The Polygon School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

The Polygon School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this welcoming school. Staff are very caring and supportive.

Parents and carers appreciate the help staff give to them and to their children. Staff understand pupils' individual needs well. Everyone strives to help pupils find success at school.

Pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education or employment. This is because leaders make sure that pupils' futures are central to all decision-making. Relationships between staff and pupils are very positive.

Pupils know staff will look after them and help them to learn. Staff are very skilled i...n meeting the pupils' complex needs. Leaders have high expectations that pupils will use the clear routines they learn to help them tackle challenges independently.

Pupils' behaviour is good. They are considerate of each other's needs and engage very well with their learning. They have positive attitudes to their education.

Pupils feel safe and happy. They are confident that if bullying happens, staff will deal with it quickly and effectively.

Leaders make sure that all pupils can take part in a wide range of clubs and activities that inspire and interest them.

For example, pupils get the opportunity for international travel.

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

Leaders and governors have high ambitions for all pupils. As a result, staff work well together to create an environment in which pupils can succeed, as they know that some have found school difficult before.

Leaders and teachers choose carefully what pupils should learn. They have constructed a broad, relevant and interesting curriculum for pupils to study. From the time pupils join the school, there is a focus on the key routines and knowledge which pupils will need in all aspects of their life.

An example of this is the attention staff give to helping pupils build their reading skills.

Teachers understand how to support pupils to make progress through the curriculum. They have high expectations of what pupils can achieve.

They plan lessons which build on pupils' skills and knowledge over time. They make sure that pupils have opportunities to remember what they have been taught before. This is successful in developing pupils' confidence and in helping them remember the routines and concepts they have learned.

Teachers make sure that pupils have the right level of support in lessons. Pupils are very clear about what is expected of them.

In personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, useful links between other subjects help pupils to remember more.

For example, pupils learn about the dangers of smoking and addiction and make links to how this might affect their ability to perform in physical education. However, this joined-up approach is not yet developed across the whole curriculum.

Pupils often join the school having had problems managing their behaviour and emotions in previous settings.

The Polygon School quickly takes steps to help them behave calmly. There is an ethos of respect throughout the school community. Pupils know the consequences of their behaviour and they are motivated by the rewards for behaving well.

Staff apply the behaviour policy consistently. If pupils disturb lessons, staff deal with this quickly and effectively so that it does not escalate.

Leaders have made pupils' wider development a priority.

Pupils have regular lessons in PSHE, and have well-established routines that allow them to experience success. Across the curriculum, and at social times, they learn about healthy relationships and are prepared well for life in modern Britain.

Leaders and governors are conscious of teachers' workload and take practical steps to reduce the hours teachers spend on site.

The vast majority of staff are proud to work at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have a detailed understanding of pupils' needs and circumstances.

Staff receive appropriate safeguarding training and they are aware of the issues most likely to affect pupils. In addition to formal training, staff receive regular safeguarding updates during daily briefings and debriefings. Staff know what to do if they have a concern about a pupil's welfare.

Leaders have good relationships with external agencies and make use of their expertise to support pupils.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Currently, leaders have not ensured that the curriculum enables pupils to make consistently meaningful links between what pupils learn in discrete subjects. This means that some pupils do not readily connect with and apply knowledge they have gained in different subjects and contexts.

Leaders need to build on their good work in PSHE to enable pupils to make meaningful links across the curriculum. This will help pupils to remember curriculum content and learn more deeply.

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

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in December 2016.