Manchester Hospital School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Secure sustained and substantial progress for all pupils by:
  • continuing to develop the school’s assessment system so that leaders have a more precise and complete view of a wide range of pupils’ skills and achievements
  • ensuring that pupils, including the most able, receive targets and work that more consistently match their needs and skills.
• Strengthen leadership and management by:
  • embedding the new leadership arrangements so that all leaders have a more secure understanding of the quality of education across the school
  • ensuring that leaders of subjects other than English and mathematics develop a deeper understanding of the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects.
• Continue with its strategies to reduce pupils’ rates of absence and persistent absence, taking into consideration the range of pupils’ needs and circumstances.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher is knowledgeable and highly capable. She has an accurate view of the quality of education that pupils receive at Manchester Hospital School. Since her arrival in April 2017, she has identified some areas for improvement and has been prompt to introduce effective strategies to address them. Although most current pupils make strong progress from their various starting points, the headteacher is ambitious to accelerate this further. She is totally committed to ensuring that the school provides an exceptional standard of education for all pupils.
• The headteacher is in the process of refining the structure of leadership and management so that the new leaders have a more precise understanding of teaching and learning and of the assessment of pupils’ progress across all the school’s constituent parts, referred to by the school as ‘settings’. The new leadership structure has a leader in each setting who will be directly accountable for the overall quality of education there. This strategy is effective in raising leaders’ awareness of standards in each setting, but they recognise that they need to establish it more firmly.
• The school’s curriculum meets the needs of pupils effectively. Across all settings, leaders focus on the same overarching principle, which is to prepare pupils as effectively as possible for the next stage of their educational journey. Leaders pay equal attention to providing for pupils’ academic needs as well as their health and well-being. They ensure that pupils have access to lessons and courses that match their skills and requirements, depending on the setting. Leaders have now adapted the curriculum at key stage 4 to include more activities from the world of work, such as opportunities to experience working in the hospital. This contributes effectively to preparing pupils for the next step in their education, whether in the 16 to 19 provision or elsewhere.
• Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively, as well as their understanding of fundamental British values. They do this through programmes of study in personal, social and health education and in religious education. These programmes enable pupils to gain knowledge, for example of different faiths and cultures. Pupils also have the opportunity to see democracy at work in their school, for instance through elections to the school council and voting for which clubs they would like leaders to provide.
• Leaders provide a wide range of extra-curricular activities which contribute well to pupils’ development. These include clubs such as board games, ukulele and gardening. Pupils report that the range of clubs has improved since the arrival of the headteacher.
• Leaders have taken steps to increase the precision of their processes for assessing and tracking their pupils’ progress to cater for the full range of development needs. They now include a system for assessing pupils’ emotional well-being and mental health alongside their academic progress. They have, for example, introduced an assessment tool based on the Leuven Scale to evaluate pupils’ well-being and involvement in their learning across all year groups. Strategies such as this contribute effectively to the strong and improving progress pupils make. However, leaders have not yet fully embedded the systems to maximise their impact on securing sustained and substantial progress for pupils.
• Leaders of subjects other than English and mathematics have a working knowledge of expectations in their subject, but they do not have a sharp enough understanding of standards or the quality of teaching. The headteacher has recognised this and has begun to take action to secure improvement by restructuring the leadership of these subjects and clarifying responsibilities. It is still too early to see the full impact of her strategy.
• Senior leaders use all their additional funding effectively, including the pupil premium to support disadvantaged pupils and the money to support pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. Evidence from pupils’ work and school assessment information show that these groups of pupils make strong progress.
• The large majority of staff are positive about their work in the school. They appreciate the variety of training that leaders provide, which is a mixture of courses and opportunities to observe and share good practice in other classes and schools. Leaders are doing what they can to manage teachers’ workload, for example by reducing the number of meetings and introducing more efficient methods of recording evidence of pupils’ progress.
• Leaders and staff have established an inclusive school where all have a clear understanding of equality. For example, staff receive training concerning transgender issues. Pupils speak knowledgeably about the culture of respect that exists in the school, and about the importance of accepting people for who they are.
• The local authority has a secure understanding of the quality of education at the school. Advisers provide effective support and have full confidence in the headteacher’s leadership capability.
• Parents and carers who spoke with inspectors or responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, were overwhelmingly positive about the school. Parents typically commented about the ‘caring and responsive professional staff’ and an ‘absolutely amazing school’.

