THE headteacher of a special school in Waterlooville believes it is well on its way to an ‘outstanding’ rating following an Ofsted inspection.
Riverside Community Special School was rated good – an improvement on the last inspection which was satisfactory.
Inspectors said that achievement is good for all groups of pupils including those with autistic disorders.
They said teaching is good and observed some ‘exemplary’ lessons where pupils were enthused and challenged by creative teachers.
And pupils ‘behave well with positive attitudes to learning’.
Headteacher Catherine Marsh said: ‘I’m very happy about the report.
‘It reflects how hard my teachers and my staff work to give the best outcome to the pupils here.
‘Parents appreciate all the progress that the children make with reading and writing.
‘The achievement is good for all groups of pupils whatever the level of disability.’
Ms Marsh said children were enthusiastic about their learning and their time at school.
‘The pupils work hard. They always know and can talk about what they are learning about,’ she said.
‘They are involved in their learning. They can talk about the specific targets they are working on and they are proud of what they do.
‘When the visitors came round, they showed their school off with pride.’
Ms Marsh said staff would now be working on steps to improve the school further. Inspectors said the proportion of outstanding teaching needed to be increased.
And work must be carried out to further develop the checks on progress by pupils.
‘We’re already working on ensuring that our learning steps are very fine and very specific for pupils,’ she said.
‘It’s about making sure that everybody has the same understanding about what’s happening in the class.
‘I definitely think we have every potential to become an outstanding school. I believe we are outstanding. But it’s not just about ticking boxes.
‘We already have lots of example of outstanding teaching.’
She added: ‘Pupils are making excellent progress.’
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