Hope View School

Hope View School Station Approach, Chilham, Canterbury, Kent CT4 8EG

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Inadequate

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders are highly ambitious for pupils and have brought about significant improvement since the last inspection.  Achievement is good. From their different starting points pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics and consequently they are able to achieve accreditation in a range of subjects.  Teachers plan interesting and engaging activities and impart their good subject knowledge effectively. Subsequently, pupils are motivated and enthusiastic to learn.  Pupils are well prepared for life. Their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is interwoven seamlessly within the curriculum and reflects the ethos of the school.  The curriculum is broad and expectations of how well pupils can succeed are consistently high. The curriculum is enriched by trips, visits and outdoor learning opportunities.  Pupils thrive because they are exceptionally well looked after in a nurturing and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

encouraging environment that puts them first. Hence, they are compassionate and empathetic to each other and model British values extremely well.  Pupils re-engage with education following periods of disruption in their education. Their attendance has improved significantly. As a result, pupils’ life opportunities are enhanced.  Arrangements to help keep pupils safe and secure are effective. This is because pupils’ welfare is promoted by school leaders and prioritised by staff.  Staff, parents and pupils are overwhelmingly positive about all aspects of the school’s work.  Sixth-form students are well prepared for the next stage of their lives because transition arrangements and support are strong.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by: – ensuring that governors are equipped with the skills and knowledge required to be highly effective in supporting school leaders and in holding them to account for the standard of education that the school provides – making more detailed and effective analysis of the information the school collects, such as for pupils’ performance and behaviour, to precisely target areas for improvement and gauge the impact of actions taken – seeking further opportunities to work alongside other schools to share good practice.  Improve the quality of teaching and outcomes of pupils by: – continuing to develop the skills and expertise of staff so that they become highly adept at asking probing and challenging questions of the most able pupils, and take every opportunity to deepen their knowledge and skills across a wide range of subjects – ensuring that procedures for managing the performance of staff contribute effectively

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 School leaders have been resolute in their determination to bring about school improvement and have successfully galvanised staff, parents and pupils as a united collaboration to ensure success. Due to this tireless focus on improvement, leaders have effected significant change and improvement since the last inspection.  Consequently, the school has transformed into a learning-focused environment where leaders have high expectations of pupils both pastorally and academically.  Leaders have an accurate view of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They are reflective and honest about what the school needs to do further to ensure that pupils have the best possible experience of education.  Adults set the tone for the school by leading by example in their attitudes and behaviour. They are resilient and persevere and act as excellent role models to the pupils in their care.  Positive relationships between adults and pupils help to create a constructive climate

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

where pupils feel safe to take risks and develop new ideas. This has resulted in pupils being able to confidently express their feelings, both rationally and eloquently.  Leaders monitor the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and provide teachers and additional staff with useful feedback that helps them to improve. Staff value and welcome the open culture of support for each other. They are reflective and eager to become more skilled in the areas they are responsible for.  Access to supervision and regular discussions have enabled staff to feel supported and valued. Their well-being is important to leaders. This has resulted in a highly positive and trusting environment where staff enjoy teaching and pupils enjoy learning. A member of staff captured this by saying: ‘The leadership team are very supportive and have worked hard to create a mutually supportive team from the caretaker through to the senior

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

manager.’  Individual pupils who initially make slow progress are quickly identified and additional support is provided, because teachers use performance information well to help them plan exciting and interesting lessons. Consequently, most pupils make good progress in a range of subjects. However, leaders do not analyse assessment information precisely enough in all subjects across the school. As a result, leaders have not made sure that the most able pupils’ progress is consistently high across all subjects.  The range of subjects taught is broad for all pupils. Regular trips, visits and extra- curricular activities help pupils to make connections in their learning with the world outside school. The curriculum is supported by visitors who teach the pupils important life skills and how to keep themselves safe in areas such as sexual health and safety on the railways, and how to protect themselves when they are using the internet.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 School leaders ensure that behaviour strategies and policies are consistently applied so that boundaries are clear. As a result, pupils quickly understand what is expected of them and incidents of poor behaviour become increasingly rare as pupils get older.  Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. For example, pupils can verbalise what is right and wrong. They make choices and take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. British values are discussed during weekly behaviour management lessons that promote such values as tolerance and respect. Pupils have a deep awareness of equality and equality of opportunity. Pupils express this clearly, one stating: ‘It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from or what belief you have. If there’s one place you will feel comfortable and welcome, it is here.’  Pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is woven seamlessly throughout

