A Huddersfield special school is still not good enough.
Longley School has been rated as Requires Improvement for the second time running by Ofsted, having received the same grade in October 2013.
Two years before that was rated as Satisfactory (since classified as Requires Improvement).
School leaders said that progress has been made over the last two years and they were “disappointed” with the verdict.
The Dog Kennel Bank school caters for 129 children aged from five to 16, all with a statement of special educational needs.
Inspectors criticised pupils’ progress and outcomes, the quality of teaching and leadership. They found pupil welfare and behaviour to be good.
The report stated: “Pupils do not make consistently good progress in a wide range of subjects.
“Assessment information is not used well enough by all teachers. As a result, work is not always pitched at just the right level for pupils.
“Teachers’ expectations of what pupils will learn in lessons are not always clear or precise enough.
“Some pupils with very specific needs require more expert help in order to communicate what they know, understand and can do.
“When planning improvement work, leaders do not make the most of the information they routinely collect about the quality of teaching.”
It said that governors sometimes lacked the detailed information to enable them to hold leaders to account.
Inspectors also said that English and maths had improved over the last two years and
They added: “Pupils’ conduct and their attitudes to learning are consistently good. The support older pupils receive helps them to be well prepared for the next stage of their education and training.”
Headteacher Anne Lawton said: “The school has made considerable progress since Ofsted visited in 2013 and we are disappointed that this has not been fully reflected in the latest report.
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“For example, we have introduced an enriched, motivating curriculum to meet the individual needs of our pupils. We give our pupils a wide range of opportunities and the skills they need to learn confidently and live as independently as possible in the future.
“The inspectors did recognise that the personal development, behaviour and welfare of our pupils is ‘good’, as well as highlighting some of our strengths.
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“We were already working on many of the other points raised by Ofsted as they had been identified by the school’s leadership as areas for development.
“There is a great deal to celebrate at Longley and, as well as focusing on our work to move forward, we will continue to build on all the qualities that make our school unique.”
