Newlands School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 7 January 2025

Pupils are made to feel valued as part of this school community. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and friendly. Staff spend time to get to know each pupil well. Pupils, who all have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), typically behave well. This is a time of change at Newlands School. This is because pupils now have an increasingly extensive range of complex needs. The school has high expectations for pupils. The school has started to make these necessary changes recently, for example by adapting the curriculum. However, most changes are still in the early stages of development. Therefore, there is more to be done to ensure that pupils get the most out of their time at Newlands. Pupils are safe in school. They understand that staff are there to support them. Pupils are given support or aids to help them to communicate any worries or concerns that they have. Staff deal with any minor disagreements between pupils sensitively. Pupils experience a wide range of events which support their broader development. The school ensures that these are managed successfully. For example, many pupils attend a local residential activity centre to learn skills which build their independence.

What the school should improve

• Some staff are not as clear as they should be about aspects of the new curriculum. This means that, occasionally, they select activities which do not fully support the curriculum's effective implementation. As a result, from time to time, activities can lack focus. The school should ensure that it finalises its curriculum thinking so that staff's curriculum knowledge improves, and they select more appropriate tasks for pupils.
• Sometimes, pupils lose focus in lessons. Now and then, this can affect other pupils' learning. At times, some staff are not as effective as they could be in re-engaging pupils. The school should ensure that staff receive professional development to support them to re-engage pupils when this occurs.
• Governors' systems to monitor the school's provision at times lack rigour. This means that they cannot fully hold leaders to account for the school's effectiveness. Governors should refine their systems for gaining an oversight of the school's provision, so that they are more precise in holding the school to account for its performance.
• The rapid improvements to the curriculum have inadvertently increased the workload of some staff. Despite efforts from the school, some staff still view their workload to be high. The school should ensure it looks closely at how to support these staff during this period of change.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)