Brunel School, Paignton

What it's like to be a pupil at Brunel School

Pupils at Brunel School describe an inclusive school culture where they feel safe and are understood well by the staff who teach and support them. Pupils have a true sense of belonging and their voice is important. For the majority of them, this has not been their experience of education prior to joining the school. It provides the foundations pupils need to achieve well from their starting points and equip them for their next steps in education, employment or training. Pupils are positive about how staff support them to develop the skills to become more adept at managing the challenges, which can often be significant and traumatic, they face in day-to-day life. Pupils value the school's individualised approaches to help them recognise, and overcome, their barriers to learning and wellbeing. Pupils acknowledge that this work means the school is a more settled and positive place to learn. As a result, pupils' education offer has been enhanced and enriched beyond the classroom. All of which impacts positively on attendance because pupils increasingly want to be in school. Leaders promote high expectations of pupils' learning and their conduct. As a result, there has been a significant decrease in serious behaviour incidents. Pupils now experience greater emphasis on strategies to help them regulate without the need for physical intervention. However, pupils do not experience a consistent enough approach from all staff to secure wholly positive attitudes to learning. For some pupils, staff response, challenge or setting of clear boundaries is not swift or effective enough. Consequently, learning behaviours and respectful attitudes, including some discriminatory behaviours, do not always meet leaders' high standards and, at times, can disrupt pupils' education. The school's values of integrity, love, availability, inclusion, compassion, safeguarding and aspiration genuinely underpin pupils' experiences at Brunel School. Pupils demonstrate these in their acknowledgement and acceptance that each one of them may need, and is entitled to, something different and bespoke, in order to flourish and prepare for life beyond school.

What Ofsted says the school should do next

• Leaders should develop staff understanding of, and expertise in, securing positive attitudes to learning from pupils, embedding this more widely, so that the curriculum can be implemented with greater success and pupil interactions are typically positive.
• Leaders should continue to develop staff consistency and skills across the school's education and pastoral offer, embedding this into typical staff practice, so that it has the most impact on pupils' learning, development and wellbeing.

Brunel School excels at helping pupils feel truly valued and understood, creating a sense of belonging that many had never experienced before. The school balances academic learning with crucial social and emotional support, helping pupils develop the confidence and skills they need. Staff work sensitively with families to remove barriers to attendance and learning, resulting in pupils who increasingly want to come to school.

Safeguarding standards are met - the school has established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, concerns are actively identified and acted upon, and pupils feel safe.

Beach visits, swimming in the sea, lifeguard engagement, sporting activities, music, cultural opportunities, outdoor education, cooking, digital skills, work experience, alternative provision placements

Bus Stops