Springfield School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Springfield School

Following my visit to the school on 4 October 2018 with Janis Rogers, Ofsted Inspector, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in February 2014.

This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You and other leaders provide pupils with a welcoming, calm, friendly and supportive environment in which to learn.

Pupils are happy, behave well and enjoy school, with one stating, 'We've got the best teach...ers. They help us to learn.' You and other leaders are passionate about striving to improve the outcomes for all pupils.

Your staff know and understand pupils well. They treat pupils with dignity and respect and are committed to promoting their well-being, communication and independence skills. You are reflective and have an accurate view of the effectiveness of your school.

While leaders have successfully introduced new strategies to address the area for improvement from the last inspection, you rightly recognise that there is still some more work to be done to further improve teaching so that all pupils achieve their full potential. Governors are well informed and know the school very well. They visit regularly and share your passion and drive for improving outcomes for pupils.

Parents are hugely positive about the school, with one parent stating, 'The staff at Springfield School know and understand our child exceptionally well.' Safeguarding is effective. Leaders have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements in the school are fit for purpose.

Records are thorough and detailed, and you and your staff all have a clear understanding of safeguarding procedures. You have effective communication systems with outside agencies. These systems, along with your staff's in-depth knowledge of pupils, ensure that any concerns are noticed and acted upon swiftly so that pupils remain safe.

Along with other leaders, you ensure that families receive any external support they need as early as possible. This is a caring, nurturing school. Trusting relationships between staff and pupils enable pupils to feel safe and secure.

Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, including when online. Parents believe that their children feel safe at school. Inspection findings ? Activities in lessons are challenging and adapted well to meet the individual needs of pupils.

Staff use a range of communication systems effectively to enable pupils to access these activities and understand their work. Pupils have specific personal targets that, while challenging, are realistic. Teachers use these targets well to inform their lesson planning.

This approach, along with the strong, positive relationships between staff and pupils, embedded routines and staff's high expectations, result in pupils learning well for the majority of the time in lessons. Your work to ensure that teaching meets the varied needs of individual pupils has been successful. However, you know there is more to do to ensure the use of time in lessons to promote pupils' learning improves further.

• Pupils make very good progress during their time at the school. You encourage and support pupils to understand and manage their own behaviour, as well as to take responsibility for their own learning and actions wherever possible. As a result, in addition to academic progress, pupils make very good progress with their behaviour, communication and independence.

The integration of pupils alongside the mainstream school peers who they share the site with is a real strength. It helps pupils with their social and emotional development. ? You and other leaders have ensured that the education, health and care plans of your pupils are useful documents which accurately inform the educational and therapeutic input they receive.

As a result of this, pupils have accurate personal targets and receive appropriate interventions and support, helping them to make good progress. ? You and other leaders provide pupils with a range of experiences that are adapted to meet their needs and, as a result, pupils enjoy their learning and find the curriculum fun and engaging. Pupils talked to us enthusiastically about the residential trip they had been on, and about the opportunities they have to read to their friends.

Your curriculum focuses on life skills and independence. It ensures that pupils are well prepared for their next stage in their lives. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? the use of time in lessons improves further in order to extend pupils' learning.

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Oxfordshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Maxine Mcdonald-Taylor Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection My colleague and I met with you and your acting deputy headteacher and, with you, made joint visits to lessons on both sites.

We spoke to some pupils in class and looked through their work. We had meetings about the progress of pupils, their behaviour, your curriculum and safeguarding. We observed pupils at lunchtime and met with a group of pupils to hear their views of the school.

We met with governors and spoke with a representative from the local authority. We considered parents' responses to Ofsted's questionnaire, Parent View, and staff's responses to Ofsted's staff survey. We checked your single central record of recruitment checks and scrutinised a range of the school's documentation and a selection of pupils' work.

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