Woodsetton School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Woodsetton School are happy and well cared for.

They know that staff know them well and have their best interests at heart. As a result, pupils are confident to take on new challenges and experiences. In life skills classes, pupils learn how to look after themselves by learning how to cook, how to go shopping and how to cross the road.

This helps pupils to become more independent.

Pupils learn to manage their behaviour well. They are taught to identify the feelings they have and to ask for help when they need it.

Staff are expert in spotting signs that pupils may need additional support and step in quickly to provide it. As a result, the sc...hool is a calm, positive place to be and children can learn well.

The school wants all pupils to do well.

It has introduced a new curriculum that lays out what it wants pupils to learn. This is mainly working well but there is still some work to do in some subjects to make sure that all pupils achieve as well as they could.

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

Staff understand their pupils incredibly well.

They know what works best to make sure pupils are ready to learn. Staff work effectively with parents to make sure that pupils use the same behaviour and communication strategies at school and at home. This helps pupils settle in school well and work hard.

The school has introduced a new curriculum that is matched to pupils' different needs. Leaders want all their pupils to do well. The curriculum identifies what pupils should learn.

In some subjects, learning is sequenced well. However, in other subjects, the school has not identified precisely enough what pupils should know and be able to do in the subject by the end of their time at the school. Learning does not, therefore, build logically over time.

Teachers are not as clear as they could be about exactly what to teach and learning activities are not as well focused as they could be. This all slows pupils' learning.

The school is working towards ensuring that all pupils have access to the strategies and aids they need to communicate well.

As a result, pupils can communicate their wants and needs increasingly confidently. However, communication strategies are not consistently in place and pupils and staff do not always use the communication tools available. This stops some pupils from developing the communication skills they need.

The school makes sure that all pupils learn to read. From their first day at school, children in early years learn to pay attention to the sounds that will help them read in the future. Older pupils are taught using a well-sequenced phonics curriculum, carefully adapted to their needs.

At times, the delivery of the phonics curriculum is variable and so some pupils do not learn to read fluently as quickly as they could.Pupils who read fluently have access to a wide range of books. They enjoy using the library and choosing from class books.

Pupils are taught how to keep safe. Starting from the early years, pupils learn how to communicate choices and to express likes and dislikes. Pupils learn about different cultures and faiths and about charities that support others.

Pupils elected to the school council consult their peers about matters that directly affect them. They make choices about, for example, what breakfast cereal is in the canteen and what equipment should be in the adventure playground. Through these activities, pupils are being prepared well for their future life.

Pupils enjoy trips and visits that are planned to enrich their learning. Pupils in early year go to a soft-play centre as part of their physical development curriculum. Visits to the theatre, visits from a local reptile centre and visits into the local area help pupils to develop their confidence and to learn about their community.

Leaders have introduced many changes to the school. They have worked closely with staff to make sure that these changes are manageable. Governors are committed to the school; they want the best for all its pupils.

Governors monitor the work of the school carefully. They are clear about the next steps for the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Communication strategies are not used across the school consistently well. This means that pupils do not have the opportunity to communicate as well as they could. Leaders should make sure that they identify the communication strategies they want pupils and staff to be able to use and that they provide a careful, staged approach to implementing and embedding them.

• Leaders have not made sure that all areas of the curriculum are planned so that important knowledge builds cumulatively to ambitious end-points. This means that, at times, teachers do not design learning activities that are as focused as they could be on what leaders intend pupils to learn. Leaders should make sure that the curriculum builds logically to clearly identified end-points so that pupils can build on their knowledge in all subjects over time.

• The delivery of the phonics curriculum is variable. This means that pupils may not learn to read as quickly as they could. Leaders should make sure that all staff are trained well to deliver all aspects of the phonics curriculum and consistently use appropriate strategies in their teaching in order to ensure that pupils make the best possible progress.