Eastwood Grange School

Independent school standard inspection report

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DfE registration number 830/6013 Unique Reference Number (URN) 113026 URN for social care SCO41666 Inspection number 397637 Inspection dates 13–14 November 2012 Reporting inspector Jane Melbourne HMI achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk No. 090070 Independent school standard inspection report

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Purpose and scope of the inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school. 1, 2

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Purpose and scope of the inspection

An inspection of the care provision was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 having regard to the national minimum standards for children’s homes. This inspection took place at the same time but the full report is published separately on Ofsted’s website and should be read in conjunction with this report which covers the educational registration of the school.

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Information about the school

Eastwood Grange is an independent day school with dual registration as a children’s home. It is owned by the Priory Group and occupies a large hall with additional purpose built classrooms and sports hall located in extensive grounds close to a Derbyshire village. It is registered for 26 boys aged from nine to 16 years with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. There are currently 24 students aged 11 to 16 years on roll. Twenty of the students are cared for at the children’s home on site and four are day students. All have experienced severely disrupted education prior to arrival and all have a statement of special educational needs. Most of the students are of White British backgrounds. The school opened in 1990 and was last inspected in June 2009. It aims to: reverse the downward spiral in sociability, behaviour and academic achievement; raise self-esteem through positive relationships; broaden horizons through a broad and balanced curriculum which

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Information about the school

utilises individual strengths and develops students’ interests; raise standards in literacy and numeracy and prepare their students for life. An inspection of care took place at the same time but is reported upon separately.

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Evaluation of the school

The quality of education provided by the school is inadequate. The quality of the curriculum, teaching and assessment is inadequate because it is not appropriately meeting all students’ needs or allowing them to make good progress. The welfare, health and safety arrangements for students are also judged to be inadequate. The school’s safeguarding arrangements meet current requirements and the provision for students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. Students’ behaviour is inadequate. The school fails to meet 18 of the independent school regulations or fully meet its aims.

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Evaluation of the school

1 www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/32/contents . 2 www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/18/contents . Independent school standard inspection report

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Quality of education

The curriculum is inadequate. It does not meet students’ individual needs and this significantly slows their learning and reduces their progress. Scrutiny of students’ work in books and folders shows that literacy and mathematics teaching is weak. These subjects are not sufficiently adapted through subject plans and schemes of work for the different abilities of the boys in the same class. Science is a strength at the school and this better meets the varied ability range of students taught together. Design and technology, and physical education are also well planned. Until recently, due to staffing changes, there was a lack of information and communication technology (ICT) taught. Now it is taught as a separate subject, but not used fully enough as a tool in other subject areas. Students who struggle more than most with the sounds that letters make (phonics) and in their developing reading and mathematical skills are given good levels of extra help and specially chosen activities.

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Quality of education

However, these always take place outside the classroom and, therefore, this group of students miss out on other important aspects of their lessons. For others, although they receive additional classroom support, not enough is done to enable them to practise their reading and writing skills in lessons so as to narrow the gap in their achievement compared with their peers in other schools. This severely impedes their overall learning.

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Quality of education

There is a satisfactory range of qualifications which can be studied but not all courses are currently accredited, for example art or design and technology. Some students are working towards accreditation which is wholly inappropriate for the level they are currently working at, and without them having sufficient knowledge and confidence in their basic literacy and numeracy skills. The curriculum is too academic for some students who would thrive with more practical and vocational options. Careers advice is sound and students benefit well from work placements across a range of providers as part of their leisure and tourism or citizenship courses in Years 10 and 11. They also undertake taster courses with local colleges and the school strongly encourages the option of further education.

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Quality of education

The quality of teaching and assessment is inadequate. Lessons do not always sufficiently hold students’ interest. Activities are not planned with appropriate levels of challenge or to encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning and to be independent thinkers. The pattern of double lessons is inappropriate for students who find it difficult to concentrate for long periods of time. Time is not well managed in lessons; there are frequent instances of time-filling activities being introduced with little learning potential. The quality of questioning and explanations is poor. Students rarely get the chance to explain their thinking. Therefore, students do not understand enough about grammar and how to construct a piece of writing, or the different ways of calculating to solve mathematical problems. Scrutiny of books shows that students accomplish too little in lessons and that the expectations

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Quality of education

of most staff for how much students should produce are not high enough. Expectations for presentation are also generally not high enough, except in students’ science books where guidelines are continually reinforced. The marking of students’ work is irregular in some subjects and ineffective at guiding students to how to Independent school standard inspection report improve. When work is marked, students do not consistently undertake any necessary corrections or make improvements.

