Roundwood School and Community Centre

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy here.

They feel safe. This is because there are always staff around to help them. As a result, pupils develop trusting relationships with adults.

This helps them to re-engage positively with education in a typically calm working environment.

Pupils' personal development is a driving force at Roundwood. They benefit from a an exceptionally well-planned offer that introduces them to new experiences and develops their existing interests.

Pupils are encouraged to take on additional responsibilities, for example as school councillors. They are keen to do this and are proud of the roles they hold. Pupils know that they are listened to and ...supported with decisions about the school.

For example, a consultation about school uniform has given pupils ownership and a sense of identity in their new school, for however long they might attend.

Pupils are well supported to re-engage with learning. Most do this well and show positive attitudes towards their education.

However, the curriculum they learn lacks ambition and coherence. Consequently, pupils do not develop the knowledge and understanding they need in different subjects to be sufficiently well prepared for the next stage of their education, employment or training.

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

The school has undergone significant staffing changes at all levels.

This has impacted on the pace of curriculum design and implementation. Given pupils' high levels of need, leaders have rightly focused on securing a positive culture for behaviour and an exceptional pastoral offer. This means that pupils who attend are, after a very short induction period, able to access learning again.

Now this is secure, and staffing is more stable, leaders are accelerating their work to develop a stronger curriculum offer. Appropriate plans are in place to do this, but the work is in its infancy or planned for later this academic year. This means that the impact of leaders' work is yet to fully benefit the quality of education pupils receive.

The school uses the national curriculum as a basis for what pupils will learn. However, the small steps that pupils need to learn and remember have not been identified or sequenced. This means that staff are often unsure of the exact content to teach.

As a result, the implementation of the curriculum can become disjointed and lack ambition. Assessment is used well when pupils start at the school to gauge what they understand and can do. However, the weaknesses in curriculum design mean that staff do not consistently check what pupils have learned.

Misconceptions are not routinely identified or addressed. This limits the depth of knowledge and understanding that some pupils secure.

The school has prioritised developing pupils' vocabulary and reading for understanding.

Several pupils are at an earlier stage of learning to read. The support provided for them is not as well considered. For example, there is no structured phonics curriculum in place.

This limits the fluency, accuracy and confidence with which these pupils read.

Behaviour is a high priority to maintain pupils' safety and ability to access learning again. Leaders and staff know the needs of each pupil well.

Individualised behaviour plans and well-targeted therapeutic support ensure that pupils are typically able to access learning with minimal disruption. When incidents do occur, staff are well trained to react appropriately to restore calm and a return to positive learning. Leaders have appropriate systems in place to check on pupils' attendance.

They work closely with families for whom this is a priority.

Provision for pupils' personal development is exceptional and underpins pupils' re-engagement in learning. A wide variety of enrichment activities provides new experiences for pupils to develop their talents and interests.

For example, boxing classes led by local police officers help to build community relationships as well as physical fitness. There is a well-structured careers programme. This includes impartial information about different professions and courses and is often bespoke to pupils' aptitudes and pursuits.

Experiences are provided to motivate pupils to make informed choices about their next stage of education, employment or training.

Trustees, leaders and those responsible for governance have a secure understanding of the school's strengths. They know that work is needed to strengthen the school's curriculum and have appropriate plans in place to do so.

Staff feel well supported to manage their workload and say that well-being is a priority.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Pupils at the early stages of learning to read are not supported effectively.

This means that they do not learn to read with sufficient accuracy, fluency or confidence. The school should ensure that a systematic synthetic phonics curriculum is in place. They should also ensure that staff are well trained to teach phonics using texts that are appropriately matched to the sounds that pupils know.

• The curriculum is at an early stage of design. The important knowledge that pupils need to learn and remember has not been clearly identified or coherently sequenced. This means that the small steps pupils need to secure are not consistently taught or checked.

As a result, pupils do not routinely develop a depth of knowledge in different subjects. The school must ensure that it develops a curriculum that identifies and sequences the important knowledge pupils need to learn. It must also ensure that this is implemented consistently and that assessment is used to check that pupils have learned and understood the curriculum.

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