North West Surrey Short Stay School, Woking

What it's like to be a pupil at North West Surrey Short Stay School

Pupils arrive at the school with negative attitudes to education. Staff work positively with pupils to quickly break these down. Pupils build warm relationships with staff and this helps them to develop a deep sense of belonging. This is evident in the warm greetings pupils share with staff. This sense of community helps pupils improve their attitudes to education swiftly. As a result, pupils exhibit excellent behaviour, and for many vastly improved attendance. Staff know pupils very well. They quickly address any concerns pupils have. This helps pupils to feel safe and happy. One pupil said ‘I actually want to get up for school now'. This is a view shared by many. Pupils' improved attitudes are also evident in the purposeful atmosphere throughout the school. They work hard in their lessons and talk positively about the subjects they study. Pupils typically learn the skills and knowledge they need. This helps them to confidently move on to their next steps. However, the teaching some pupils on short-term programmes receive is not as consistently effective as it should be. Older pupils achieve a range of appropriate qualifications. These help them to continue their education successfully after they leave school. Pupils become increasingly well prepared for life beyond the school. They develop important values such as resilience and integrity. They show this through the way they reflect deeply on their behaviour and the respect they show all. Pupils learn a range of strategies which helps them to manage their emotions. They use this effectively and it helps them to behave positively. Pupils also benefit from a wide range of opportunities to develop important skills such as oracy or how to manage their mental health. They enjoy these opportunities and this helps them to become increasingly positive. However, pupils do not have detailed enough knowledge of key concepts such as democracy. This means that some pupils are not as well prepared for life in modern Britain as they could be.

What Ofsted says the school should do next

• Leaders should continue their work to refine the curriculum for pupils on short-term placements. They should ensure that newer elements of the curriculum are well established and staff are confident to deliver these consistently well so that pupils can deepen their knowledge in all aspects of the curriculum.
• Leaders must ensure that pupils have more opportunities to learn about key concepts such as British values so they can deepen their understanding of this crucial information.

The school excels at transforming pupils' attitudes towards education through warm, supportive relationships with staff. Pupils who arrive with negative views quickly develop a strong sense of belonging and dramatically improve their attendance and behaviour. The school works hard to break down barriers to learning and successfully helps most pupils progress towards their next steps with increased confidence.

Safeguarding standards are met with leaders establishing an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, concerns are actively identified and managed, and pupils feel safe.

Art, sport, visits to local historical sites, Christmas fair, work experience, mindfulness sessions

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