Uffculme School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Uffculme School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy their time at Uffculme School.

They are happy, feel safe and are eager to learn. The curriculum is designed to prepare pupils for life beyond the school. Many recent changes have improved the educational provision for pupils here.

As a result, pupils achieve well.

Positive and strong relationships lie at the heart of the school's work. Parents and carers, staff and pupils work well together.

Staff have a secure understanding about the barriers to learning for pupils with autism spectrum condition. ...The school understands how behaviours are a form of communication. Staff have effective skills and knowledge to support the specific needs of pupils.

Subsequently, pupils behave well in lessons, at breaktimes and across the school day.

Pupils have a range of meaningful enrichment activities. These also support pupils' interests and talents, such as professional football mentorship and music lessons.

Pupils have many opportunities to experience the wider world and their local community. For example, students in the sixth form learn how to prepare shopping lists, handle money and how to interact with employees at their local shop. Consequently, the school's mission of, 'for all young people at Uffculme to lead meaningful and enjoyable lives' is realised.

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

There have been many positive and exciting changes to the school's curriculum, starting in the early years. This has improved the quality of education that pupils experience. The school has also introduced effective assessment systems.

These help staff to know what pupils know and remember from their learning across curriculum areas. Staff use this information well, alongside each pupil's education, health and care plan. This approach helps staff to build a picture about each individual pupil's needs and how to best meet them.

The curriculum is ambitious and has been carefully designed to support the needs of pupils. Pupils learn within the most appropriate curriculum pathway for them. This helps them to learn alongside other pupils with similar needs.

The knowledge and skills that leaders want pupils to learn are identified and clearly build on pupils' prior learning in most subject areas. Staff teach pupils the curriculum in a clear, logical order. Pupils' misconceptions are addressed effectively most of the time.

Pupils access additional, well-tailored resources to support their learning, such as visual aids. The school considers carefully how to support pupils' communication and interaction needs. It also places much emphasis in its curriculum on developing pupils' independence, life skills and preparation for adulthood.

Consequently, pupils achieve a range of accreditations and qualifications.

Reading is prioritised across the school. Pupils at the early stages of reading are identified quickly and support is put in place.

Pupils are taught how to recognise and respond to sounds, such as through rhythm and rhyme. A structured phonics programme is in place in the primary school. Most staff deliver this well, most of the time.

However, in the secondary school, pupils are taught to read using a different approach. As pupils move between the two settings, they experience a disjointed approach to learning how to read. This slows down learning for some pupils.

Pupils attend school regularly. They enjoy their time in school and are eager to come every day. Children in the early years know their routines well.

They are settled and respond positively to their learning. Pupils behave well across the school. At breaktimes, there are a range of activities for pupils to engage in.

Staff and pupils interact positively and respectfully with each other. They initiate play and games together. On some occasions, if pupils become highly anxious, staff quickly intervene and support them.

This helps to keep all pupils safe. However, the school does not have a sharp enough focus on checking and analysing when some of these incidences have occurred. This means that, sometimes it does not have an accurate view of how well it is supporting pupils' behaviour.

The curriculum to support pupil's personal development is a strength of the school. Pupils have a personalised approach to what pupils need to be successful citizens. Pupils are taught how to ask for help, such as when to use national telephone helplines.

Pupils know about online safety. They learn about positive relationships. Pupils understand how people are different and should be treated equally.

Pupils are taught how to use kitchen appliances for independent living. They are taught about self-care and hygiene. The school has an appropriately planned offer in place for careers education, information, advice and guidance.

These experiences help prepare pupils well for their future lives.

The vast majority of parents are highly positive about their children's experiences at the school. They were eager to share how changes to the curriculum are having a positive impact on their child.

Staff are supportive of the school's work. Changes and new initiatives which have led to increases in staff workload are being addressed effectively.Since the last inspection, there have been significant changes to governance.

The governors know the school well. They prioritise professional development for themselves and for all staff. They make decisions in the best interests of pupils at this school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school does not ensure that its approach to teaching reading in the secondary phase builds carefully on its approach in the primary phase. This means that as pupils move between the two key stages, they experience a disjointed approach to learning how to read.

For some pupils, this slows down their learning. The school should revise its phonics programme, so that pupils can build on their prior knowledge as they move between key stages. ? On occasion, the school does not know how well its approaches to supporting pupils' behaviour are working.

This means that, sometimes, the school is unclear how it can improve the quality of its work. The school should ensure that it knows the impact of its support for pupils' behaviour, so that it can find more clearly what further improvements it will make..

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 for overall effectiveness in June 2019.