Castle School

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Performance Score

Overall school rating

100

/ 100

Special weighted harmonic mean of 1 indicators

Indicators used for Special schools

Ofsted inspection outcome

100.0

/ 100 normalized

Weight: 100.0%

Raw: Outstanding

How we weight each phase

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Primary schools

KS2 pupils meeting expected standard 40.0%
KS2 pupils exceeding expected standard 30.0%
Ofsted inspection outcome 30.0%

Secondary schools

Progress 8 score 40.0%
English & Maths grade 4+ % 30.0%
Ofsted inspection outcome 30.0%

All-through schools

Progress 8 score 25.0%
English & Maths grade 4+ % 20.0%
KS2 pupils meeting expected standard 20.0%
KS2 pupils exceeding expected standard 15.0%
Ofsted inspection outcome 20.0%

Secondary with Sixth Form schools

Progress 8 score 20.0%
English & Maths grade 4+ % 20.0%
Continue in education or training 20.0%
Sustained employment 20.0%
Ofsted inspection outcome 20.0%

Sixth Form Only schools

Continue in education or training 40.0%
Sustained employment 30.0%
Ofsted inspection outcome 30.0%

Special schools

Ofsted inspection outcome 100.0%

Alternative Provision schools

Ofsted inspection outcome 100.0%

Independent schools

Ofsted inspection outcome 100.0%

Ofsted Inspection

Official inspection outcomes

Outstanding

Overall effectiveness: Outstanding
Last inspected: 16 July 2013
Previous grade: Outstanding
Quality of education: 9
Behaviour & attitudes: 9
Personal development: 9
Leadership & management: Outstanding
Safeguarding: 9

Source: Ofsted inspection outcomes. Grades: Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, Inadequate.

Contact Information

How to reach this school

Source: GIAS

Address: Odell Road

Leamore

Walsall, WS32ED
Phone: 1922710129
Website: castle.walsall.sch.uk/

Location

Find the school on the map

Source: Geocoding

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School Information

Basic details and characteristics

Source: GIAS

URN: 104269
Type: Community special school
Phase: Special
Address: Odell Road, Leamore, Walsall, WS3 2ED
Website: https://www.castle.walsall.sch.uk/
Age range: 7-18
Gender: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
School status: Open
Capacity: 205 pupils
Setting: Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Sixth Form: Yes
Nursery: No

School Performance Data

Official government statistics

Source: DfE

School Demographics

Total Pupils: 225
Free School Meals: 59.6% (134 pupils)
Special Educational Needs: 100.0% (225 pupils)

Daily Attendance

Attendance Rate: 89.3%; Needs improvement
Persistent Absence: 34.4%; Missing 10%+ of school days

Calculated Fields

Derived insights and analysis

Source: Calculated

Class Size Information

Average Class Size: 10 pupils; Excellent
Pupils per Year Group: 19; Average across all year groups
Total School Size: 225 pupils; 7-18

From the School Website

Information extracted from the school's own website

Source: School Website

Ethos & Values

"To ensure every pupil enjoys learning, achieves and is prepared for adult life, within a safe and caring environment."

To enable pupils to enjoy learning and achieving through the provision of a wide range of activities and experiences. To enable pupils to lead healthy lifestyles. To ensure every pupil can keep themselves safe both in and out of school. To foster an understanding of social moral spiritual and cultural values, with focus on contributing to the community. To learn about British Values and understand the importance of them. To prepare pupils for adult life promoting independence, citizenship, work related skills, and the key skills which promote economic well-being. To provide access to a wide range of rich and motivating learning opportunities including external visits and effective and efficient use of all available resources. To work collaboratively with parents/carers to ensure the progress and achievement of their child. To develop close working relationships with mainstream schools and the wider community to enhance the opportunities for inclusion. To further develop the role of the school as a centre of excellence in the context of specialist provision within Walsall. To ensure that staff develop and share expertise through training and research to support special educational provision. To promote positive attitudes towards lifelong learning among the pupils, staff, parents and governors. In addition encourage parents to participate in training and learning opportunities (where possible). To create a welcoming environment that recognises and celebrates the contributions of all its members and reflects the expectations of parents, the community and society.

Prayer and Faith Facilities: A quiet, reflective area is available for prayer upon request.

Head Teacher's Message

Headteacher Christine Fraser welcomes visitors and describes Castle School as a successful special school for pupils aged 7–18 with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), emphasising small classes with teaching assistants and the Team Teach approach.

Extracurriculars

Clubs

Art Club Most Able Music Club Card Craft Club Coding Club (At lunch time only) Gym Club Dance Club Football Club Library Club Multi Sports Club Sewing Club Young Voices Gardening Club

Sports

PE Swimming

Facilities

On-site clinics including paediatric consultant, physiotherapist and incontinence team Speech and Language therapist on site five days a week Extensive ICT resources (green screen technology, school radio station, handheld tablets) Outdoor learning environments Small teacher-pupil ratios with trained staff Local Authority transport to and from school

Curriculum Highlights

The curriculum is a skills-based curriculum with a spiralised approach. Offers a 4-year programme broken into four skills areas (Year 3/4 a and b, Year 5/6 a and b). Phonics and reading schemes used: Read Write Inc in Primary and Project Code X in Secondary. Curriculum covers Key Stage 2, 3, 4 and Post 16 with specialist teaching in small groups.

SEND Provision

Castle School provides highly specialist SEND provision with a multi‑agency team, a favourable teacher–pupil ratio, and staff able to facilitate small group/individual support including physical management, communication and behavioural techniques. The school has on‑site Speech and Language therapy five days a week, on‑site clinics (paediatric consultant, physiotherapist, incontinence team), support from Hearing/ Vision Impaired service, transition and outreach programmes, extensive ICT use (green screen, school radio, tablets), and on‑site staff trained to support medical, dietary and emotional needs.

Admissions Criteria

Castle School is a school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties and additional needs; all pupils placed have an EHCP. Pupils must have an EHCP and admissions are arranged via the Local Authority; places are allocated in conjunction with the Local Authority. The Local Authority is the route for admission information.

Financial Information

Bursaries: Available