St Bernard's School

Overview

St Bernard’s continues to be a good school, where pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities thrive and achieve well. Leaders have maintained high standards while managing significant transitions, including a move to a new building and a trust merger. The school provides a bespoke curriculum and extensive enrichment opportunities that prepare pupils for their next stages.

Strengths

• The bespoke curriculum ensures pupils with diverse needs access appropriate pathways, with early communication, reading, mathematics, and science being "well thought through".
• Pupils benefit from an "extensive offer of enrichment activities," including community visits, work experience, and clubs such as archery and Makaton.
• Teachers make learning "relevant and purposeful," using play in early years and ensuring storytelling is accessible to all pupils.
• Relationships between pupils and staff are "extremely positive," supported by effective positive behaviour strategies and alternative communication aids.
• Leaders and governors know the school well, are mindful of staff workload, and have successfully overseered recent changes.

Areas to improve

• Some subject curriculums are "not as ambitious" and lack clear sequencing of knowledge, leading to unnecessary repetition for some pupils.
• Too many pupils are not attending school as often as they should, preventing them from benefiting fully from the education provided.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.