Selworthy Special School

Overview

Selworthy Special School continues to be a good school, providing an ‘ambitious curriculum’ that is ‘supportive, personalised, empowering, creative, inspirational, aspirational, life long’. Pupils enjoy coming to school, feel safe, and benefit from staff who know them well and have ‘high expectations of pupils’ conduct’. The environment is described as a ‘calm and purposeful place to learn’, with secure relationships helping pupils manage behaviour and emotional demands.

Strengths

• Staff are ‘strong advocates for pupils’, encouraging them to be active participants and helping them develop strategies to keep themselves regulated.
• Leaders have designed a ‘highly effective early reading and communication curriculum’ with clear expectations, resulting in pupils who are ‘keen to read’ and increasing their communication skills.
• The school provides ‘bespoke learning provision’ based on each pupil’s education, health and care plan, ensuring support for diverse needs including sensory requirements and challenging behaviour.
• Older pupils benefit from ‘vocational’ learning and ‘accredited routes’ that prepare them for adulthood, with successful onward destinations.
• The provision at The Cove enables some pupils to experience ‘learning alongside their mainstream peers’, offering a broad and inclusive education.

Areas to improve

• The curriculum is not as well developed in some subjects as in others; leaders must ensure learning is ‘broken down into small enough steps’ so pupils learn as successfully as they could.
• Systems for gathering pupil information are sometimes ‘unwieldy’ and replicated; leaders need to make these ‘specific, relevant, accessible and efficient’ to ensure critical information receives necessary priority.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with leaders monitoring them closely and staff receiving regular training to report concerns and provide support at the earliest opportunity.