Archers Brook SEMH Residential School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a strong, nurturing and aspirational ethos that shines through. All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Relationships between pupils and staff are positive and warm. This helps pupils to feel happy and thrive. Pupils develop resilience and learn from enriching experiences.

Pupils are at the heart of what the school does. Many pupils have had disrupted school experiences before arriving at Archers Brook. Staff get to know pupils exceptionally well.

They provide pupils with highly individualised support programmes. The school has high expectations for all pupils' achievement. Pupils achieve well.

Pupils foll...ow well-established routines. They learn to self-regulate their behaviours over time. They feel accepted and engage well with each other.

Pupils' behaviour improves over their time at the school.

Pupils participate in a wide range of activities, including walking in local parks, camping, kayaking and mountain biking. They enjoy a range of sports, including archery, football and netball.

Pupils relish taking on roles to improve the school's horticulture areas.

Pupils contribute to their local community, through the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme, raising money for charities and volunteering to help others. These activities build their sense of responsibility and confidence.

Pupils benefit from taking part in competitions, trips and visits, such as to art galleries and museums. These are linked to their curriculum learning.

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

The school has established an ambitious curriculum for pupils.

Pupils study a wide range of qualifications, including GCSEs. They benefit from a tailored and flexible curriculum. The school quickly identifies the additional needs of pupils.

Staff pay careful attention to pupils' education, health and care (EHC) plans. They use these well to set personal targets and adapt the delivery of the curriculum. This helps pupils to reengage with their learning.

Most pupils achieve well from their starting points.

The school has thought carefully about the knowledge it wants pupils to learn and the order in which this should be taught. Staff use their subject expertise effectively to select suitable visual resources and activities that help pupils to remember the curriculum.

Typically, staff check pupils' understanding carefully before they move them on to new learning. Staff make it a priority to address gaps in pupils' knowledge and address misconceptions that pupils may have. This helps pupils to improve on their learning over time.

The school has prioritised reading. Younger pupils have opportunities to read for pleasure. Key staff are trained to deliver the phonics programme to weaker readers.

Most pupils read books that are matched to the sounds that they know. Those with any gaps in their knowledge are typically quickly identified. For some pupils, the school's actions mean that their confidence and fluency in reading is improving.

However, some of these initiatives are relatively new and not fully embedded. In addition, opportunities for pupils to develop their knowledge of subject-specific vocabulary are not applied consistently across the curriculum. This impacts on pupils' reading development.

Pupils behave well across the school. Staff employ bespoke strategies to improve pupils' emotional regulation. This supports pupils to move calmly between lessons and quickly settle into learning routines.

Many pupils enter the school having a history of poor attendance and disrupted education. The school uses a variety of highly effective strategies to break down barriers for pupils. Consequently, pupils' attendance improves over the time that they are at school.

The provision for pupils' wider development is woven throughout everything the school does. Pupils learn to understand how to care for themselves and how to maintain healthy relationships with others. Pupils' understanding of finances helps to foster their financial independence.

They learn the importance of respecting others.

Careers advice and guidance is of high quality. Pupils enjoy working on many projects with a range of employers, including from the health, construction and catering sectors.

These develop pupils' social interaction skills well. All pupils move on to education, employment or training.

Staff morale is high at Archers Brook.

Staff praise the school's support for their professional development and well-being. Governors take an active interest in supporting the school. They ask pertinent questions to understand what the school is doing well and where it needs to improve further.

This has helped to improve the quality of education for all pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum for reading is not fully embedded and is not implemented consistently.

This means that some pupils do not access the learning opportunities they need to build on their reading knowledge in a timely manner. They do not achieve as well in reading as they could. The school should ensure that its programme for reading is fully considered and is implemented consistently across school.