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

the curriculum. For example, pupils worked alongside a local artist to build a labyrinth out of stones on Folkestone beach. Pupils wrote wishes and prayers and shaped them into boats. They watched as the tide lifted them out to sea.  Pupil premium funding (additional government funding to support those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority) is used to provide bespoke interventions for each eligible pupil at the school and includes access to additional tuition, therapy and activities outside school. School leaders are held to account for how this funding is spent by local authorities, which ensure that it is making a difference.  Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the work of the school. Many express their pride in the fact that their children attend the school. A parent summed up the view of many by saying: ‘I have no complaints about this school at all. My son has come on in

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

leaps and bounds and it’s all down to the staff.’  Leaders are receptive to feedback provided to them from a range of sources, such as visiting local authority representatives and the independent school improvement adviser, and quickly action improvements. This has contributed towards the accelerated progress that the school has made, particularly in raising the quality of teaching and learning and identifying and targeting areas for improvement.  Leaders recognise the usefulness of building partnerships and forging relationships with local schools to ensure that the school is outward-looking. Moderation with a mainstream special school has validated the judgements that teachers make about how well pupils are doing. Leaders are seeking ways to consolidate and improve future collaboration to strengthen the school’s effectiveness.

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Governance

 Admirably, the headteacher and deputy headteacher, who are also the proprietors, have established a structure of governance so that they are held to account for meeting the independent school standards and for raising the standard of education that the school provides.  Governors have completed a skills audit to analyse their own knowledge, skills and understanding of educational provision. Subsequently, they have delegated areas of responsibility to members of the governing body based on their individual strengths. This has increased governors’ ability to challenge leaders and to offer support.  Governors effectively oversee the performance of senior leaders. Procedures to manage the performance of all staff have recently been updated to ensure more rigour. Leaders recognise that this will help the quality of teaching to improve and therefore pupils’ outcomes will continue to rise.  Governors evaluate how well leaders meet targets for improvement in areas such as

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Governance

pupils’ behaviour, finance and with regard to safeguarding. They are still developing the skills to make a highly effective contribution to school improvement.  Governors are instrumental in ensuring that pupils are safe and their well-being is prioritised. They seek the views of staff, pupils and parents to find out what could be improved further.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective and underpinned by a safeguarding culture that places pupils at the heart of the school’s work. Pupils are cloaked in care and thrive when previously they did not.  Relationships between pupils and between staff and pupils are exceptionally strong. Staff know pupils’ needs in detail, and as a result can pre-empt and intervene quickly to ensure that pupils’ welfare is prioritised. Subsequently, pupils feel safe and they are safe.  Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe and can express many aspects of this learning eloquently and confidently. For example, pupils learn about the risks of child sexual exploitation, extremism and radicalisation.  Policies and procedures are rigorously applied and all staff are in no doubt of how to deal with disclosures and child protection concerns. Staff are trained well to ensure that they are confident to identify and deal with any safeguarding issues that arise.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The quality of teaching has improved significantly since the last inspection. Learning intentions are very clear and activities are planned well to meet the learning intentions across all age ranges and subjects. These improvements have been enhanced through effective support from the independent school improvement adviser.  Strong subject knowledge ensures that teachers plan lessons that make learning fun. They provide exciting, well-resourced activities that engage and motivate pupils to learn.  Most teachers provide pupils with verbal feedback about how well they are doing during lessons. This is particularly effective in mathematics, science, English and history. Subsequently, pupils are beginning to edit and improve their work, learn from their mistakes and be inquisitive to find out more. This immediately has an impact on the ability of each pupil to make progress within a short space of time. Occasionally, adults do

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

not adapt lessons when pupils are not engaged fully or learning well, particularly for the most able pupils.  Leaders have launched a suitable assessment system that tracks progress across all subjects in the new curriculum. Teachers are already using this to gather important information about each pupil’s learning.  Teachers know the needs of the pupils well and most tasks are accurately targeted to meet pupils’ varying abilities and challenge them. They assess pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding in all subject areas and use this information to plan lessons that will help them to further develop these skills. Still more work needs to be done to ensure that the most able pupils’ attainment truly reflects their ability.  Pupils who fall behind are supported well to make progress and catch up with their peers. Additional staff help pupils to learn in a variety of ways and do it well. They often provide

