OFSTED full Report

Inspection Dates

Inspection dates	5th & 6th November 2013
Overall effectiveness	Good 2
(Previous inspection	Good 2)
This inspection	Good 2
Quality of teaching	Good 2
Behaviour and safety of pupils	Good 2
Leadership and management	Good 2
Overall effectiveness of the residential experience	Good 2

 

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school  

Shenstone Lodge provides a good standard of education and care for its pupils.

The residential facility provides a warm and nurturing environment, which helps pupils to be receptive to learning.

Most pupils’ attainment is low when they start school, but they make good progress the longer they stay at the school.

Pupils’ behaviour and safety is good and they have largely good attitudes to learning. The vast majority are keen to learn and enjoy the wide range of activities on offer, such as residential trips and land-based activities.

Teaching is lively and teachers use a good range of practical activities to capture pupils’ interests well.

The new headteacher has set out an ambitious plan for further school improvement. He has implemented substantial improvements to staffing and the use of alternative provision for older pupils.

Senior leaders are embracing the new challenges well and are establishing greater consistency across the two school sites.

The school meets the national minimum standards for residential special schools.

It is not yet an outstanding school because:

There is some inconsistency in the quality of marking, the use of personalised targets to accelerate pupils’ learning and in encouraging pupils to work collaboratively and independently.

The attendance of pupils is not high enough and this limits the progress of those few older pupils who do not attend regularly enough.

The rate of fixed-term exclusions is too high, although it is starting to reduce dramatically.

Assessment information is not succinct enough to enable more effective checking of strengths and weakness of provision by senior leaders, governors and the local authority.The anti-bullying policy does not cover all types of bullying.

Night time fire drills are not practised and some checks on the residential provision are not recorded.