Chadsgrove School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Chadsgrove School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a strong sense of community. The school knows its pupils very well. Staff treat pupils with respect, care and kindness.

They make sure that pupils feel that every day is a special day for them.

Pupils' behaviour is exemplary. They like to learn and they try their best in lessons.

Their delight in mastering something new is reflected in their smiles, gestures or words.

Pupils attend school as much as they are able. Even when they may have periods of illness, they are eager to return to school to... be with their friends and to re-engage with learning.

Parents and carers appreciate the high-quality therapeutic care and pastoral support that pupils receive in this school.

The school's high aspirations for every pupil are clear and underpin the school's ambitious ethos. The carefully designed and delivered curriculum allows pupils of all ages to build their confidence and skills over time.

Pupils progress well through the curriculum from their own particular starting points.

Pupils benefit greatly from the school's extensive personal development programme. For example, older pupils appreciate visits to their local community and getting taster days at local colleges.

Pupils are very well prepared for their next stages of education and/or training.

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

The school has considered its curriculum carefully. It has defined the most important knowledge and skills it wants its pupils to learn.

Staff carefully check the starting points of children when they arrive at the school so that they can access the curriculum at a point that is right for children. Personalised programmes of study support pupils to develop key academic, self-help and social skills. Consequentially, pupils learn new knowledge and skills in the right order, as well as developing their confidence and resilience.

Transitions into school are well managed. This reduces any anxiety that pupils and parents may have. Those children joining in the early years are well supported and their special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are quickly identified and understood so that the right provision is immediately available to them.

Learning is brought to life by staff who know how to implement the early years curriculum effectively. Children soon become confident and resilient learners. Focused adult support helps build children's knowledge across all of the seven areas of learning.

Enabling pupils to communicate is a priority in this school. Staff ensure that all pupils have the necessary means needed to be able to communicate successfully. They take every opportunity to develop pupils' ability to converse.

As a result, pupils' interaction and communication skills improve significantly over time.

The excellent partnership working with in-house and external professionals means that staff are given high-quality advice so they can best support their pupils. Multi-disciplinary working ensures that pupils benefit from exceptional levels of therapeutic and pastoral care.

Staff across the school, from nursery to sixth form, maximise opportunities for pupils to share and experience reading and books. Pupils who are at the very earliest stage of the reading curriculum have stories read to them and interact with sensory resources. When they are ready, pupils benefit from regular phonics lessons and quickly start to learn the foundations of reading needed to become fluent.

The books pupils read are matched to their stage of learning.

The school's highly effective personal development programme teaches pupils how to be healthy, stay safe with others in person and online, and how to form and keep positive relationships. Pupils are taught about the similarities and differences between different people, cultures and religions.

The school places a strong focus on preparing pupils for adulthood and to become active members of British society. This work starts in lower school and is built on progressively, so that by the time students are in the sixth form they are well prepared for their next steps. For example, pupils, and students in the sixth form, are taught important life skills and learn about employment.

Many practise hospitality skills that they have learned in school through working in the school's 'Cosy Café'. Here, some students prepare food, while others practise their communication skills through meeting and greeting customers.Governors know the school very well.

They use effective systems to check all aspects of the school's work. They challenge and support leaders in equal measure. Together, leaders and governors have ensured that the school has maintained its high standards.

Staff are positive about working at this school. They appreciate that leaders consider their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged outstanding for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the third ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding for overall effectiveness in November 2012.