Reynalds Cross School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.

The headteacher, ably supported by the senior leadership team and governing body, has created a committed atmosphere for further improvement. Together, they have improved the quality of teaching, which is consistently good. The governing body has improved markedly since the last inspection, both in challenging and supporting the senior leadership effectively.

Teachers have successfully used the new national curriculum to make learning fun and relevant to the pupils' lives. They ensure that pupils' personal, social and physical development is central to all that they do. The senior leadership team ensures that the subjects taught are well... planned and match the pupils' needs.

This prepares them well for their future lives. Pupils' attitudes to learning are excellent and staff help them overcome their behavioural difficulties. Pupils, parents and staff rightly feel behaviour is outstanding.

The school's work to keep pupils safe and secure is excellent. Pupils, parents and staff all feel safe and that the school is a pleasant and safe environment. Pupils across all areas of the school make good progress in English and mathematics.

They make excellent progress in their language and communication skills. The early years successfully stimulates children's learning and prepares them well for their future education. The sixth form provision provides effective learning, due to good teaching and a rapidly improving curriculum.

It is not yet an outstanding school because : Teachers do not consistently record pupils' progress in reading, resulting in inconsistencies in approach across the school. While monitoring and tracking systems are very detailed, the senior leadership team does not have an easily accessible overview of the school to enable improvements to be made at a faster rate.

Information about this school

Reynalds Cross School is a special school for pupils aged two to 19 years with severe cognitive learning difficulties, speech and language difficulties, physical difficulties and autistic spectrum disorders.

The proportion of pupils with extreme behavioural difficulties is rising rapidly. All pupils have a statement of special educational needs for severe learning difficulties, including speech and language difficulties and/or autistic spectrum disorders. The school has a larger than average number of pupils who enter and leave the school other than at the usual times.

The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is approximately one in four of the school population, which is a little above average. These pupils are supported through the pupil premium, which is the additional funding provided for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after by the local authority. The majority of pupils are White British.

The next largest group are Asian, who account for just over a quarter of the school population, which is above average. Pupils with English as an additional language account for approximately one in every seventeen pupils. Children in the early years attend full time.

There is a sixth form provision catering for students aged 16–19 years. The school shares its site with a local secondary school. The school uses Solihull College and Hereward College, Coventry, to provide external learning experiences for its students.

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