Esland School

Esland School Units 12–13, Oare Gunpowder Works, Off Bysingwood Road, Faversham, Kent ME13 7UD

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders and governors have failed to ensure that the school meets the independent school standards.  Areas identified for improvement at the previous inspection have not been adequately addressed. These weaknesses represent a decline in the school.  Safeguarding is not effective. Some of the required pre-employment checks have not been conducted. The single central register is incomplete. Policies do not comply with requirements. Individual risk assessments are ineffective.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate. Weak teaching has resulted in minimal progress for pupils.  Leaders are ill informed about the progress pupils make because they rarely check pupils’ work.  Leaders’ monitoring of teaching is ineffective. Staff have not had sufficient training about good practice and do not know how to improve their work.  Leaders’ plans to improve the school are not effective. Existing plans are contradictory and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

do not provide a clear strategic direction.  Those who fulfil governor roles do not have a clear understanding of the work of the school. They do not hold leaders rigorously to account for the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Parents are supportive and say that the school has helped improve their child’s personal development.  Pupils attend well. Any absences are carefully monitored.  Staff are committed and have developed strong relationships with pupils. This has a positive impact on pupils’ behaviour.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school must take action to meet the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 and associated requirements. The details are listed in the full report.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Immediately improve safeguarding arrangements and the welfare of pupils, and comply with the independent school standards by ensuring that: – all the required checks are made on school staff – there are rigorous procedures in place for maintaining a single central register that complies with requirements – the safeguarding policy reflects current guidance in ‘Keeping Pupils Safe in Education’ (September 2016) – parents and prospective parents are able to access all the required information concerning the school’s safeguarding arrangements – reliable risk assessments are in place that identify the potential risks associated with the specific needs of individual pupils – school leaders produce clear records and analysis of bullying in order to identify any trends or patterns – pupils and staff do not share the same toilet facilities – external lighting enables people to leave the school premises safely.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Rapidly improve the quality of leadership and management, including leaders’ monitoring of the quality of teaching and assessment, by: – sharpening school improvement documentation, including procedures for evaluating the school and plans to address the school’s weaknesses – improving the appraisal system so that staff are held to account against clear, measurable targets – ensuring that leaders regularly and accurately monitor pupils’ work so that they are better informed about the progress pupils are making – improving record-keeping so that important information can be easily retrieved – improving the standard of reporting to ensure that parents are provided with an accurate reflection of their child’s progress – actively promoting British values, particularly those associated with pupils’ awareness and understanding of public institutions – ensuring that the complaints procedure and admissions register comply with

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

requirements – making sure that those with responsibility for governance have a clear strategic oversight and effectively hold leaders to account for the quality of teaching and progress that pupils make.  Rapidly improve the quality of teaching by: – improving assessment practice so that teachers can better plan pupils’ next steps in learning – ensuring that teachers have consistently high expectations regarding what pupils can achieve – providing pupils with effective opportunities to write across a range of subjects – giving teachers tailored support and training on how to improve their practice, including in phonics.

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The school must meet the following independent school standards

 Part 1. Quality of education provided – The proprietor must ensure that pupils acquire new knowledge and make good progress according to their ability so that they increase their understanding and develop their skills in the subjects taught. – The proprietor must ensure that teaching at the school shows a good understanding of the aptitudes, needs and prior attainments of the pupils, and ensures that these are taken into account in the planning of lessons. – The proprietor must ensure that teaching at the school demonstrates that a framework is in place to assess pupils’ work regularly and thoroughly and use information from that assessment to plan teaching so that pupils can progress (paragraph 3, 3(a), 3(c), 3(d) and 3(g).  Part 2. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils – The proprietor must actively promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with

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The school must meet the following independent school standards

different faiths and beliefs; enable pupils to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England (paragraph 5, 5(a) and 5(b)(iv)).  Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils – The proprietor must ensure that arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school; and such arrangements have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State (paragraph 7, 7(a) and 7(b)) – The proprietor must ensure that an admission and attendance register is maintained in accordance with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 (paragraph 15) – The proprietor must ensure that the welfare of pupils at the school is safeguarded and promoted by the drawing up and effective implementation of a written risk assessment policy; and appropriate action is taken to reduce risks that are identified (paragraph 16, 16 (a) and 16 (b)).

