Stubbin Wood School

Overview

The report states that Stubbin Wood School “does not provide a safe environment for pupils to learn” and that the quality of education is “not good enough.” It highlights that “ongoing uncertainty and frequent staff changes” compromise pupil welfare, while the curriculum is described as “poorly conceived, disjointed and lacks purpose.”

Strengths

• Staff “work hard and care deeply about the children,” and many pupils “enjoy school” and form “close relationships” with long-serving staff.
• Pupils describe themselves as a “caring group of young people” who “look out for each other” and build friendships based on “kindness”.
• The school “responds swiftly to individual safeguarding concerns reported through its online system,” ensuring action is taken to keep specific pupils safe.
• Children in the Nursery Year benefit from a “well-planned curriculum that is delivered effectively by skilled staff.”
• The school has “improved its approach to managing pupils’ behaviour, resulting in reduced suspensions,” and pupils typically attend school well.

Areas to improve

• The school must act urgently to address “significant weaknesses in the school’s safeguarding practices” which place pupils at “potential risk of harm,” including improving recruitment and risk assessments.
• Leaders must ensure the curriculum is “designed precisely and resourced sufficiently” to meet pupils’ needs, as the current offer is “inconsistent” and lacks clear intent.
• The school needs to establish a “consistent approach to teaching early reading” and ensure staff have the skills to support pupils who struggle to decode text.

Safeguarding

The report states that “arrangements for safeguarding are not effective” and that there are “significant weaknesses in the school’s systems and processes that place pupils at potential risk of harm.”