SUMMARY OF THE INSPECTION REPORT

TURNSHAWS SCHOOL

Kirkburton, Huddersfield

Headteacher- Gill Taylor

Date of inspection:  14^th  - 16^th  January 2002

The school was inspected by three inspectors, led by Rosemary Eaton. This is a summary of the inspection report, which is available from the school.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Turnshaws is a school for pupils aged three to nineteen with severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties.  Currently, forty-six pupils attend, including five children in the nursery and reception years and nine students over the age of sixteen.  When they enter the school, pupils' attainment is very well below average.  All have statements of special educational needs.  Seventeen have severe learning difficulties, twenty-three have profound and multiple learning difficulties and six are autistic.  Pupils' homes are throughout the Kirklees area.  Eight pupils are from minority ethnic groups.  Three have English as an additional language, with Urdu and Punjabi being the languages spoken most frequently in their homes.  The school is due to close in 2004.

HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Turnshaws is an excellent school.  Pupils make extremely good progress, particularly in their communication skills and personal development.  The quality of teaching and care is excellent.  The school's leadership and management are outstandingly good.  It provides very good value for money.

What the school does well

•      Pupils make excellent progress in learning to communicate.

•      There are exceptionally good opportunities for pupils to develop their social skills.

•      The provision made for the youngest pupils ensures that their education gets off to a flying start.

•      Teachers are enormously successful in choosing methods and resources that meet pupils' individual needs.

•      The school is extremely thorough in judging the quality of its work.

 

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

There are no key issues. 

HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was previously inspected in 1997.  Since then, it has made very good progress.  Pupils now make better progress - particularly in mathematics - in line with a similar improvement in the quality of teaching.  The school has been very successful in addressing the key issues identified in the previous report.  A large number of other developments have also taken place.  Amongst the most significant of these are the opening of a class for children with autism and the introduction of systems for establishing how well the school is performing, in order to set targets for further improvement.

STANDARDS

The table summarises inspectors' judgements about how well pupils achieve in relation to their individual targets.

Progress in:	by Year R	by Year 6	by Year 11	by Year 14		Key
speaking and listening	A*	A*	A*	A*		A* = Excellent
reading	A	A	A	A		A = very good
writing	B	B	B	B		B = Good
mathematics	A	A	A	A		C = Satisfactory
personal, social and health education	A*	A*	A*	A*		D = Unsatisfactory
other personal targets set at annual reviews or in IEPS *	A*	A*	A*	A*		E = Poor

* IEPs are individual education plans for pupils with special educational needs.

The school sets challenging targets for individual pupils to achieve, and these are regularly met.  Overall, pupils make excellent progress and achieve extremely well, particularly in learning to communicate and developing social skills.  As a result, they are able to work and play alongside pupils from mainstream schools.  Progress in writing is slightly slower, because pupils find this especially difficult and the curriculum appropriately places less emphasis on writing.  Pupils whose condition is deteriorating are helped to maintain their skills for as long as possible.  The work of post-16 students is accredited by both external and school certification.  They make very good progress in learning the skills they need in order to move on to the next stage in their education.

PUPILS' ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Aspect	Comment
Attitudes to the school	Excellent.  Pupils thoroughly enjoy being at school and take part enthusiastically in lessons and activities.
Behaviour, in and out of classrooms	Very good.  Pupils behave very well, both in school and when out and about in the community.
Personal development and relationships	Excellent.  Pupils rare for each other and value their friendships.  They try to be as independent as possible.
Attendance	Satisfactory.  Pupils are seldom away unless there are medical reasons for their absence.

There are occasional outbursts of challenging behaviour, as a result of the special needs of a small minority of pupils.  Because the staff manage these very effectively, others are not affected, but carry on with their work.

From an early age, pupils show that they are prepared to work very hard and do their best.  On occasions, their ability to concentrate for extended periods is remarkable.

Pupils' excellent social skills mean that they behave appropriately in different situations - for example, during assembly or when on visits.

Post-16 students are sensible young adults.  They are confident to attend college courses and take part in work experience placements.

Pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties are co-operative when staff are helping them - for example, at mealtimes

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching of pupils:	Nursery and Reception	Years I - 6	Years 7 - 11	Years 12 - 14
Quality of teaching	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent

  Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent, very good,- good,- satisfactory,, unsatisfactory, poor, very poor.  'Satisfactory' means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

Personal, social and health education, English and the skills of communication, including literacy are taught extremely well.  Mathematics and numeracy are taught very well.  A particular strength of the teaching is the way in which teachers meet the needs of all pupils.  They have an excellent knowledge of each pupil's stage of development and what motivates them to learn.  Support staff and professionals, such as therapists, work very closely with teachers and make very strong contributions to pupils' progress.  Teachers carefully plan exciting activities and organise stimulating resources that engage pupils' interest and encourage them to try hard.

OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL  

Aspect	Comment
The quality and range of the curriculum	Excellent.  The curriculum is extremely well planned and matched to pupils' age and stage of development.  It is rich, varied and stimulating, with a very clear and appropriate emphasis on developing pupils' communication and social skills.
Provision for pupils with English as an additional language	Very good.  Specialist support is carefully directed to work with the small number of pupils concerned.  All staff encourage them to communicate in ways that meet their individual needs.
Provision for pupils' personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development	Excellent. All aspects of pupils' development are provided for, through the school's daily life and a wide variety of special events and activities.
How well the school cares for its pupils	Excellent. The school takes extremely good care of all pupils. The procedures for child protection, welfare, health and safety are exceptionally thorough and are supported by excellent links with health professionals, including the school nurse and therapists.

The provision for the performing arts is a particular strength, with excellent links with the community and other schools.

There are excellent opportunities for pupils to have experiences alongside pupils from mainstream schools. The school takes very great care to make sure that all pupils have equal opportunities to take part in lessons and activities.

Careers education and guidance is extremely good, with strong support provided by the careers service.

The post-16 curriculum is very different from that for younger pupils, with a very strong emphasis on preparing students for the next stage of their lives.

The systems for keeping track of pupils' achievements and progress are extremely well thought out and rigorous and are applied consistently.  They include very well presented records of achievement and videos of each pupil.

The agreed methods for encouraging pupils to behave well are extremely practical and comprehensive.  For example, each pupil has their own contract, shared with parents, consisting of promises - for example, 'I will play with...'

HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED  

Aspect	Comment
Leadership and management by the Headteacher and other key staff	Excellent.  The Headteacher provides extremely strong, focused and determined leadership.  Senior staff fulfill their responsibilities conscientiously and share the headteacher's very high standards.
How well the appropriate authority fulfils its responsibilities	Excellent.  Led by a very able chair, governors are fully committed and supportive.  They are actively involved in finding out how well the school is doing and challenge it to keep moving forward.
The school's evaluation of its performance	Excellent.  The school has exceptionally well thought out methods of checking on and evaluating all aspects of its work.
The strategic use of resources	Excellent.  Spending is linked very closely to the school's priorities, which stem from an extensive audit, local and national developments, and (especially) the needs of the pupils.