Westfield Arts College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

Westfield Arts College provides an outstanding quality of education for its pupils and students.

The college's excellent leaders and managers have worked hard to raise standards in all areas since the last inspection, so that their achievement is outstanding. In almost all aspects of the college's work, leaders can point to marked improvement. Pupils say they feel very safe at the college, and their parents and carers agree.

The college's safeguarding arrangements are exceptionally rigorous. Pupils' consistently positive behaviour in lessons and around the college campus is a key factor in their outstanding progress and makes a huge contribution to the welcoming ethos at Westfield. Pupils mak...e a superb contribution to the life of the community.

Staff are highly ambitious for everyone in the college community to do as well as possible. In particular, they have a very clear view of what their pupils need to achieve to prepare them for adult life because assessment procedures are excellent. Leaders have effectively deployed the college's high quality resources to ensure that the very best is on offer for all.

As a result, the college provides outstanding value for money. Leaders' very high expectations are evident in the fact that second best is never good enough at Westfield. This is well demonstrated by the sophisticated pupil tracking and assessment programmes, which clearly show that each individual makes rapid progress.

When leaders and staff identify that pupils and students need additional support, staff ensure that personalised teaching programmes are put into place so that progress can be accelerated. These programmes have a very positive effect. The outstanding quality of care, guidance and support enables pupils and students to thrive.

Leaders and managers are conspicuously successful at transmitting their ambition to all staff through regular team meetings where improvement planning is debated. They rigorously monitor teaching and learning and provide teachers with opportunities to observe successful colleagues at other schools. This has enhanced the quality of teaching and learning, so that the proportion of outstanding lessons has risen considerably since the last inspection.

Teachers contribute to highly respected training for colleagues in other schools by means of effective outreach programmes. The college's training and support programmes for parents and carers are popular and lead to real improvements in families' quality of life. One parent commented, 'I would not have managed my child's behaviour without the constant help and support from staff.

I cannot speak too highly of the school.' Overall, the links with parents, carers and other professionals are outstanding. The school also promotes community cohesion at this exemplary level.

Teaching and learning are particular strengths at the college. The majority of lessons observed by inspectors were judged to be outstanding. As a result, the vast majority of pupils make at least good progress and often outstanding progress from their very low starting points on entry to Westfield.

The exciting and rich curriculum provides a very wide range of activities which inspires pupils and captivates their attention. The recent award of specialist arts status underlines the college's particularly successful provision in these subjects. The young adults make great strides towards becoming responsible citizens as they move into adult life.

Pupils participate with enthusiasm in physical activities at college; they understand the importance of healthy eating and the need to take regular exercise. The college's sixth form is going through a period of reorganisation, following the recent appointment of a new lead teacher for the department. Good teaching in the sixth form means that students make good progress; they enjoy the relevant learning and life skills development programmes.

Governors make very regular visits to the college and are closely involved in its evaluation and improvement planning. They offer challenge and help. College leaders at all levels have worked diligently to improve standards since the last inspection, when the college was judged to be good.

As a result of their very effective self- evaluation programmes they have remarkably clear insight into what is working well. Their detailed plans for the future and effective measures to monitor performance mean that the college has an outstanding capacity for further and sustained improvement.

Information about the school

Westfield Arts College is a large special school which provides education for pupils and students who have moderate and complex learning difficulties.

Governors and college leaders believe that the needs of learners admitted to the college are becoming more complex as each year goes by. For example, the number of pupils attending the school who have an autistic spectrum disorder has increased sharply in the last few years. The college's 173 pupils are organised into 18 classes, mostly in Key Stages 2, 3 and 4.

School leaders have taken the decision to include the very small number of Key Stage 1 pupils in Key Stage 2 classes. At the time of the inspection there were no children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The eight students on roll in the sixth form follow personalised learning programmes; during the week they have timetabled activities on site and in the wider community.

The overwhelming majority of pupils are of White British origin. A high proportion of pupils are eligible for free school meals. The college was granted specialist status for Arts in 2010, having previously gained specialist status in technology.

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