Mossbrook School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Mossbrook School

Following my visit to the school on 28 November 2018 with Louise Greatrex, Ofsted Inspector, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in January 2015. This school continues to be good.

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have a clear vision, which is shared by the newly developed leadership team. Your focus on having the pupils at the heart of the school, coupled with a strong understanding of their complex needs, is ensuring t...hat the school continues to meet the need of all pupils.

Pupils receive tailored support as they learn through a broad and balanced curriculum. Their activities include whole-class counting exercises, one-to-one reading support and practical life skills. Because of this, they can, for example, put on their outdoor coats with little or no support.

Attendance is good. Pupils enjoy the smooth and respectful arrival at school. They are escorted into school by trusted adults and speak, smile and wave at staff waiting to greet them.

Parents and carers agree that their children want to be in school. They are positive about the many ways in which their children have improved their social and communication skills since joining the school. Pupils' behaviour is good.

Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. Staff support and challenge pupils to be respectful to others, to play together and to use good manners. Teachers use praise and rewards successfully to encourage positive development.

Incidents of difficult and challenging behaviour have increased this year. However, leaders have successfully analysed these events, and actions taken have begun to reduce their frequency. The curriculum has a strong focus on developing the whole child.

Teachers plan activities which support pupils' complex needs so that they are ready to learn. The calm and nurturing environment allows pupils to settle quickly and develop new methods of communication, learning and engagement. Since the previous inspection, you have developed a whole-school communication strategy.

This is ensuring that staff communicate in a wide variety of ways to develop the communication for all pupils. This strategy is being used throughout the school. However, it needs to be embedded to ensure that strong practice is seen in all classes.

Pupils' transition into the school is successful. Through outreach visits to mainstream settings and pupils' homes staff develop a personalised, phased timetable for the first two weeks. This ensures that pupil settle well into the school because it reduces anxiety for the pupil and parent.

Safeguarding is effective. You and your leadership team have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. You have developed an effective safeguarding culture in school, establishing a safe and secure environment for pupils.

Staff show an awareness of its importance and demonstrate a secure understanding of their responsibilities to keep pupils safe. Your team of safeguarding officers works effectively across the school. The introduction of the safeguarding liaison officer has strengthened this team and provides additional support to pupils and their families.

Safeguarding officers report to the local authority in a timely fashion when necessary. They follow up cases to ensure that pupils get the support they need. Children have many opportunities to learn how to keep themselves safe.

Through themed lessons, assemblies and external trips, pupils learn about road safety, stranger danger and keeping themselves safe online. Inspection findings ? During the inspection, we focused on whether the quality of teaching and learning remained good. Personalised planning and the strong relationships between teachers and pupils are very positive features of the effective quality of teaching and learning.

Throughout the school, pupils are enthusiastic about their learning, which has a positive impact on the progress they make. ? Leaders have begun to make changes to the way that they record and monitor pupils' progress information. Individual education plan targets are closely linked to pupils' education, health and care plans and are closely monitored by staff.

These provide strong evidence of pupils' progress. The progress that pupils make is not always as clear in the classroom, and this is an area which is currently in development. ? Outdoor learning is a strength of the school because it accurately supports pupils' wider social development and prepares them for both for the next stage of learning and life outside of school.

Pupils enjoy the wide range of trips, including visits to local cafes, shops, parks and woodland areas. Parents are highly complimentary about this aspect of the curriculum. ? Reading is encouraged in the classroom.

Pupils have a wide choice of reading material. They have opportunities to read independently as well as to a member of staff. ? Pupils say that they enjoy school.

They feel safe and are happy. Pupils say that they are learning and aspire to future careers, which include being a teacher, a train driver and a swimmer. ? Outdoor equipment, a nature pond and external trips and visits allow pupils to take risks in a controlled, safe and secure environment.

Staff support and develop creative activities and team play during breaktimes and lunchtimes. ? Attendance is good. All staff build positive relationships with pupils and parents to ensure that, despite their complex needs, pupils' attendance remains high.

Parents value the communication between home and school. One parent felt that 'The staff make the school what it is – it has heart.' ? Children are clear about what teachers expect.

Staff provide well-established routines throughout the school, both within the classroom and during lunchtime, which support the learning needs of the pupils. Morning routines are consistent in each classroom. This practice helps pupils to make the transition between school and home, as well as supporting them to move year groups at the start of the new term.

This repetition helps pupils to feel safe and reduces anxiety. ? Records of incidents of disruptive or negative behaviour are of a high quality. Staff have support and training to reinforce their work with the complex needs of the pupils.

• You have a strong emphasis on rewards across the school. Pupils understand the rewards, for example the stickers earned for showing good behaviour in different parts of the school day. They enjoy working towards filling their sticker chart and choosing a prize from your office.

• Leaders use additional funding well to support the wider development of the pupil. For example, external sports coaches are brought into the school to increase the opportunities for physical activity for pupils. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? the development of pupils' communication skills is embedded within all areas of school in order to ensure continuous opportunities for learning ? recent developments in the way leaders track and measure pupils' progress continue to develop so that leaders have a more accurate picture of the progress each pupil is making.

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Sheffield. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Tricia Stevens Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection Inspectors met with you, your deputy headteachers and members of the middle leadership team.

Meetings were also held with members of the governing board, the school improvement partner and a number of parents. Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents, including the school's self-evaluation and school development plan, pupils' progress information, attendance information, meeting notes, behaviour analysis, questionnaires from staff and the single central record. Inspectors made visits to all classes to review pupils' learning, and they spoke to pupils during the school day.

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