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

pupils with the emotional support they need to be able to access learning and focus on their work.  Older pupils are given detailed targets so that they know and understand how to achieve more highly, although this is not as effective in key stage 2.  Staff commonly reinforce British values and structure lessons to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain. They challenge stereotypical views so that pupils gain a more profound understanding and appreciation of the country in which they live. Pupils are helped to understand different cultures and faiths. Pupils are exposed to, and discuss, national and international news almost every day, and communicate their opinions with confidence.  Highly effective questioning by all adults enables them to check what pupils know and understand. Adults give pupils sufficient time to think about their responses and draw on what they know from a range of subjects. However, questioning does not consistently

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

deepen and extend the reasoning skills of the most able pupils.  Strong teaching across the curriculum helps pupils to become immersed in learning and pupils are given increased opportunities to transfer their reading and writing skills across the range of subjects.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils talk with honesty and clarity about the difference being at the school has made to their lives. They recognise that they are growing in maturity and that their behaviour is improving because they are taught to be more responsible and considerate towards others.  Pupils are reflective about their own personal journey and have a growing sense of self- worth. When asked by the inspector what they, as pupils, would tell a new pupil to the school, a pupil responded by saying: ‘I would tell them how this school has changed my life.’  Strong relationships between staff and pupils facilitate respect. Pupils say that they trust staff to help them. This enables them to access learning and enjoy school when, before, they did not.  Pupils aspire to be employed when they leave school and are excited by the prospect of being employed in jobs that interest them. This is because staff have taken account of

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Personal development and welfare

their interests and provide them with important information about the qualifications and pathways they will need to achieve their goals.  The school endeavours to prepare pupils for life outside school and to enable them to manage when they leave. Leaders go to great lengths to secure the best onward journey for pupils and often continue to support individuals after they have left the school. Leaders are resolute in their pursuit of good outcomes for pupils because they care deeply for them.  There is a strong emphasis on tolerance, respect and responsible citizenship throughout the school, which has meant that pupils have healthier feelings about themselves, are more resilient and can persevere. Consequently, they are better equipped to deal with any challenges they might face in the future.  All parents believe that their children are well cared for, happy and safe at the school.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. The school has effective strategies in place to provide pupils with the consistent boundaries for their behaviour so that they are able to understand what is expected of them.  Behaviour targets for each pupil are used well to remind them of the necessary skills required to be ready to learn. Persistent reinforcement of these targets by staff ensures that pupils make strides in managing their own behaviour and are able to make progress in their learning as a result.  During the inspection, pupils were polite, well mannered and communicative. Pupils answered questions enthusiastically and willingly shared their work with the inspector.  On occasions, when pupils find it difficult to manage their emotions, they are ably supported by highly trained and dedicated staff who quickly re-engage pupils in lessons. Due to this tireless and diligent approach by staff, pupils’ behaviour rapidly improves over

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Behaviour

a short period of time and they respond increasingly well to the activities provided for them.  Pupils are well mannered and considerate towards each other. During breaktime pupils of all ages play together and share equipment. Older pupils take their responsibility to care for the youngest pupils very seriously and do it exceptionally well.  The number of recorded behaviour incidents has decreased dramatically. Pupils’ behaviour gets better and better, coinciding directly with the duration of time pupils spend at the school. Leaders recognise that more refined analysis of pupils’ behaviour would help them to hone in on areas that could be even better and reduce incidents further.  Bullying is extremely rare. Pupils are adamant that it does not happen. Pupils are confident that staff deal effectively with behavioural incidents if they do occur.  Pupils arrive to lessons on time and ready to learn because routines are embedded. They

