Thornton-Cleveleys Red Marsh School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Thornton-Cleveleys Red Marsh School continues to be an outstanding school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Red Marsh School is a joyful and inspiring place to learn. Pupils thrive in this school where staff are passionate and encourage pupils to achieve their very best.

The school has created a culture of aspiration.

Pupils, who all have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), rise to meet the school's high expectations. Pupils get the very best start to their education and achieve very well. They study an ambitious curriculum, which begins in the early years and continues to the sixth form.

The school has implemented highly successful routine...s that help pupils to behave well and settle happily into school. For example, the day begins with appropriate sensory or physical activities which prepare pupils successfully for their learning. Pupils are welcoming and polite when talking to visitors.

A variety of extra-curricular opportunities enable pupils to develop different interests and talents. For instance, pupils enjoy singing in the choir and they have recently performed to a large audience. Pupils are also proud to have performed a piece from a Shakespeare play to other schools.

Managing the popular tuck shop helps older students to enhance their entrepreneurial skills. Older students also support younger pupils by helping to run the school's popular book club.

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

At the heart of this school is a carefully constructed, ambitious curriculum that has been meticulously designed to ensure that it is highly personalised for each pupil.

The school has carefully identified and organised the important knowledge that pupils should learn from the early years to sixth form.Communication and reading skills permeate the curriculum. Through the highly specialised focus on speech and language, pupils learn to recognise sounds, symbols, pictures and words.

They learn to communicate their needs and choices effectively. Staff are highly trained to expertly teach the phonics programme. As a result, many pupils become fluent and confident readers.

Staff have strong subject knowledge and they deliver curriculums exceptionally well. The school is adept at using assessment strategies to make sure that pupils are successfully learning curriculum content. Staff skilfully break down learning into detailed, achievable goals for each pupil.

The school has thought thoroughly about how learning will build over time for each pupil. Staff rigorously ensure that pupils' prior knowledge is fully embedded and can be applied in different contexts before they introduce new learning.

The school promotes a passion for reading through engaging storytelling and using props and objects of reference to bring books to life for pupils.

Across the school, pupils enjoy reading regularly, for instance, in the calm, welcoming and well-resourced library. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about the weekly book club, where they discuss books and use the shadow puppet theatre to act out scenes from the books that they have read.

The school is mindful of identifying any additional needs of pupils beyond those linked to their primary SEND.

Staff ensure that the inspirational curriculum meets pupils' education, health and care (EHC) plan outcomes very well. Throughout the school, teachers seize opportunities to enhance pupils' learning opportunities. For example, pupils successfully develop their social skills in the dining room.

There is a focused and purposeful atmosphere in classrooms and around school. Pupils engage in their learning and feel highly motivated. Staff are extremely well trained to adapt learning to meet pupils' emotional, physical, and sensory needs.

Pupils learn to manage their feelings and behaviours positively. As a result, pupils' conduct, confidence and communication skills develop considerably over time. They are supported to be ready for the next stages in their education, employment or training.

Pupils flourish in ways that extend beyond the academic curriculum. Pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of what makes a good friend and what makes a healthy relationship. They develop personally through a rich range of experiences.

For example, pupils relish taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and they appreciate the wealth of opportunities on offer to promote their independence.

The school encourages pupils to become active citizens. For example, the school council regularly raises money for charities.

Pupils enjoy volunteering at a local church and students benefit from work experience in various settings including recycling centres and catteries. Sixth-form students described their regular trips as being a highlight of their week. For example, they appreciate visits to the supermarket where they buy ingredients to cook healthy meals.

Governors are highly ambitious. They meticulously monitor the impact of the school's work. Staff morale is high.

They are highly motivated and said that the school is considerate of their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Background

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

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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in January 2015.

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