Special school near Leighton Buzzard celebrates 'good' Ofsted rating

MacIntyre School, on Leighton Road, has been judged as 'good' overall by Ofsted, with an 'outstanding' rating for personal development.

The school, which provides education and care for children with learning disabilities and/or autism, was inspected in January.

In the report it said: "Many pupils start to experience success, where their complex needs have meant they floundered at previous schools. Pupils usually join the school unable to communicate in appropriate or effective ways.

"Where pupils’ complex needs and challenging behaviour have restricted opportunities available to them elsewhere, this school goes out of its way to ‘open doors’.

"Staff frequently get pupils ‘out and about’, for example to the swimming pool, shops or farm. This school does very well for its pupils and is continuing to improve."

Catherine Clifford, Head of Education at MacIntyre School said: “We are delighted with the report as it captures so well the strength of our personalised approach and curriculum and the significant positive outcomes this has brought to the young people educated here.

"It is also extremely heartening to have recognition of our high aspirations and ambition for young people."

The Ofsted report made some recommendations for the school to improve, it said: "This school is moving strongly forward as part of a carefully conceived strategic plan. Leaders should continue this journey, ensuring that the final stages are consistently and securely embedded to maximise the impact on pupils’ outcomes.

"There is no doubt that this school is aspirational for its pupils. Leaders should make sure that the best potential outcomes at age 19 are explicitly identified for each pupil.

"They should use this to further hone the curriculum and provide optimal opportunities to achieve that aim."

Rachelle Russell, MacIntyre’s Education Director, said: “I’m so proud of all that the team has achieved, and incredibly grateful for their unwavering commitment to the school community.”