Riverside Community Special School

Overview

The report describes an inclusive special school where pupils are “happy and safe” and exhibit “exceptional” behaviour. Leaders have high ambitions for personal development, which is “truly at the heart of everything that takes place at school.” The overall effectiveness is judged as Good, with Outstanding ratings for behaviour, personal development, and early years provision.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate “consideration” for others and maintain “excellent” relationships with staff who “know and nurture the needs of pupils very well.”
• The Reception curriculum is “fully considered and embedded,” providing an “excellent starting point” that leaves children “exceptionally well prepared” for Year 1.
• Staff possess “secure knowledge” of pupils’ special educational needs and work effectively with parents to monitor precise interim targets.
• The home–school link team provides “high-quality guidance and care,” making a “considerable impact on the lives of pupils and their families.”
• Governors “know the school well” and provide “useful challenge and support for leaders.”

Areas to improve

• Leaders must complete work to embed phonics as the primary reading approach, ensuring all staff are trained and decodable books are matched to sounds pupils learn.
• Leaders should refine the curriculum in some non-core subjects to ensure a clear “progression of knowledge sequenced towards ambitious end points” for all pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with leaders making “rigorous checks” on staff and designated leads taking “rapid and robust actions” to keep families safe.