Stoke Mandeville Combined School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Stoke Mandeville Combined School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning at this school and say they feel happy and safe.

The school creates a fully inclusive environment where all pupils are cared for. The pupils understand the '5Rs' of respect, reflection, responsibility, resilience and resourcefulness. They demonstrate these in their conduct around the school.

Pupils were right to express that this is a kind and caring school.

Leaders have high expectations of pupils and what can be achieved. Leaders are passionate about creating an inclusive school where every child is valued and supported.

Behaviour... around the school is calm and orderly and pupils are respectful of each other. At lunchtimes pupils are active and engage well with each other. Pupils know who to go to if they need help or support during the day.

Relationships are warm and caring between adults and pupils. Pupils say bullying is rare but feel confident staff would deal with it quickly if it did occur.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are truly included in school life.

The school has a hearing resource provision and all pupils across the school are taught signing. Pupils sing and sign together and this is celebrated across the school. There is a singing and signing choir which performs around the community.

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

Leaders are passionate about providing the best curriculum they can for pupils. The subject leaders are knowledgeable and clear about the curriculum they want for pupils. Their planning and teaching for some curriculum areas are more developed than for others.

However, leaders are clear what their next steps are. In science and mathematics, leaders have implemented an effective curriculum which builds on existing knowledge and skills well. Outcomes in key stage 2 mathematics assessments last year were lower than expected.

Leaders have acted quickly to ensure fluency of basic mathematics skills is in place. Pupils are clear this helps them to remember more. Leaders are continually adapting their curriculum to meet the needs of the pupils.

Pupils in this school love to read. From the moment children start in Reception class their phonic journey begins. The phonics programme is well structured, and children are quick to learn new sounds.

Books are appropriately matched for each phonic stage and children can blend sounds accurately. Teachers support pupils quickly if they need additional help and ensure any misconceptions are addressed promptly. One pupil said that 'books help their imagination escape to different worlds'.

Where possible, links are made across the curriculum to quality stories and texts to support learning.

From Reception through to Year 6 there is a high level of engagement in lessons. Children in Reception actively select and work on a range of tasks.

In the rest of the school pupils continue to work well and on task. Pupils enjoy the practical elements of learning and can focus quickly on the activity in hand. The behaviours for learning are strong and pupils participate well in the classroom.

Pupils enjoy the wide opportunities available to them. The clubs and visits the school offer enrich pupils' broader development. Leaders celebrate the achievements of pupils in assemblies and recognise the work produced in class over the week.

This leads to an invitation to hot chocolate with the headteacher, which pupils love.

Pupils with SEND are quickly identified and fully included in all aspects of school life. The school also has a mainstream resource provision for pupils who are deaf.

All pupils with SEND or from the resource provision are well supported in class. They access a range of intervention and support to enable them to study the full curriculum.

Staff feel well supported by leaders regarding their workload.

The well-being committee is highly valued. All staff enjoy working at the school and benefit from a range of professional development opportunities. Governors are aware of their statutory duties and understand the needs of the school and its place within the community.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have created a robust safeguarding culture. They have clear systems and detailed records for reporting of concerns.

Records are comprehensive and follow-up actions are made where appropriate. The staff know the pupils well and pupils feel confident to share their worries with the staff. Staff receive the appropriate training, and they know the signs of concern to be alert to.

Staff are briefed weekly on any changes in guidance or trends to be aware of. Pupils have a good understanding of online safety and how to keep themselves safe online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Curriculum plans in foundation subjects are at different stages of implementation and development.

As a result, pupils do not remember key knowledge and vocabulary in some subjects as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is fully embedded and monitored so that pupils remember more over time.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2018.