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The school must meet the following independent school standards

 Part 4. Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors – The proprietor must ensure that no such person carries out work, or intends to carry out work, at the school in contravention of a prohibition order (paragraph 18(2), 18(2)(b), 20(6), 20(6)(a), 20(6)(a)(ii), 21(3), 21(3)(a), 21(3)(a)(iii) and 21(3)(b). – The proprietor must ensure that there are checks of a person’s right to work in the UK (paragraph 18(2), 18(2)(c), 18(2)(c)(iii), 20(6), 20(6)(b), 20(6)(b)(ii), 21(3)(a) and 21(3)(a)(vii).  Part 5. Premises of and accommodation at schools – The proprietor must ensure that suitable toilet and washing facilities are provided for the sole use of pupils (paragraph 23(1) and 23(1)(a)). – The proprietor must ensure that external lighting is provided in order to ensure that people can safely enter and leave the school premises (paragraph 27 and 27(b)).  Part 6. Provision of information – The proprietor must ensure that particulars of the arrangements for meeting the

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The school must meet the following independent school standards

standard contained in paragraph 7 are published on the school’s internet website or, where no such website exists, are provided to parents on request (paragraph 32(1) and 32(1)(c)).

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The school must meet the following independent school standards

 Part 7. Manner in which complaints are handled – The proprietor ensures that a complaints procedure is drawn up and effectively implemented which deals with the handling of complaints from parents of pupils and which, where the parent is not satisfied with the response to the complaint made in accordance with sub-paragraph (e), makes provision for a hearing before a panel appointed by or on behalf of the proprietor and consisting of at least three people who were not directly involved in the matters detailed in the complaint; allows for a parent to attend and be accompanied at a panel hearing if they wish (paragraph 33, 33(f) and 33(h)).  Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of school – Ensure that leaders have sufficient skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently. To ensure that they fulfil their responsibilities effectively and actively promote the well-being of pupils

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The school must meet the following independent school standards

(paragraph 34(1)(a), 34(1)(b) and 34(1) (c)).

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 School leaders and those responsible for governance have failed to ensure that all of the independent school standards have been met. As a result, pupils’ welfare, safety and learning are adversely affected.  Leaders and those in positions of governance have not adequately addressed the areas identified as requiring improvement during the last inspection, nearly two years ago. They still do not have an accurate view of the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievements.  School improvement planning and procedures for evaluating all aspects of the school are weak. There is no clear focus on the areas that need to be urgently addressed to drive the school forward effectively.  The monitoring of teaching is not rigorous enough. Staff have had very little guidance and training on how to improve their practice. They are not held sufficiently to account. This is because their performance is not assessed against clear, measurable targets linked to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

bringing about improvements in pupils’ learning. Consequently, leaders are imprecise about the impact of teaching on learning.  Leaders do not monitor pupils’ work in books effectively. As a result, they are unsure how pupils are progressing in the school.  School information is not always easily retrieved. There were several occasions during the inspection when important documents were not readily available. One example of this was the difficulty the school had in locating the single central register.  At the start of the inspection, there were many failures to comply with the independent school standards. For example, the school’s complaints policy and admissions register were non-compliant. The school did start to address these issues during the inspection. A range of policies were also uploaded onto the website during the inspection.  Parents and carers are supportive of the school and comment about the improvements in

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

their child’s personal development. They are less sure about the academic progress their child has made since joining the school. This is because reports, currently, do not provide an accurate indication of their child’s progress.  Not all aspects of British values are actively promoted in the school. In particular, pupils’ awareness and understanding of public institutions are very limited. Consequently, pupils are not well enough prepared for life in modern British society.  The school makes provision for pupils to access a suitable range of subjects and this helps them develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding.

