Stansfield House, Dukinfield

What it's like to be a pupil at Stansfield House

All pupils who join this school have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They have experienced significant turmoil in their education prior to joining. The main aim of the school is to help pupils to overcome these significant barriers and re-engage them in education. Leaders at the school acknowledge that they are failing to do this. Pupils do not receive an acceptable standard of education. Pupils' extensive and complex needs are not identified and addressed quickly and effectively. As a result, pupils are not suitably supported to achieve as well as they should. Pupils experience a curriculum that is not matched well to their needs and it is poorly delivered. Teaching does not support pupils to learn well. They are ill prepared for the next stage of their education. Pupils have positive relationships with the adults who work with them and they feel safe. However, staff expectations for their behaviour and achievement are far too low. Pupils lack clear boundaries and routines. Low-level disruption and disrespectful behaviour is frequent, normalised and condoned. This chaotic environment compounds many of the social and emotional needs that pupils have. Although many pupils initially improve their rates of attendance when they start at the school, currently the majority of pupils do not attend school full time or at all. The broader experiences the school provides, beyond the academic curriculum, are limited. Low attendance and unaddressed behavioural barriers prevent the majority of pupils from accessing any wider development opportunities that the school does provide. Pupils do not feel a sense of belonging or inclusion. Many pupils are not provided with the vital knowledge that they need to be well equipped for life in modern Britain. This negatively impacts pupils' achievement and personal development.

What Ofsted says the school should do next

• The proprietor and leaders must establish a clear process to identify, assess and support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities so that they can access learning effectively.
• The proprietor and leaders must ensure that the curriculum meets the needs and abilities of all pupils. They must also support teachers to design and deliver the curriculum so that it builds pupils' knowledge securely from their starting points.
• The proprietor and leaders must implement a consistent approach to assessment so that teachers identify pupils' starting points and gaps in knowledge accurately, and address weaknesses in pupils' foundational knowledge swiftly.
• The proprietor and leaders must raise staff expectations of pupils' behaviour and attendance. They must urgently implement a consistent whole-school approach to tackling complex behaviour and attendance issues, especially at transition points, so that disruption reduces and pupils can engage in learning and feel that they belong at school.
• The proprietor and leaders must address the significant weaknesses in the personal development programme so that pupils benefit from a broad and rich range of experiences beyond the curriculum.
• The proprietor must take swift action to address serious weaknesses in leadership and quality assurance so that the school secures improvement promptly, meets the independent school standards and reduces the negative impact of the provision on pupils' academic and personal development.

Stansfield House maintains positive relationships between staff and pupils, and has strengthened its approach to keeping pupils safe from bullying and violent behaviour. Staff are considerate of workload and provide appropriate support to colleagues. However, these strengths are currently not translating into improvements in pupils' learning and achievement.

Safeguarding standards are met with an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed, and pupils feel safe.

Visits to local colleges and further education providers, visits from external speakers on topics including racism, careers information and guidance

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