Queensway

Overview

Leaders and teachers maintain high expectations, driving pupils with special educational needs and disabilities to become "successful learners and confident members of society." The school provides an ambitious curriculum and positive behaviour, supported by a "tenacious" senior leadership team and strong multi-academy trust backing.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy and supported, noting that "staff listen to them and act when they need help."
• The curriculum is "ambitious and focused on pupils gaining a deep knowledge," with subject leaders who are "passionate about their subjects."
• Reading is a top priority, with interventions like the ‘drop everything and read’ strategy helping pupils secure "strong outcomes in English Literature GCSE."
• Behaviour is positive, underpinned by "calm, purposeful and nurturing" relationships between staff and pupils.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with staff well-trained to spot signs that "pupils might not be safe."

Areas to improve

• Lessons do not always consider the impact of speech, language and communication needs or sensory processing disorder on learning.
• Curriculum implementation does not always prioritise embedding knowledge into pupils’ long-term memory, causing some to struggle with recall.
• Staff intervene too readily, failing to allow pupils opportunities to develop independence, problem-solving skills, or resilience.

Safeguarding

The report states that "the arrangements for safeguarding are effective," with staff trained to identify risks and leaders dealing with concerns appropriately.