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Quality of education

Students’ progress is inadequate. Teachers are not accurately using the prior attainments of students to plan their lessons or set suitable academic targets. Not all the information about what students know and can do when they enter the school is complete and it is, therefore, not possible to accurately assess all students’ progress. Teachers do not always demonstrate sufficient subject knowledge or have confidence in assessing the levels that students are working at and therefore assessment is not effective. The standards that students are working at in reading, writing and mathematics remain well below their peers in other schools nationally. Many students are not making up sufficient ground because the quality of teaching and the behaviour management in lessons is not good enough. School staff are not trained well enough to manage students’ behaviour effectively and to retain students’ interest within lessons. This further impedes their progress. Individual education

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Quality of education

plans and progress checks for all students are weak across the school.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. The regular praise and support they receive from adults ensures that they make reasonable progress in their personal development, including in their raised levels of confidence and self-esteem. Students are able to accomplish new challenges, develop greater resilience and team working in outdoor activities. There are times for students to reflect on matters during assemblies, but less chance in lessons. The ends of lessons are often rushed and students do not have the consistent opportunity to provide their own explanations of things or show their understanding of any learning that has taken place. There are good opportunities for students to reflect on their behaviour and whether they have had a settled lesson. The initiative of gaining full points serves to provide an incentive for their continued good behaviour, but this is not

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

effective with all students. They have a reasonable understanding of right and wrong and learn much from the adults, who are usually strong role models. Students have been taught about public institutions and services in England. This is through a comprehensive citizenship programme and the well planned assemblies. However, trips into the community as part of the school day are rare, unless this is part of a work placement or college visit. Students have a suitable appreciation of the range of cultures represented in wider society and around the world through the humanities programme and again by the celebrations and traditions covered in assemblies. Behaviour is inadequate overall. Some students and staff shared with inspectors that behaviour in the school was not good enough. The school log shows that there have been a regular, but reducing, number of incidents for the majority of students. While

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

students’ behaviour is typically satisfactory, it is outweighed by the occasions when their behaviour escalates out of cucation staff do not try sufficiently to diffuse situations. There are insufficient opportunities for students to take responsibility for their own behaviour or to feel trusted. The school manages behaviour and minimises opportunities for bullying by operating with military like precision and patrolling the Independent school standard inspection report transfer of students between lessons and at lunchtimes. On occasions, students’ behaviour escalates out of control because staff do not try to de-escalate or diffuse situations. Attitudes to learning are variable depending on who is teaching and how much the students enjoy the subject. Where students are fully engaged and the lesson matches their ability and interests, offering much improved chances of success, there are only rare incidences of inappropriate behaviour. For example, in

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

design and technology lessons students are less constrained but act very sensibly indeed.

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

The school makes inadequate provision for students’ welfare, health and safety. Most of the required staff training is up-to-date, including for safeguarding students, child protection and first aid. The school is fully compliant in fire safety. Food preparation areas are hygienic and the school kitchen is maintained to an exceptionally high standard. A number of regulations are not met. The school’s behaviour policy is not implemented effectively and the procedures for dealing with inappropriate behaviour are not fit for purpose. There is an over-reliance on care staff to sort out the behaviour of students during the school day. Students are taken out of lessons too frequently and not as a last resort. School logs show that staff do not always deal with misbehaviour appropriately. Often sanctions do not befit the scale of the misbehaviour. In a number of cases, the situation is exaggerated rather than

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

resolved by staff. Students are not learning sufficiently how to resolve incidents appropriately with their fellow students or with adults, or developing greater mutual respect and tolerance. There are ineffective measures to ensure students’ safety. Risk assessments are in place for each student, although these are not frequently enough updated to ensure any alteration in risk is adequately taken account of. Staff are not deployed effectively to ensure the proper supervision of students. There have been occasional incidents of students going missing during the school day. When these occurred, the appropriate authorities were informed.

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Suitability of staff, supply staff and proprietors

The school has appropriate procedures in place for the recruitment and vetting of staff and others, and guidance is followed systematically. There is a single central record which contains all the necessary checks that have been made on the proprietors, staff and volunteers to confirm their suitability to work with children.

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Premises and accommodation at the school

Most of the requirements for this standard are met. The premises and accommodation are maintained to a high standard. There is a purpose-built education block which provides specialist rooms for science, ICT, design and technology and food technology. There is a large sports hall providing facilities for a range of ball sports. However, there are inadequate security arrangements in place for the grounds and buildings. The school is surrounded by woodland and the school Independent school standard inspection report has plans already in place to make more of this facility within the curriculum. However, there are currently no appropriate arrangements in place for providing students with access to the outside areas during the school day, including during break times.

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Provision of information

The school has a prospectus, together with a statement of purpose, which provides most of the information required by regulations. While a number of sections are too vague to be fully informative, it indicates the full range of information that must be made available to parents, carers and others upon request. The school currently does not provide particulars of academic performance during the preceding school year, including the results of any public examinations. Neither does it provide details of the number of complaints registered under the formal procedure during the preceding school year. Parents, carers and the relevant local authorities receive annual reports and any such information as is required by the review of the student’s statement of special educational need. However, the accuracy of academic progress cannot be assured due to the lack of academic records for each student. It is unclear

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Provision of information

how all students are progressing in most subjects, as the school does not have accurate information about all students’ starting points on entry and there is inaccurate levelling to National Curriculum levels in some subjects. Furthermore, staff sometimes focus more on students’ progress in attitudes and behaviour than their developing knowledge and skills in that subject area.