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Behaviour

have very positive attitudes to their education because staff work hard to instil the value of learning to their future lives.  Leaders have worked hard to increase the proportion of pupils who attend school every day. Strategies are in place to address historical poor attendance and the persistent absence of a very small number of pupils. However, despite this intervention, attendance remains stubbornly below the national average.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils join the school at various ages after considerable difficulties or disruption to their education. Despite these challenges, pupils make strong progress from variable starting points in most subjects.  Pupils typically leave the school with GCSEs in English, mathematics and science, and a range of Assessment and Qualification Alliance (AQA) module units. Pupils are able to complete a functional skills qualification in information and communication technology. Pupils also study Edexcel entry level 1 qualifications when appropriate. Leaders are rightly focusing on increasing the range of accredited outcomes on offer to include GCSE history and geography in the future. These provide pupils with the foundation on which to build future accreditation in the future.  There is a very clear focus in helping pupils to be ready to learn when they arrive at the school. All staff help pupils to engage with learning and to dispel the negative feelings

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Outcomes for pupils Good

they hold towards school and the belief that education adds no purpose and value to their lives.  School leaders have introduced a new system for tracking pupils’ progress and for measuring how well their attitudes to learning are helping them to engage in lessons. The information this provides is used well by staff to plan lessons that meet the needs of pupils and to set appropriate targets that help pupils to understand how to improve their work. This is used particularly effectively in key stage 3 to key stage 5 in science, English, mathematics and history.  However, performance information is not used precisely to evaluate variability in progress and achievement across the range of subjects to ensure that progress is equal in all subjects and for all groups of pupils.  Pupils often enter the school with typically low levels of achievement in reading, even pupils who are most able. Pupils make rapid gains in their reading skills because they are

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Outcomes for pupils Good

heard daily and because staff ensure that they are interested in the books that are available to them. Most-able and least-able pupils read fluently and with expression. They have an impressive understanding of vocabulary. F, for example, in defining words such as ‘beholder’ and ‘intrinsic’.  The school is working hard to instil an enjoyment in reading and to help pupils understand that it is the foundation on which to build other skills, such as writing. Older pupils studying ‘The book thief’ by Markus Zusak contemplated the phrase, ‘a personal feat of abstinence’, describing abstinence as ‘never indulging’ and the ‘decision to refrain’.  Pupils take pride in their written work, demonstrating perseverance and improving ability to write at length. They make a good effort to spell words correctly and use grammatical features such as metaphors and similes to improve their writing. Most-able pupils confidently analyse imagery and how this is created by writers through the use of

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Outcomes for pupils Good

alliteration, personification and hyperbole, for example. They use these features to enhance their writing and ably transfer their writing skills to a wide range of subjects.  Pupils debate and discuss their learning exceptionally well. They communicate their opinions eloquently, and support them with well-reasoned arguments. They have a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the world around them to draw on, and recall information from a range of lessons to provide evidence for the opinions they hold. Because of this, all pupils have strong speaking and listening skills.  Pupils achieve well in mathematics, making good progress especially in key stages 4 and 5. Pupils confidently apply mental mathematics strategies to solve complex problems. Most-able pupils grapple with demanding mathematical content such as index notation. They reason and systematically demonstrate processes through their working out.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Staff have high expectations of pupils across a wide range of subjects and because of this pupils achieve well. Pupils demonstrate effective use of subject-specific language and understand even the most demanding terminology. In a science lesson, key stage 4 pupils confidently defined and described materials, using words such as ‘density’ and ‘atoms’, demonstrating the depth of knowledge they acquire over time.  In history, younger pupils’ imagination is captured through creative starting points, such as a visit from Thomas Farriner, the baker accredited with started the Great Fire of London, to answer pupils’ questions about the impact of the fire.  Disadvantaged pupils enter the school with starting points that are typically well below expected levels for pupils of their age. They quickly make good progress that is commonly stronger than their peers to diminish differences between their achievement and that of

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Outcomes for pupils Good

pupils nationally.  Most-able pupils are challenged because work is closely matched to their needs. Their learning is tailored to help them think more deeply and apply what they know in a range of ways. Work in books and observations in lessons evidence the good progress that they make in reading, writing, mathematics and in a range of subjects. Occasionally, the most able pupils could undertake more challenging work on their own, rather than waiting for detailed instruction and scaffolding that other pupils need to help them understand their learning.  Pupils are prepared well for the next stage of education and to continue to build on accreditations offered by the school. All pupils go to further education college placements when they leave the school and continue to build on the accreditation they have achieved.