Governance of the school

• Governors know the school well. They are fully focused on the priorities and actions identified to secure further improvements and are ambitious for their pupils.
• Governors are well trained in safeguarding and have effective checks in place to maintain a thorough overview of safeguarding processes in school.
• Governors provide effective challenge and support to the headteacher and her senior leaders. They spoke knowledgeably to the lead inspector about matters on which they ask searching questions of leaders, such as pupils’ progress and attendance. Minutes of governing body meetings confirm the rigour of their challenge.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders keep records that are detailed and thorough. They pursue issues with outside agencies in a timely manner when required. They seek to improve their systems wherever they can. For example, they are currently transferring their records to an electronic system that allows them a clearer overview of a range of aspects of behaviour and safeguarding.
• The culture of safeguarding in the school is strong. Staff receive effective training which ensures that they are able to recognise signs of abuse. They are knowledgeable about the school’s systems for reporting concerns. They know their pupils well and remain alert to signs of changes in demeanour or behaviour. Leaders have developed systems, such as one involving different coloured cards, to enable pupils who have more difficulty in communicating to let adults know if they have a concern.
• Leaders have introduced a new electronic system to inform them immediately if a pupil is absent. This ensures that they are able to trace pupils quickly to establish that they are safe.
• The school’s required records of checks on members of staff comply with government guidance and are suitably detailed.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching, learning and assessment are effective in ensuring that most pupils make strong progress from their range of starting points. Staff plan and teach lessons that interest the majority of pupils and keep their attention. They ensure that they meet most pupils’ needs, especially those whose mental health or emotional needs cause difficulties with engaging in lessons. Where appropriate, teachers adapt their lessons well to follow the interests of these pupils.
• Teachers use assessment well in the main, including in the early years. They develop clear targets for most pupils to reach, and they evaluate pupils’ success effectively. They are particularly successful in assessing starting points for pupils who arrive on the wards and in matching work to pupils’ abilities and needs as they teach them at their bedsides.
• In the vast majority of cases, staff use effective questioning techniques where appropriate. These enable pupils, including the most able, to demonstrate deeper understanding and encourage them to explain their thinking. In this way, questioning contributes considerably to the strong progress most pupils make.
• There is a strong rapport between pupils and staff and relationships are warm and friendly. Pupils mostly show positive attitudes to their learning but some pupils who have particular needs show more reluctance to engage with their work. Staff are sensitive to pupils’ low moods and emotional circumstances. They recognise when to be more insistent with pupils and when to step back.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and an acute awareness of the needs of their pupils. As a result, they address any misconceptions in a timely way that is appropriate for the pupil concerned.
• Teachers mainly provide work that is demanding and matches pupils’ abilities, including the most able. For example, in history in key stage 2, they ensure that pupils focus on high-level historical skills, such as making inferences from historical evidence. In key stage 4, some pupils reach the higher grades of GCSEs in mathematics and English. However, teachers sometimes do not match work to pupils’ needs closely enough or stretch the most able pupils consistently.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Leaders have made the school a warm and safe environment. Pupils who spoke with inspectors said they feel welcome and have improved in confidence because of the support they receive.
• Pupils benefit from involvement in the school council. It enables them to develop their communication skills and sense of responsibility. They also say they feel that staff listen to what they have to say, making them feel valued. Their confidence in communicating was evident in the way that pupils felt at ease as they spoke with a member of the inspection team.
• Pupils, including those on the hospital wards, take part in a variety of clubs that contribute effectively to their personal development. These include a music club and a walking club. Some pupils said they particularly enjoy the gardening club.
• Pupils feel safe in school. A group of pupils who spoke with one inspector said that pupils can be themselves. One pupil commented that, by coming to Manchester Hospital School, ‘It’s a guarantee you won’t be bullied – there is mutual respect.’ Pupils trust their teachers to respond immediately to any concerns they may have and they find all of them helpful. They understand issues around e-safety because teachers provide them with the knowledge they need.
• Leaders provide appropriate careers guidance. This ensures that the vast majority of pupils are typically ready for the next stage of their education, training or employment.
• Pupils sometimes display less positive attitudes to learning. These are typically because of factors such as low moods. Teachers manage these situations well.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• There are clear expectations of routines and behaviour in school and the vast majority of pupils cooperate fully, with some showing a considerable degree of self-discipline.
• Where pupils have particular needs that may negatively influence their behaviour, there are some occasions when pupils are not ready to learn. Teachers, however, have effective strategies to manage these occurrences. Pupils respond positively to instructions.
• Rates of pupils’ absence and persistent absence are high when compared to national figures. However, leaders have introduced a number of strategies to address this situation. For example, they have commissioned an education welfare officer to contact parents of more reluctant attenders to discuss the importance of good attendance.
• Leaders have also begun to analyse improvements in pupils’ attendance compared to when they started at the school. One case study of a pupil showed a rate of attendance increasing from 10% to nearly 90%, and other examples showed improved academic performance related to better attendance.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Most current pupils make strong progress across the school from a variety of starting points, many of them low. A large proportion of pupils who attend longer-term are working below national curriculum expectations for all subjects. Others who spend time in hospital have often been away from their main school for several weeks beforehand.
• Because of well-targeted activities and effective planning, pupils make considerable progress in lessons and over time. This is in spite of the fact that they may spend only a short period in the school, depending on their needs.
• The few pupils in the early years make strong progress, considering their starting points and the varied nature of their stays in the hospital. Teachers plan interesting activities to ensure that children acquire appropriate knowledge and skills during their time there. For example, they teach them how to bake gingerbread men. This combines the development of children’s reading skills in connection with the story with the physical and mathematical skills that they use in baking.
• The school’s own assessment data, evidence from observations during the inspection and evidence from an analysis of pupils’ work show that pupils progress well across most subjects, including English and mathematics. However, sometimes, pupils’ targets are not challenging enough, including those given to the most able, which means that pupils’ progress across all year groups and subjects is not yet substantial and sustained.
• Leaders are effectively developing assessment practices to enable staff to have a clearer picture of pupils’ progress. This ensures that teachers mainly set more precise targets to inform their planning of learning, in order to secure the best possible outcomes for pupils. As this is a recent innovation, however, it is yet to have the maximum impact on pupils’ progress.
• There is a suitable range of qualifications available to pupils up to the end of key stage 4. The vast majority of pupils move on to education, employment or training, including a few pupils who go on to study for A levels.