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Governance

 Those responsible for governance are unclear of their responsibilities in relation to meeting the independent school standards.  There is insufficient oversight of key aspects of the school’s performance. Records of meetings between governors and school leaders are operational rather than strategic. There is little evidence of challenge or of holding leaders sufficiently to account.  Governors have too positive a view of the school, particularly regarding the quality of teaching and the progress that pupils are making from their starting points.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.  Leaders have not ensured that the appropriate pre-employment checks have been completed for all staff, including whether staff are subject to a prohibition order. They have not checked whether staff have worked abroad. Not all of the checks have been correctly recorded on the single central register.  The school’s safeguarding policy does not refer to all current government guidance in ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (September 2016). It does not alert staff to some of the risks that pupils may encounter, such as sexting. Consequently, staff are not aware of all the issues associated with peer-on-peer abuse. Parents and carers were unable to access all the required information concerning the school’s safeguarding arrangements. This was because the policy was not on the website. The policy was uploaded onto the website during the inspection.

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Safeguarding

 It is positive that staff have completed safeguarding training, including in child sexual exploitation and the dangers of extremism.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Teaching and assessment are inadequate because pupils do not make sufficient progress from their different starting points. Staff do not have high enough expectations regarding what pupils can achieve.  The school’s system of assessment is not accurate or useful. Often, there is a lack of clear information about pupils’ starting points when they join the school. For some, no assessment is made at all.  Teachers do not have sufficient skills to plan next steps in learning that take account of pupils’ prior attainments. They have often not had guidance on how to improve their practice. For example, staff have had little training in helping pupils develop their knowledge of letters and sounds. Often, there is a lack of clarity about what they want pupils to learn in a session. There is usually very little challenge in many of the activities set for pupils. Consequently, pupils, including older pupils and the most able, make very

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

limited progress.  Teaching does not provide pupils with good opportunities to write, for example in different subjects. Examples seen during the inspection showed that pupils wrote very little in most subjects, whereas in some subjects, such as science, they wrote more. This hinders the amount of progress pupils are able to make in developing their writing skills.  There are too few pupils in the school who are most able to report separately on their teaching and achievement without them being identified.  Teaching does support pupils’ communication skills well enough, particularly with those who have limited verbal skills.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate.  This is because leaders have not ensured that the independent school standards are met in relation to pupils’ welfare and well-being.  Pupils’ safety has not been ensured. Risk assessments have not identified potential risks associated with the specific needs of individual pupils. The school is in a very dark area surrounded by woodland. External lighting does not ensure that people can enter and leave the premises safely. Staff and pupils use the same toilet.  Pupils say that they feel safe at the school. They are taught how to stay safe when using the internet. They know about the dangers of different types of bullying, including cyber- bullying. Pupils say that they would talk to a member of staff if they had any concerns about bullying.  The school’s first-aid policy is concise and staff have been appropriately trained in

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Personal development and welfare

administering first aid.  All fire safety equipment is professionally serviced. Fire safety checks and fire drills are regularly conducted.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Behaviour logs show that a small number of pupils exhibit very challenging behaviour, but most pupils’ behaviour is more positive. In addition, parents spoken to during the inspection were positive about behaviour.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are inconsistent. This is because they are often given work that is not appropriately challenging.  The school’s system of recording inappropriate behaviour, including bullying, is unwieldy. Consequently, leaders are unable to identify any trends or patterns so they can tackle them.  Parents report that their child’s behaviour has improved considerably since being at the school. They say that staff respond sensitively to their child’s needs. The need for physical interventions is rare.  Staff have developed strong relationships with pupils. This impacts positively on their behaviour. Pupils trust the adults who work with them.

