Setting

Mr Mark Mihkelson Headteacher Brompton Hall School High Street Brompton-By-Sawdon Scarborough North Yorkshire YO13 9DB

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of Brompton Hall School

Following my visit with Margaret Farrow Her Majesty’s Inspector to your school on 28 and 29 April 2015, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of Brompton Hall School

This monitoring inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for inspecting schools with no formal designation. The inspection was carried out because Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector was concerned about aspects of the quality of leadership and management, including governance, as a result of the specific orders issued to the school in November 2014 by a Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Tribunal, following a complaint by a parent of a student at the school.

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Evidence

During the inspection, separate meetings were held with you, the Chair of the Governing Body, and a representative from the local authority. Inspectors also met with a group of teachers and a group of students representing the full age range in the school. Inspectors read and evaluated a range of documents, including some from the school’s website. Particular attention was given to the broad safeguarding and equality evidence available, which included the single central record, child protection records, a sample of education, health and care plans, attendance data and registers, all logs pertaining to behaviour, restraint and bullying, minutes of senior leadership and governing body meetings since the publication of the tribunal’s orders, the latest school self-evaluation and development plan. I also reviewed the letters, required by the tribunal, which were sent to the student involved in the complaint, to Ofsted, and to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Inspectors

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Evidence

CfBT Inspection Services Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566932 Direct F 01695 729320 Direct email: hcarnall@cfbt.com also observed a number of lessons, scrutinised students’ workbooks in a range of subjects, and spoke with a number of students as they were working.

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Context

There are currently 49 students on roll, with the overwhelming majority of White British heritage. No students speak English as an additional language. Just over half, 55%, of students are entitled to take free school meals. All students have a statement of special educational needs. There is a relatively high rate of students joining and leaving the school due to the on-going behavioural, emotional and social needs of students who attend the school. The school has had a 50% turnover of staff, both teachers and teaching assistants, over the past four years. Recruitment of new teachers, especially in leadership roles and in English, mathematics and science has been difficult.

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Context

Three orders from the SEND Tribunal, namely, a letter of apology to the student, and a copy of the tribunal’s decision to be sent to Ofsted and the Equality and Human Rights Commission by the end of 2014 have been met. However, while there has been some consideration by the senior leadership team (SLT) of the remaining orders, including some initial e-mail conversations and meetings with the local authority legal services and its Director of Children’s Services with regard to SLT training on the implications of the Equality Act 2010, SLT and governing body minutes show no specific references to the published orders. This is an error in judgement and suggests that senior leaders and governors are not taking the issues arising seriously or with a sense of urgency.

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Context

The school improvement plan has no detail of how the school will strategically address the seven published orders. There is no clear, written strategic response to these orders either separately or as part of the school development plan. In addition, the governing body has failed to meet its duty to publish an accessibility plan and equality information and objectives. Together, these failures limit the ability of senior leaders, governors and the local authority to accurately measure the rate of progress, outcomes and impact of actions taken to improve the school’s knowledge, understanding and application of the legal requirements of the Equality Act 2010.

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Context

The key aspects for safeguarding the students in school meet the minimum statutory requirements. However, the current coding of ‘C’ in the attendance register, namely, authorised leave of absence in exceptional circumstances, for one student who is currently known to reside in another part of the country, does not meet the spirit of the legal requirement that they live within a reasonable distance of the school at which they are registered. Further, the school has not made it explicitly clear, in any written policy, how long registers should be kept open.

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Context

Serious incidents of very poor behaviour, including the use of restraint, are recorded carefully in logs. Racist and bullying incidents are detailed and also recorded. Incidents are analysed regularly by senior leaders to understand patterns and consider steps to reduce recurrences. Bullying cases are sent to the anti-bullying group, comprising staff and pupils, so that sanctions can be fairly and appropriately applied, when required. Although governors are provided with termly reports on the numbers of incidents, these do not identify the severity of the behaviour incident so it is hard for them to compare the different types occurring. Furthermore, these reports do not show the impact of the evaluation and monitoring undertaken by senior managers and governors.

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Context

The recently updated child protection policy is comprehensive and provides effective, helpful guidance and advice to staff and parents. Training to staff is regular and updated in light of emerging national guidance and local issues. For example, staff report pre-induction procedures have been amended since the SEND Tribunal to ensure more timely information is provided before any prospective student starts at the school in order to identify any complex needs more accurately.

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Context

Education, health and care plans are comprehensive. Students’ needs are effectively identified and appropriate actions taken to meet them. There is good involvement of the young person in the development of the plan and a suitable set of goals and aspirations to work to.

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Context

Highly positive relationships between staff and students drive the positive social interaction and behaviour management in class. There is a sense of equality in the way pupils are treated. The students speak convincingly about the positive differences the school has made to their enjoyment of, and participation in, school life and how safe they feel.

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External support

There have been regular and productive links with the local authority, via a link officer for general school improvement matters, and with legal services and the Director of Children’s Services following the published orders from the SEND Tribunal last November.

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Priorities for further improvement

Improve the leadership and management aspects of safeguarding and equality by:

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Priorities for further improvement

 complying fully with the requirements of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 and the amendment regulations 2010, 2011 and 2013, when coding students who no longer live within reasonable distance of the school, and by making explicitly clear how long registers should be kept open

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Priorities for further improvement

 ensuring that all termly reports on behavioural incidents to governors make clear the type and severity of the incident, along with any evaluation, monitoring and further actions taken by senior leaders and governors  developing a clear and written strategy to ensure that all the orders from the SEND Tribunal are met within the required timescales

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Priorities for further improvement

 ensuring that the governing body draw up and publishes equality objectives every four years and annually publish information demonstrating how they are meeting the aims of the general public sector equality duty (The Equality Act 2010)

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Priorities for further improvement

 ensuring that the governing body draw up and publish an accessibility plan, which is reviewed every three years (The Equality Act 2010).

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Priorities for further improvement

I am copying this letter to the Director of Children’s Services for North Yorkshire, the Secretary of State for Education and the Chair of the Governing Body. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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