve the quality of education that it provides. Governors have overseen the school's improvement capably.

Staff feel motivated and inspired. They know that their work matters and that it can make a positive difference to pupils' lives. They feel well supported by the school to enable them to do their jobs well.

The school has established effective systems to identify any changes in pupils' needs. It ensures that parents' and carers' views are central to the review and planning of their child's provision. The school works purposefully with a range of specialists, such as occupational therapists and speech and language therapists.

This helps to ensure that pupils' educational, health and care needs are met.

Communication is at the heart of the school's work. This work begins in the early years where staff use an impressive array of strategies to support children's communication, such as signs and symbols.

As pupils move through the school, staff continue to use these strategies successfully to support pupils' learning and their wider development.

Staff are united in their belief that 'every pupil is a reader'. Staff have developed a range of research-informed pathways to support pupils in learning to read across the school.

Some pupils develop a full knowledge of phonics and become accurate readers. Others become more responsive to sounds, songs and stories. From their starting points, pupils typically learn well in reading and communication.

The school has thought carefully about what pupils should learn and the order in which this knowledge is taught. Staff help pupils to achieve their personal targets. They explain new content clearly.

Staff bring learning to life. For example, where possible, they relate new learning to real-life scenarios, such as learning about money in a shopping context.

Staff use a range of appropriate assessment strategies to check how well pupils learn.

They make sure that pupils are secure in their learning before moving on to new content. This helps pupils to build new knowledge and skills securely on what they already know and can do.

Most pupils study a curriculum that is ambitious and meets their learning needs.

This ensures that most pupils achieve well. Despite this, some aspects of the key stage 4 and sixth-form curriculums are not as ambitious for a small number of pupils. These pupils are not challenged sufficiently by the scope of the curriculum.

They are not entered for qualifications that reflect their knowledge and understanding in some areas.

Pupils are polite, respectful and considerate towards others. Their conduct is exemplary.

Pupils follow the school's rules well, such as to have 'kind hands, feet and mouths'. Staff are attentive to pupils' individual needs. They spot signs that indicate when pupils may be anxious or distressed and intervene early.

Staff use a range of strategies, such as sensory breaks, to help pupils to regulate their emotions so that they can refocus on their learning.

Most pupils' attendance is excellent. The school works successfully with a small number of pupils who struggle to be in school on time every day.

This support for pupils and their families ensures that these pupils do not miss out on valuable learning.

Preparing pupils for adulthood is a golden thread that goes across the school. From the beginning of the early years, pupils embark on a personalised journey towards health, active citizenship and independent living.

Many students in the sixth form benefit from work experience, which is well matched to their needs. However, pupils have limited opportunities to learn about different education and training providers. Furthermore, pupils have only recently benefited from effective careers advice.

This means that some pupils are not fully prepared to make well-informed decisions about what they want to do when they leave the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects in key stage 4 and in the sixth form, the curriculum is not ambitious enough for some pupils.

This limits how well these pupils learn and the qualifications that they attain. The school should ensure that the curriculum is sufficiently ambitious for all pupils. ? Until very recently, pupils have not received high-quality careers advice and guidance.

Moreover, the school does not provide pupils with appropriate opportunities to meet with education and training providers. This limits their knowledge of the options that are available to them when they leave school. The school should ensure that pupils benefit from high-quality careers advice and guidance and have access to a range of education and training providers.

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