Nexus Foundation Special School

Overview

The report describes a school where pupils are “exceptionally well cared for and supported” by staff who are “expert in understanding each child’s special educational needs.” Leaders provide a “very personalised curriculum” tailored to individual needs, resulting in pupils who are “motivated and engaged with learning.” The inspection notes that the school has made “rapid progress” since the previous inspection, particularly in early reading and communication.

Strengths

• Staff are highly skilled at adapting teaching and using individual communication systems to ensure every pupil can express their views and access learning.
• The curriculum is carefully personalised, with specific pathways for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties and others on more academic routes.
• Enrichment opportunities, such as forest school and off-site work experience, are “very carefully planned” to build independence and life skills.
• The multidisciplinary pupil intervention team takes “swift and effective action” to support behaviour, with work described as being of “exceptional quality.”
• Leaders have successfully implemented a new phonics programme and raised the profile of reading across the school.

Areas to improve

• In some academic subjects, leaders have not clearly defined the knowledge pupils need to learn or broken learning down into small enough steps for consistent teaching.
• There is a lack of consistency in teaching approaches across different phases and pathways, partly because teachers often teach outside their main area of expertise.
• Leaders need to ensure teachers have the subject-specific expertise required to deliver the curriculum consistently as intended.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with staff trained to be “additionally vigilant” regarding the specific risks faced by pupils with SEND.