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Manner in which complaints are to be handled

The complaints policy is clear and meets regulatory requirements. There have been no complaints in the last academic year.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The proprietor has ensured that the school meets The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010, schedule 1 (‘the Regulations’), with the exception of those listed below. 3

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the quality of education provided (standards in part 1) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that the curriculum policy is suitably adapted for the current range of students on roll, that it is supported by appropriate plans and schemes of work for all of the required subject areas, and that it is effectively implemented (paragraph 2(1))

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that the subject matter is appropriate for the aptitudes of the students on roll (paragraph 2(2)(b))

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

3 www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/1997/contents/made . Independent school standard inspection report  ensure that the education provided fulfils the requirements of students’ statements of special educational needs (paragraph 2(2)(e))

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that the curriculum provides adequate preparation for students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life (paragraph 2(2)(j))

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that teaching enables students to acquire new knowledge and make progress according to their ability so that they increase their understanding and develop their skills in the subjects taught (paragraph 3(a))  ensure that teaching encourages students to apply intellectual, physical or creative effort and to show interest in their work and to think and learn for themselves (paragraph 3(b))  ensure that teaching involves well planned lessons, and that staff use effective teaching methods, provide suitable activities and manage class time appropriately (paragraph 3(c))  ensure teachers understand the aptitudes, needs and prior attainments of the students, and ensure these are taken into account in the planning of lessons (paragraph 3(d))  ensure that staff have appropriate knowledge and understanding of the subject matter being taught (paragraph 3(e))  ensure that there is a framework in place to assess students' work

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

regularly and thoroughly, and that staff better use information from such assessment to plan teaching so that students can make progress (paragraph 3(g))  ensure that teaching utilises effective strategies for managing behaviour and encouraging pupils to act responsibly (paragraph 3(h)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils (standards in part 2) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 encourage students to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, and understand how they can contribute to community life (paragraph 5 (c)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of provision for welfare, health and safety of pupils (standards in part 3) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that the policy to promote good behaviour amongst students, and which sets out the sanctions to be adopted in the event of students misbehaving, is suitable and is implemented effectively (paragraph 9)

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure there are consistently effective measures to ensure students’ health and safety which have regard to the DfE guidance (paragraph 11) Independent school standard inspection report  ensure that staff are deployed in such a way as to ensure the proper supervision of pupils (paragraph 15).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the premises of and accommodation at schools (standards in part 5) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 provide adequate security arrangements for the grounds and buildings (paragraph 23(d))

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 make appropriate arrangements for students to safely use the outside space (paragraph 23(s)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the provision of information (standards in part 6) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 provide particulars of academic performance during the preceding school year, including the results of any public examinations and provide details of the number of complaints registered under the formal procedure during the preceding school year (paragraph 24(1)(b)). Independent school standard inspection report Inspection judgements outstanding

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The quality of education

How well the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of pupils 

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The quality of education

How effective teaching and assessment are in meeting the full range of pupils’ needs 

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The quality of education

How well pupils make progress in their learning 

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The quality of education

Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Quality of provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

The overall welfare, health and safety of pupils  Independent school standard inspection report

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School details

Type of school Special school for young people with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties

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School details

Number of pupils with a statement of special educational needs

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School details

Number of pupils who are looked after 20

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School details

Address of school Eastwood Grange, Milken Lane, Ashover, Chesterfield S45 0BA

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School details

Email address eastwoodgrange@priorygroup.com

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School details

Proprietor Priory Education Services Limited Independent school standard inspection report

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

Inspection of Eastwood Grange School , Chesterfield , S45 0BA

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

You know that your school has recently been inspected by Ofsted. As the lead inspector, I met with some of you during the inspection. Thank you to those of you who invited me to sit at their dining table.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

Your school has experienced a great deal of change in the last year. There has been a change of Principal, staff illness and some new teaching staff, all of which has been quite unsettling. Teaching and support staff are working hard to try and provide you with the support and education you deserve. However, the school is not currently providing you with a satisfactory education. The curriculum is not suitable for all of you and sometimes lessons do not sufficiently interest you. Consequently, your progress in lessons overall is poor. I am concerned that you are not reading often enough and that you do not often get the chance to write more. I believe that some of you are doing work that is too hard for you and sometimes it is too easy. Some teachers do not make their expectations for the presentation of your work clear and they do not expect enough of you. Checks on your progress have not been accurate

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

enough to show that you are making satisfactory progress in all of the subjects required by the regulations. Your welfare, health and safety are compromised as your behaviour is not managed well enough. Day students and students who live on site are not mixing together enough and you all do not use the outdoor area regularly. On the positive side of things, I note that you are provided with good quality meals and enjoy your science, design and technology and physical education lessons very much indeed. You have well-chosen work placements and are helped to get onto college courses.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

I have asked the Priory directors and Eastwood Grange staff to consider what they must do to turn the school around and ensure that you receive an improved quality of education. They are required to meet all of the regulations not currently met as a priority.

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