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Sixth form provision Good

 School leaders continually seek ways to improve sixth form provision, which reflects the ambitious ethos of the school.  Leaders ensure that students’ English and mathematics skills continue to develop during Year 12 and Year 13 because teachers take every opportunity to make links between core subjects and a wide range of subjects. Students who fail to meet the required standard in their GCSEs, and who are capable of doing so, resit to improve their outcomes.  Students benefit from a wide range of subjects that are taught well. They have access to an increasing range of accredited outcomes although these are not highly personalised to the needs of all students. Leaders know that this could be built on further to increase the range of vocational programmes offered to students and provide higher-level accreditation for the most able students. Leaders are seeking ways to forge links with local schools and colleges.

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Sixth form provision Good

 Students are exceptionally well supported to improve their life skills. Students are supported to become more independent travellers and to engage in activities outside school.  Students have access to external, impartial careers advice, facilitated by the school. This includes personalised support to ensure that pathways build on their interests and accreditations. Staff ensure that learners are able to visit local colleges to decide for themselves where they would like to attend and what courses they would like to do.  Leaders have worked hard to make students’ work experience placements more relevant to their future career options, despite difficulty engaging suitable providers. During the last academic year students have undertaken meaningful placements that have been closely related to college courses.  Students behave well and have exemplary attitudes to learning. Students verbalise the importance of education to securing better futures. They are caring towards younger

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Sixth form provision Good

pupils, interact appropriately with them and empathise strongly with new pupils to the school.  Students enjoy school and rarely miss a day. Thus, attendance is above the national average. No students take too many days off school and they consistently arrive on time and are ready to learn.  Students cope well with this period of change in their lives as they face new challenges. They learn to manage their own emotions with less support from adults and demonstrate increasing awareness of social expectations and what it means to be part of a community outside school.  Students know that the school will continue to provide support for them even when they have left. This buffer is valued greatly and because of this, students are ready and able to face the future with confidence and excitement.

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School details

Unique reference number 135438 DfE registration number 886/6123

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, 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.

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School details

Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Of which, number on roll in sixth form 4

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £23,400 to £24,000

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School details

Email address contact@hopeviewschool.co.uk

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Information about this school

 Hope View is an independent day special school, which opened in November 2007. It is located in Chilham, a village close to Canterbury in Kent.  It is owned and operated by Carmichael Education Ltd, a company founded by the school’s headteacher and her husband, who is the deputy headteacher.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  The school is registered for up to 45 boys, aged between seven and 18 years, who have behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, and autistic spectrum disorders.  There are currently 42 pupils on roll. Eight are looked after by their local authorities and in foster care in the vicinity of the school.  All pupils have statements of special educational needs or education, health and care plans. They are placed at the school by various local authorities.  The school has no religious affiliation.  On entry to Hope View School, most are underachieving and have low attainment due to

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Information about this school

their disrupted previous educational experience.  Pupils and students attend Chalkhill Farm each week as part of their curriculum and post- 16 provision provided by the school.  The school’s aim is to ‘provide a learning environment that encourages the highest level of personal attainment and achievement so that all individuals fulfil their potential’.  The school’s last full inspection was in May 2015 when the overall effectiveness of the school was graded as inadequate.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed pupils learning in 16 lessons. Most lessons were observed alongside a member of the school’s leadership team.  The inspector listened to pupils read during their reading lessons and to some pupils on their own.  The inspector spoke to pupils in lessons, and met with them more formally to gather their views about the school.  The inspector looked at a range of pupils’ work across a wide range of subjects.  The inspector spoke to some parents at the end of the school day and considered the 12 responses made by parents on Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. The inspector also took into account the written views expressed by parents, also online.  The inspector contacted a local authority representative to obtain their views about the quality of education provided by the school.  The school’s website was examined.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, who is also the designated safeguarding lead

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Information about this inspection

and proprietor, the special educational needs coordinator, members of staff and the chair of the governing body.  The inspector also gathered staffs’ views about the school from the 10 survey responses completed while the inspection was underway.  The inspector scrutinised a range of school documents, including the school’s self- evaluation about its own effectiveness, health and safety requirements and a wide range of school policies. The inspector reviewed the checks made on staff about their suitability to work with children.

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Inspection team

Abigail Birch, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

Parent View You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child's school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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.

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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open- government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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