Sheringham Woodfields School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Refine the careers information and guidance programme to ensure that it is more relevant and provides the best possible opportunities for all pupils to develop the skills needed for life beyond school relative to their different ages and stages of development.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• Leaders have successfully created a culture where all staff are determined to enable all pupils to achieve exceptionally well from their varied starting points. Leaders set out their expectations very explicitly in policies, meetings and discussions with staff. They check regularly that these expectations are being met and follow up with rigour the rare instances where performance dips in any respect. As a result, the quality of teaching and learning is outstanding.
• Leaders and governors have a highly accurate view of the school based on thorough and rigorous self-evaluation. Leaders at all levels and all staff follow the excellent example set by the headteacher. They are never complacent and live the school’s motto, ‘Learning and growing together’. Plans identify areas where leaders seek further improvements and set out very clearly the steps needed to secure them. Leaders have acted swiftly on the areas for improvement identified in the previous inspection report a year ago.
• Staff training is effective. Staff who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire said that their professional development needs are well met and that leaders are considerate of their well-being.
• Leaders have established a highly positive ethos. Relationships between staff and pupils are a major strength of the school. Staff treat pupils with respect and dignity at all times. Parents are highly appreciative of the way in which all staff care for pupils and maintain the highest expectations of them. The local authority representative told inspectors of the high regard they have for the school because of the exceptional support provided for all pupils.
• Leaders ensure that the needs of disadvantaged pupils are very well met. Leaders are creative and flexible in their use of funding, responding to pupils’ individual needs whether these are academic, social or emotional. Leaders evaluate the impact that spending has in relation to pupils’ progress and overall development. Consequently, disadvantaged pupils make progress which is at least as strong as and sometimes stronger than that of their peers.
• The Year 7 catch-up funding and the physical education (PE) and sport premium are extremely well used. Pupils benefit from targeted and individualised programmes in Year 7 to help them develop their basic skills. The PE and sport premium is used effectively to teach pupils cycling, enabling them to be physically active and to develop a life skill.
• Leaders and staff go more than ‘the extra mile’ to support pupils and parents. For example, the school sought funding to provide short breaks during the holidays run by school staff, both at the school and elsewhere in the county. These have been highly successful and requests for places have risen each year.
• Leaders have a dynamic and flexible approach to the curriculum which is highly responsive to pupils’ individual needs. Leaders carefully balance pupils’ academic and pastoral needs, always with a view to ensuring that pupils are best prepared for their long-term future.
• Leaders seek to broaden pupils’ experiences of the wider world through trips, such as to Thursford Museum and Norwich Cathedral, through visitors, and through the topics chosen to study. As a result, pupils enjoy a truly bespoke curriculum based around their individual targets and needs and which enables them to make exceptional progress.
• Promoting pupils’ SMSC development permeates everything that the school does. Leaders carefully consider how to integrate opportunities for pupils to develop their social skills, for example by working together on classroom tasks, fetching their own food and cutlery at lunchtime where possible, and interacting with the local community. Staff remind pupils regularly about how to treat each other so that pupils have a strong sense of right and wrong. A range of opportunities is provided to learn about other cultures and faiths, for example celebrating Diwali. Pupils’ spirituality is developed well through religious education (RE) lessons and their experiences of art, music and the natural world.
• Pupils are supported in developing their understanding of British values very effectively. For example, a group of pupils who visited the local council offices had an opportunity to use the ballot box to vote, experiencing democracy at first hand. They take part in the school council and are encouraged to participate in decisions about the school through surveys and discussions.
• Leaders engage with parents very successfully. All parents spoken to during the inspection or who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, spoke in glowing terms about the support that they and their child receive at school. Typifying the views of many, one parent said, ‘Staff are happy to listen to any concerns and work with us on strategies to be consistent at school and home.’ Parents particularly welcome the level of communication by school staff, one parent commenting, ‘No problem is ever too small.’