16 to 19 study programmes Good

• The quality of leadership and management of the 16 to 19 study programmes is good. Enthusiastic leaders in the provision ensure that all students have as many learning opportunities as possible, including A levels, vocational courses and functional skills qualifications. They offer a curriculum that effectively meets students’ needs and prepares them well for the next stage of their development.
• Teachers have increasing expectations of students and work effectively to secure strong progress for them. To support this, leaders have recently introduced a scheme to develop most-able students’ problem-solving skills. Teachers expect them to devise a plan to address a given scenario, such as their intended areas of study or work in the next academic year, and present it. This encourages them to develop their communication skills and to take the lead in deciding the next stage of their learning or employment.
• Most students make strong progress to achieve a range of qualifications in a variety of subjects, including hospitality and enterprise activities. Typically, a large majority of students go on to education, employment or training. All current students who are set to leave in 2018 have destinations planned.
• Teaching, learning and assessment are effective. Teachers match work to students’ range of needs well, taking into account medical advice as appropriate. Teachers also provide students with enrichment activities which enable them to give deeper thought to what skills they would like to develop and give them some control over decisions about their learning. Students show an increasing ability to work independently and also develop social skills by working in groups. Although assessment procedures are effective, senior leaders realise that the new, more refined processes that they have recently introduced across the school have not yet had the desired impact on helping to secure more substantial progress for students.
• Leaders make effective provision for developing students’ life skills and experience of work. Activities include visits to a cupcake shop to explore vocational work in baking and to an animal charity to explore students’ interest in animal care. A group of students known as the ‘Brew Crew’ also run a coffee shop in the provision, which helps to encourage independence and work skills. These activities contribute well to students’ development.
• Relationships between adults and students are positive. These relationships contribute effectively to the good behaviour and mainly positive attitudes that students show.
• Students are safe because of the strong culture of safeguarding that is present across the school. Staff in the 16 to 19 provision follow the same policies and procedures as in the rest of the school. In conversation with an inspector, students made it clear that school is an inclusive and safe place, making comments such as ‘Everyone’s accepted for who they want to be.’
• Leaders offer effective careers advice and guidance. An independent careers officer is available to meet with students every week.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 105602 Manchester 10048567 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Special School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes Number of pupils on the school roll Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes Community special 3 to 18 Mixed Mixed 173 14 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Carolyn Davies Janet Doherty 0161 701 0684 www.manchesterhospitalschool.com admin@hospitalschool.manchester.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 30 January 2018

Information about this school

• The school operates on four main sites and is commissioned to fulfil the local authority’s duty to provide education for pupils too unwell to attend school. Numbers of students fluctuate widely on a daily basis.
• There are similar numbers of boys and girls. In the hospital settings, the proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, including those who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan, is about the same as in mainstream schools nationally. At the Leo Kelly Centre, approximately 30% of current pupils have an EHC plan.
• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium funding is above the national average.
• Most students remain on the rolls of their main schools while being educated in the hospital school.
• The constituent parts of the school are: Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, where teaching takes place in classrooms and on the hospital ward. Pupils here are frequently referred from other hospitals, sometimes locally, but also nationally and occasionally internationally Galaxy House, a psychiatric unit on the site of the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. This is for pupils who have significant mental health issues. Some of these pupils are detained under the Mental Health Act Wythenshawe Hospital, usually catering for short-stay placements, but also for recurrent admissions, for example of pupils with cystic fibrosis. Pupils are taught either at the bedside or in the classroom Leo Kelly Centre, a teaching centre for up to 70 pupils with medical and mental health conditions which prevent them from having access to education.
• Some pupils also receive teaching at home.
• The school has children in the early years but there are currently too few to include a separate section about provision for them in this report.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors carried out a combination of lesson observations in and short visits to classes in all parts of the school, which were joint activities with the headteacher and other senior leaders. They also looked at samples of pupils’ work.
• Inspectors analysed a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation summary, action plans for school improvement, minutes of meetings of the governing body and records connected with the safeguarding of pupils. They also analysed the school’s own assessment and tracking information.
• Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, other members of staff, governors, pupils and a representative of the local authority.
• Inspectors also held discussions with a small number of parents and with leaders of local schools whose pupils attend Manchester Hospital School.
• The lead inspector evaluated 11 responses received through Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, and 25 responses to the staff questionnaire. There were no other survey responses.

Inspection team

Mark Quinn, lead inspector Louise Corlett Stephen Ruddy Nell Banfield

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector