Blue Skies School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 26 September 2023

Pupils and their families are deeply appreciative of the education and care they experience at Blue Skies School. Almost all pupils have experienced disruption to their education and many have missed essential learning. Once attending Blue Skies, pupils make up for lost time. Almost all pupils settle quickly and attend, behave and learn very well. Each morning, pupils are greeted by name as they arrive at school. In a supportive and gentle manner, staff check that pupils are ready for the day ahead. Pupils may be offered breakfast or the opportunity to speak with the school's well-being lead before heading to class. Once in lessons, pupils are expected to work hard. With excellent support and adaptations where required, pupils rise to this expectation. The school's strong focus on preparing pupils for their next steps in life resonates well with pupils and contributes strongly to their sense of ambition. A culture of respect and understanding pervades the school. Transgressions of behaviour are managed skilfully when they occur. Pupils agree that they are happy and enjoy school 'more than ever before' and that there is no bullying. Pupils have confidence in the staff to resolve any such concerns should they occur.

What the school should improve

• The newly introduced curriculum subjects are not fully planned or resourced. In these subjects, leaders have not identified the precise knowledge that pupils should learn and in what order. This means that pupils will not make the progress they could. Leaders should prioritise the planning and resourcing of new subjects so that pupils learn equally well in all subject areas.
• Systems and practices established to strengthen leadership and oversight of the school are still new. Some aspects, such as establishing an advisory board, are not actively implemented. Therefore, planned developments are not having the impact on school improvement as intended. Leaders should ensure that new systems and approaches to leadership and oversight are fully embedded so that the school continues to improve.
• Daily monitoring of progress towards EHC plan targets is not effective. Targets written for daily tracking are insufficiently precise. It is not always clear whether the monitoring refers to effort, attitude or learning. Leaders should review the systems for tracking progress towards EHC plan targets so that they have clear purpose and are used effectively.

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