Delight as Derbyshire special school wins Ofsted praise

Staff and pupils are all smiles after a special school in Shirebrook was hailed by education inspectors.
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Stubbin Wood School, on Common Lane, has been rated good in all categories in the newly published report by education watchdog Ofsted, following a two-day visit by inspectors.

The school was rated good for education quality; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; leadership and management and early years and sixth-form provision, for an overall good rating.

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Ofsted said the school, for about 215 pupils aged two-19, including 25 in the sixth form, is a ‘safe and caring environment for pupils with complex special educational needs and/or disabilities’.

Sarah Baker, Stubbin Wood School executive principal.Sarah Baker, Stubbin Wood School executive principal.
Sarah Baker, Stubbin Wood School executive principal.

It said leaders have ‘high ambitions’ for pupils and, highlighting the school’s kindness curriculum, support all children ‘to make a positive contribution to society’.

The report said: “Pupils feel safe and are happy at Stubbin Wood School. They enjoy attending the school because of the strong relationships they have with the staff who care for them. One pupil said ‘teachers are fabulous, and I don’t know what we would do without them’.”

The report also highlighted school trips and extra-curricular activities.

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It said: “Leaders ensure learning is not limited to the classroom. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about the many different trips they had been on. These included local visits, as well as international travel to South Africa.

Sarah Baker, Stubbin Wood School executive principal.Sarah Baker, Stubbin Wood School executive principal.
Sarah Baker, Stubbin Wood School executive principal.

“There is an expanding range of lunchtime clubs for pupils, including for sport and dancing. These clubs broaden pupils’ learning and support their physical development.”

It is the school’s first inspection as an academy after it joined TEAM Education Trust in 2020.

Sarah Baker, executive principal, said “This result is a testament to the tremendous hard work, professionalism and energy all staff have made towards developing Stubbin Wood over the past few years.

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“To achieve this result following two years of lockdowns, bubbles, remote learning and facemasks is a tremendous achievement.

“I’m delighted and extremely proud of everyone in our school community.”

To further improve, leaders were encouraged to ensure the ‘well-structured formal curriculum’ was implemented in a way all pupils can understand, and to ‘do more to communicate effectively with parents’.