Governance

• Governors know the school well because they visit regularly, both formally and informally, and routinely hold meetings with a range of school leaders.
• Governors have confidence in leaders, recognising the many strengths among the whole team. However, they are prepared to challenge leaders when they feel this is needed, for example in relation to the structuring of the leadership team.
• Governors carry out their statutory responsibilities effectively. They hold leaders to account for pupils’ outcomes, and discuss in detail the progress of all pupils. Governors support leaders well in moving the school forward, for example in planning for the school’s expansion and considering how best to manage this while maintaining its current high standards.
• Governors regularly audit their skills to check that they are best able to support and challenge leaders. They seek to recruit new governors who they feel will make a positive contribution to the school’s future development.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Keeping pupils safe underpins everything that staff do at this school. This includes dealing with pupils’ intimate care, moving pupils around the school, managing their behaviour and being vigilant for signs that a pupil may be at risk outside of school.
• Leaders ensure that records relating to all aspects of pupil safety and well-being are meticulously maintained and regularly reviewed. Checks on staff are carried out in line with requirements and are recorded appropriately.
• Concerns about pupils are recorded and followed up by leaders with external agencies when needed, often involving a multi-agency approach when pupils have complex needs. Staff training is thorough and effective, including the ‘Prevent’ duty to ensure that staff recognise the signs of radicalisation. Recent training around county lines, where vulnerable pupils become engaged in drug activity, has been undertaken. As a result, all staff know what to look for that may indicate a pupil is at risk of harm.
• Leaders think carefully about potential risks for pupils. For example, they consulted with parents about the school’s relationships and sex education programme and adjusted their approach in response to parents’ views. Leaders have launched a digital leaders programme as they recognise that some pupils may be at risk when online and when using technology such as mobile phones outside of school. Consequently, pupils understand what to do if they encounter unsuitable materials when online and know how to keep themselves safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teaching is outstanding because it is highly tailored to pupils’ individual needs. Pupils are grouped according to their different abilities and needs. Tasks and activities provided within classes are carefully planned to meet pupils’ needs. Those able to read have appropriate reading activities provided. Suitable personal programmes are provided for pupils who need more therapeutic approaches, such as massage and physical therapy.
• All adults maintain an unrelenting focus on developing pupils’ communication and social skills. Adults model speaking and communicating using signing, symbols and technologies, and encourage pupils’ responses in a way appropriate for each individual.
• Teachers use their accurate, ongoing assessments to plan learning to meet pupils’ needs. They continuously adapt and modify their plans in response to pupils’ achievements and to fill gaps in learning to enable pupils to make strong progress from their starting points.
• Pupils’ individual targets, including those from their education, health and care (EHC) plans, are successfully woven into the daily teaching in all classes.
• Additional adults and teachers work together seamlessly because communication between them is very strong. Consequently, they make a significant contribution to the outstanding progress pupils make at the school.
• Teachers carefully consider pupils’ interests alongside their specific needs, so that they can provide work which pupils enjoy and provide the correct amount of challenge. For example, in one class where pupils were using magazines to find out about places of interest in geography, staff had chosen carefully the materials which would best capture pupils’ imagination.
• As a result of the well-planned curriculum and excellent relationships, pupils are mostly very engaged in learning. Any pupil who loses focus is sensitively guided back towards their learning in a way that is appropriate to their needs. Staff provide space for pupils to make good choices and to develop their independence.
• Reading is taught effectively. Recent changes in the school’s approach to reading, including home reading and the provision of book corners in classrooms where appropriate, have resulted in many pupils discovering a love of reading and stories. Phonics is taught effectively. Pupils make strong progress in early reading. However, the school’s mixed approach in different classes means that some pupils become confused when learning about letters and sounds. Consequently, leaders are reviewing this to ensure a consistent approach to phonics teaching.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Support for pupils is exceptionally well planned and implemented. Leaders ensure that pupils’ academic needs and their physical, social and emotional needs are met. For example, they provide pupils with counselling, rebound therapy, hydrotherapy and speech and language therapy.
• Support for pupils with medical and physical needs is carried out sensitively. Pupils are always treated with dignity and respect. Care plans are detailed so that staff know exactly what they should do. These plans are reviewed and regularly updated in response to pupils’ changing needs.
• Pupils spoken to during the inspection said that school is a very safe place. All of them were able to identify a trusted adult that they could speak to if they were worried or upset. They know about how to keep themselves safe and healthy because this is taught through the curriculum regularly and is emphasised throughout the school day.
• Pupils’ SMSC development is promoted exceptionally well because this is integral to the school’s approach to personalising the curriculum.
• Pupils are provided with good opportunities to learn about the wider world and to develop skills they will need in the future. Careers advice and guidance is good for older pupils, who are prepared very well for moving on to college or therapeutic settings. However, careers education for some younger pupils is not consistently of the highest standard to enable all of them to benefit from the very best opportunities. Leaders have prioritised improving this in their current development plan.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• This is due to the support provided to individual pupils, which is highly effective. Staff are very aware of pupils’ needs, and what can trigger their poor behaviour. For example, when a pupil is upset or challenging, staff know how best to approach them.
• Staff work with pupils to enable them to increasingly self-regulate their behaviour. This is evident in the school’s records, which show a consistent decrease in incidents of poor behaviour over time, and for individual pupils. Pupils increasingly choose to use spaces such as quiet rooms to take time out to calm themselves, without adults needing to intervene.
• Breaktimes and lunchtimes are happy, social times that pupils enjoy. Leaders have developed the playground areas so there are lots of activities for pupils to participate in, such as snakes and ladders, climbing equipment and quiet spaces for those that need them. Adults supervise pupils well and interact with them to encourage talk and play.
• Pupils’ attendance is high because pupils love their school. One parent’s comment reflected the views of many, saying, ‘She’s raring to go every morning and that’s one of the biggest hurdles for most parents.’ A small number of pupils are absent frequently due to medical needs. Leaders and staff ensure that any gaps in learning arising from this absence are swiftly addressed.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Pupils make exceptional progress because leaders and staff ensure that the curriculum, everyday teaching and personal support provided are very precisely matched to pupils’ individual needs. As a result, pupils are very well supported in making the small steps needed to move forward in learning.
• Pupils’ learning journeys demonstrate the substantial and significant gains they make during their time at the school. This includes their academic progress, and their social, emotional and physical development. This is due to the whole-staff commitment to ensuring success for each pupil.
• Pupils who are disadvantaged make progress which is as good and sometimes better than that of their peers. This is due to the personalised approach to support, which is provided for every one of them.
• Leaders’ clear focus on getting pupils ready for the next stage of learning ensures that those leaving the school are successfully prepared for college or therapeutic settings.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Provision for children in the early years is outstanding. Transition into the school is managed extremely well so that when a child arrives, staff know their needs and put appropriate support in place right from the start.
• Leaders are knowledgeable about the strengths and areas for further improvement for the early years. They have put in place effective plans to ensure that provision goes from strength to strength. For example, leaders identified the need to improve adult support in outdoor play and provided training and guidance for them in doing this.
• The atmosphere in the early years is harmonious and full of fun. During the inspection, children played with each other and with staff. They showed real enjoyment, for example dancing to the music they played, painting and sharing snacks.
• Children’s safety is high priority and all staff are vigilant in checking that children are safe at school and cared for exceptionally well.
• Adults work together very effectively and leaders provide regular training for staff. Adults support children very effectively. They intervene in their play and encourage children to respond verbally and non-verbally, as appropriate. As a result, children make strong progress from their starting points.
• Adults use assessment procedures very effectively. They record significant gains in children’s learning, using online learning journeys, and use the information gained from their assessments to identify what each child needs to do next.
• Engagement with parents is strong, including home visits, parents contributing to learning journeys and lots of information given to parents about how they can help their child at home.