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Behaviour

 Pupils start the day with staff in a communal breakfast club. The session provides pupils with a warm and nourishing breakfast as well as a positive and calming start to the day.  During the inspection, a communal lunch demonstrated that pupils know how to conduct themselves well. It also provided an opportunity for some to demonstrate their cookery skills.  Attendance levels are similar to the national picture. Pupils are rarely late in arriving at school. Leaders and governors monitor attendance carefully.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Pupils typically enter the school with low levels of attainment. This is because they may have been excluded from their previous schools, or have had significant periods of time out of education. Consequently, many pupils have considerable gaps in their learning.  Pupils’ progress from their various starting points is inadequate. Staff do not carefully monitor pupils’ small steps in progress and plan learning that meets their needs. Work provided is often repetitive and too easy. As a result, teaching makes too little impact, over time, on pupils’ skills.  Pupils’ progress, including that of older pupils, in subjects such as history and geography is very variable. This is because activities are not carefully planned to develop pupils’ skills in these subjects.  Outcomes in music are stronger. Pupils are keen to develop their drumming skills, or write songs and put the lyrics to music. During the inspection, pupils were seen to be singing

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

and playing instruments confidently and tunefully.  Pupils, including older pupils, develop a deep appreciation of the natural environment, both that in which the school is situated and further afield. They enjoy the talks given by rangers on the local wildlife and habitats. Skills in fishing are appropriately developed.  Pupils develop effective skills in design technology. They have created interesting seating areas using locally donated pallets.  Pupils have numerous chances to improve their football skills in the school playground. They follow the rules carefully and courteously stop playing when someone walks past.  Last year, pupils who had recently joined the school gained GCSE qualifications in English and mathematics but their progress was very limited and the grades gained were very low. Current pupils are taking GCSE qualifications, AQA unit awards, functional skills qualifications and ASDAN awards.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 The school arranges suitable work experience for those pupils who would benefit from the activity. Pupils, including older pupils, receive appropriate careers advice and visit local colleges to help them think about their future pathways.

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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

Annual fees (day pupils) £25,600 to £35,100

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School details

Email address eslandschool@eslandcare.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 20 January 2015

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Information about this school

 Esland School is a small, independent, special, day school for pupils between the ages of 10 and 19. In November 2013, the school became part of Esland Care, a company that owns several children’s homes nationwide. This is the only school that Esland Care currently owns. Previously, the school was known as The Boulters Learning and Skills Centre.  The school is registered for 30 pupils who have social, emotional and mental health needs and associated learning difficulties. Currently, there are five pupils on roll. Some current pupils live in either an Esland home or another children’s home. All pupils have a statement of special educational needs or education, health and care plan.  Most pupils have been excluded from their previous schools or have experienced a breakdown in school placement. All pupils are placed by local authorities.  The school was last inspected in January 2015, when it was judged to require

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Information about this school

improvement. The school has no religious affiliation. It does not use any alternative provision.  Pupils follow a range of qualifications, including GCSE, AQA unit awards, functional skills qualifications and ASDAN awards.  The school aims to ‘provide an environment where students with identified and statemented behaviour, emotional and social difficulties can access a specialised and holistic education that aims to develop children in a healthy and balanced manner.’  The headteacher took up post in February 2015.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited several classrooms where pupils were studying a range of subjects. Most were observed jointly with the headteacher.  Meetings and informal discussions were held with pupils. The inspector attended the breakfast and lunchtime communal sessions and talked to pupils about what it was like to be a pupil in this school. The inspector looked at work in books and listened to some pupils reading.  The inspector had meetings and telephone conversations with three parents. There were two responses to the online Parent View questionnaire.  The views expressed by members of staff in seven questionnaires were considered.  The inspector held meetings with those responsible for governance, and with staff and school leaders.  A range of documentation and policies was examined, including school improvement planning. Documents checking the quality of teaching and learning and records relating to

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Information about this inspection

behaviour, attendance, child protection and safeguarding were also examined.

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Inspection team

Liz Bowes, lead inspector Ofsted 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 children looked after, 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

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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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