The Rose School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish at this calm school. They are well-mannered and they benefit from the respectful relationships that they enjoy with staff, who care for them well.

Staff provide pupils with a well-considered transition programme. This ensures that pupils receive the care that they need to make a positive start at the school. Pupils are happy here.

All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They respond well to the high aspirations that the school has for their achievements and conduct. Most pupils achieve well.

Pupils enjoy a range of activities that help to develop their talents and interests. For example, they enjoy clubs in sports..., art and science. Pupils enjoy taking on positions of responsibility.

These include peer mentors and prefects. As school councillors, pupils make a positive contribution to the life of the school. For example, they worked with clothing suppliers as part of an enterprise project to improve the school's uniform.

Trips to places of interest help pupils to deepen their understanding of the subjects that they study. For example, Leeds Armoury, Liverpool World Museum and a Norman Keep. Pupils take part in outdoor and adventurous activities during residential stays.

Pupils become confident, resilient and independent young people during their time at the school.

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

Governors and the school have worked with urgency and precision to address the areas for improvement that were identified at the time of the previous inspection. Governors have an accurate view of the school's performance.

They use this information well to assure themselves about the quality of education and care that the pupils receive. Governors carry out their statutory duties effectively.

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum.

Pupils study a broad range of subjects. The school takes great care to ensure that pupils make a successful transition at each stage of their education. Typically, pupils gain a suite of qualifications that prepare them well for further study or the world of work.

In most subjects, the important knowledge that pupils should acquire is set out clearly. Staff appreciate the time and support that they have been given by the school to work together on the design of the curriculum. This supports their workload and well-being.

In a small number of subjects, staff are not as clear as they should be about what they should teach and when. As a result, some of the activities that teachers design do not help pupils to achieve as well as they should.

Most staff use their strong subject knowledge to identify and address any misunderstandings that pupils have about their learning.

However, some of the school's strategies used to check pupils' understanding are at the early stages of development. At times, this means that the gaps and misconceptions that some pupils have, are not addressed promptly. As a result, some pupils move on to new learning before they are ready.

All pupils have an education, health and care (EHC) plan. The school accurately identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND. It provides pupils with the specialist and therapeutic support that they need so that they can learn successfully alongside their peers.

The school has identified the specific reading needs of each pupil. It has put in place the necessary support so that pupils become confident and fluent readers. The school ensures that pupils with gaps in their phonics knowledge catch up quickly with their peers.

The school provides pupils with access to a range of texts that contribute to their wider understanding of the world. For example, pupils read about the differences that exist between people as well as the histories of people from a range of ethnic minority backgrounds. Pupils read powerful poetry that helps them to develop courage and self-confidence.

The school is adept at identifying pupils' emotional needs. It provides nuanced support to pupils so that they quickly learn how to manage their own behaviour. This helps pupils to make the most of all that the school has to offer them.

The school provides a small group of pupils with intelligent support to improve their attendance. It works closely with parents and carers to remove any barriers that prevent these pupils from attending school. As a result, pupils attend school more regularly than in the past and the number of pupils that are persistently absent from school has reduced.

The school's personal development programme prepares pupils well for adulthood. For example, pupils learn about healthy relationships and how to care for their physical and mental health. Through the outdoor learning opportunities that the school provides, pupils learn how to resolve conflict, to succeed in challenging situations and to concentrate for extended periods.

Pupils benefit from independent careers advice and a well-considered package of careers education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasion, the school is not quick enough to rectify the gaps and misconceptions in some pupils' knowledge.

This means that these pupils move on to new learning before they are ready. This hinders learning. The school should ensure that staff develop a strong understanding of its assessment strategy so that they can help pupils to build their knowledge securely over time.

In a small number of subjects, staff are not clear about the important information that they should teach. As a result, the activities that they design do not help some pupils to learn these subjects in sufficient depth. The school should ensure that teachers are clear about the key knowledge that they should teach and when they should teach it so that they can design activities that help pupils to achieve as well as they should.