Stocklake Park Community School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 2 July 2024

Pupils are happy at this school. Staff get to know pupils well, and these positive, nurturing relationships help pupils to feel safe and secure. This results in a calm atmosphere, and classrooms are places where pupils can learn. Action is being taken to ensure the school's curriculum and teaching approaches fully meet the needs of all pupils. While these plans for improvement are ambitious, pupils' experiences of learning are currently variable. This is because the implementation of these plans is at varying stages. Consequently, actions have not yet had the intended impact in making the necessary improvements to the quality of education. The school provides pupils with a variety of activities to stimulate their interests and develop their confidence. These include encouraging pupils to be responsible by taking on roles in the school council. Pupils eagerly share their appreciation of their favourite sessions, for example 'rebound therapy' sessions on the trampoline, and visiting performances, such as the recent production of 'The Hobbit'. As pupils progress through the school, they spend more time in the community. Pupils in the sixth form regularly visit local cafés and the swimming pool, and some pupils work hard to achieve The Duke of Edinburgh's Award. This all helps to prepare pupils well for their next steps when they leave the school.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the curriculum is not precisely organised to help pupils build their knowledge and skills over time. In addition, lesson activities do not always enable pupils to engage in purposeful learning. This means that some pupils are not learning as well as they should. The school should implement its plans to ensure staff have the information and expertise they need to support pupils to learn well.
• The school has not implemented a consistent approach to the teaching of reading for those pupils who are ready or able to learn to read. This means that some pupils are not developing the skills and confidence they need to read as well as they could. The school should implement a systematic approach to teaching reading and ensure staff have the appropriate expertise.
• While the school has begun to track pupils' behaviour more closely, it has not implemented a clear system to closely analyse this information. This means that leaders do not have a sufficient understanding of emerging issues or identify the most effective strategies to meet pupils' needs. The school should implement processes to analyse behaviour records and ensure staff are appropriately trained to fully meet pupils' individual needs.
• At times, opportunities to integrate communication into pupils' learning or activities are missed. This means that pupils are not always given the required support to share their opinion or make decisions with independence. The school should ensure that all staff have the expertise and resources to promote every opportunity for pupils to communicate.

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