Tuke School

Overview

Tuke School is a secondary special school for pupils with profound and complex needs, where leaders and staff deliver high-quality, inclusive provision. The report highlights a positive culture where pupils feel safe, settled, and happy, with strong progress in attendance, behaviour, and personal development. While most aspects of the school meet strong or expected standards, specific areas regarding curriculum assessment and phonics require attention to ensure consistent progress for all pupils.

Strengths

• Attendance has risen positively over four years, supported by "bespoke packages of support" and robust monitoring.
• Inclusive practice is of "high quality," with staff working collectively with experts to co-produce precise support plans.
• Pupils are prepared well for adulthood through a "well-structured and ambitious curriculum" that fosters independence and resilience.
• Staff are "very proud and extremely positive," benefiting from extensive professional learning and effective workload management.
• Strong relationships with parents and carers are fostered through regular communication and training opportunities.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure the "newly introduced systematic synthetic phonics programme is implemented consistently and effectively" for early readers.
• Assessment systems need to be "embedded robustly" to help teachers identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge across all curriculum areas.

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with an "open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility" ensuring pupils are made safer and feel safe.