16 to 19 study programmes Outstanding

• Provision for students aged 16 to 19 is outstanding.
• The curriculum is carefully planned to provide wide-ranging opportunities to prepare students for the future. For example, many of them work in the school’s shop in the town to develop their social skills, their understanding of money and what is required in the world of work.
• Students benefit from extra-curricular activities, including a residential visit which is used to promote independence and confidence.
• Leaders have acted decisively to best prepare these students for life beyond school. For example, a group of older, autistic students is taught in the school’s annex. This requires greater supervision and resources. However, leaders recognised that these students needed to be able to move between rooms independently and with confidence to prepare them for the future.
• Teaching is outstanding because teachers and adults know students exceptionally well and treat them appropriately as the young adults that they are. Teachers plan work which meets students’ needs and interests, and which provides the right amount of challenge to enable them to learn and be successful. As a result, students make exceptional progress.

School details

Unique reference number 121258 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 10052629 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Special School category Community special Age range of pupils 3 to 19 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 110 Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes 16 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Carole Fields Headteacher James Stanbrook Telephone number 01263 820520 Website www.sheringhamwoodfields.co.uk Email address head@sheringhamwoodfields.norfolk.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 10 January 2018

Information about this school

• The school caters for pupils with severe and complex learning difficulties, including profound and multiple learning difficulties and autism spectrum disorders.
• All pupils have an EHC plan.
• The majority of pupils are of white British background. The school has a lower than average proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals is higher than that found nationally.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes jointly with senior leaders.
• Inspectors looked at pupils’ work, care plans, behaviour plans, assessment information, leaders’ evaluation of teaching and learning and a range of school documents.
• Inspectors spoke with a small number of parents, took account of the 12 responses to the Ofsted questionnaire, Parent View, and met with pupils in two separate groups as well as talking with pupils informally.
• The inspectors spoke with senior leaders, members of the governing body and with a representative of the local authority. They also met with the leader of the early years provision.
• Policies and procedures for the safeguarding of pupils were examined, including mandatory checks made during the recruitment of new staff.

Inspection team

Maria Curry, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Stefanie Lipinski-Barltrop Her Majesty’s Inspector