The school understands the role it must play in preparing children for autonomy, independence, and adulthood. Their vision is “Building foundations for fulfilling futures” and their ‘inside out’ curriculum is focused on children learning about themselves ‘inside’, others and their environments ‘outside’ so that they can be fully prepared to become members of the community and to flourish within this. The school is the only National Autistic Society Advanced Accredited School in Leicester.
Inclusion Quality Mark Review May 2024
Educational progress is, at the most basic level, the difference a school makes to any pupil from admission to leaving that school. There are many ways to measure progress, including comparison to similar pupils/ cohorts locally and nationally. However, each Oaklands’ child is so unique in their spiky profile of strengths & areas of development, and our total cohort size is small, therefore comparative data is not statistically valid or particularly useful in assessing the quality of our provision or pupil progress.
At Oaklands, we use our own bespoke assessment system with OPAL (Oaklands Progressive Assessment Ladders) for pupils in Willow, Elm & Nurture pathways, and OPEAL Oaklands Progressive Engagement Assessment Ladders) in Nurture as they are pupils working within the Engagement Model of Learning. As each child at Oaklands is unique, the I can statements in OPAL & OPEAL track their individual journey from their own starting points (baseline) so that we can see progress at an individual level measured in number of steps achieved. There is also a horizontal measure of progress (APS) within a single step to capture the progress made by students with the most severe learning difficulties, from Accessing a skill, to Practicing it, to having multiple scaffolded and more independent attempts to Secure that skill.
Within OPAL, there are 7 ladders of micro steps within larger skills and knowledge blocks that relate to the 6 assessed Areas of Learning (AoL) within the Oaklands curriculum:
There are two further Areas of Learning which are not assessed:
Within OPEAL, the 5 ladders use the Engagement Model areas: Exploration; Realisation; Anticipation; Persistence & Initiation as their focus with small steps identified to track early learning behaviours and skills.
OPAL & OPEAL ladders provide staff with a very broad and comprehensive set of competency-based criteria which gives a rounded view of all pupils’ strengths. Staff use the OPAL & OPEAL statements continually to formatively assess pupils and adjust their provision to meet needs and enable them to achieve their next steps. Each child’s set of ladders are regularly updated and are a good source of understanding about pupils’ strengths and areas of development. Recording is done on paper so anyone can access the records to inform their practice and focus on pupils’ next steps. In this way, we can also regularly share information about aspects of a child's learning with parents/carers.
Judgements of progress are moderated within class teams, as well as across the school. In regular Progress Review Meetings, class teachers feedback to their line manager on general progress, areas where their children or key individuals may be struggling, and report on the impact of Resilience Building Plans. Collaboratively, the line manager and teacher look at ways to bridge the gap for learners who have specific areas of need, and school leaders look for any commonalities that could be addressed more widely. Due to the heterogeneity of our cohort, even within the same pathway, comparison of progress or a notion of ‘expected progress’ are not meaningful at Oaklands. Therefore, we do not draw cohort comparisons but do ensure that every child's progress is discussed regularly over the year. Leaders ensure that all staff are aware of particular vulnerabilities that may impact upon an individual’s learning, such as economic disadvantage.
Class teacher reports at the end of the year and before annual review meetings offer a rounded view of pupil progress in addition to data on OPAL or OPEAL steps achieved. A child’s library of reports is evidence of progress over time, and supported by half termly video assessments.
Other Views of Outcomes for Learners: As well as our own internal processes to ensure that we are maximising progress for learners, there are many other ways in which we check that outcomes for our learners are good or better. One of the ways is by getting parent/ feedback through Annual Review meetings and parent surveys. Parent/carer satisfaction is very high with regular feedback that 95%+ Agree strongly or Agree (or equivalent) on key questions such as ‘My child likes going to school’ and ‘The school informs me about my child’s learning and progress’. In May 2023, 92% of parents surveyed told us that they think their child is making good progress considering their special educational needs. Parent/carers are also asked to feedback at Annual Review meetings regarding progress towards their child's EHCP objectives (OPAL related Statements). In addition, we regularly seek feedback from the secondary schools that our pupils transition to about how prepared and ready they are for their next steps in education. Secondary school leaders unanimously tell us that pupils are effectively prepared for the transition and have built firm foundations on which to continue their education.
Long Term Outcomes: We know that in exceptional cases, some pupils in the past have gone on to sit GCSEs, Entry Level accreditations, Step up to English and Maths courses or attend colleges to study courses such as Bricklaying or Catering. The majority of pupils access personalised learning based on EHCP outcomes including travel training & preparing for adulthood.
'The curriculum has been extremely well planned and developed over time. Pupils are carefully placed in one of the four curriculum pathways according to their communication and interaction needs. This includes the youngest children in the early years foundation stage. Leaders and staff work highly effectively in teams to continually develop and refine the curriculum content.'
Ofsted Report February 2024