T A S I S

School progress monitoring inspection report

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TASIS Coldharbour Lane, Thorpe, Egham, Surrey TW20 8TE

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Main inspection findings

Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils Paragraph 6, 7, 7(a), 7(b), 8, 8(a), 8(b),16 and 16(b)  At the last full inspection, these standards were not met because there were no processes or policies in place regarding risk assessments of health, safety and fire prevention. No one had specific responsibility for ensuring that the school site was safe for pupils. Following the first progress monitoring inspection, some standards remained unmet.  Leaders have successfully carried out a series of appropriate actions to address these failings. The inspection confirmed that senior and middle leaders have developed a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. Records of safeguarding concerns and referrals, using the Child Protection Online Management System, are meticulous. Actions taken to promote pupils’ welfare and well-being are thorough.  The school has robust processes in place for health, safety and fire prevention. Policies

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Main inspection findings

have been developed, rewritten or updated to cover all of the statutory requirements. The designated safeguarding leader and four deputy designated safeguarding leaders have all undergone relevant training, helping to improve their understanding of safeguarding and risk assessment.  In addition, 25 senior and middle leaders have successfully completed safer recruitment training, resulting in tighter recruitment procedures. Training in risk assessment has been provided and exemplar risk assessments offered. Risk assessments seen were sufficiently rigorous and detailed to keep pupils safe.  The school’s comprehensive safeguarding policy reflects the Secretary of State’s latest guidance in, ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (September 2016), and ‘Working together to safeguard children’ (March 2015). A copy of the policy is included on the website and all staff have received personalised small-group training to ensure their

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Main inspection findings

commitment, understanding and engagement with the expected practices and procedures.  Staying safe has a high profile in the school among pupils. Pupils know how to stay safe online and who they can talk to if they have any concerns. The recently introduced personal, social, health, and economic education programme has included sessions on safeguarding, healthy relationships, peer pressure, e-safety, sexting, drugs, alcohol and stress. Pupils confirm that they have found these sessions useful and relevant.  Records show that staff have received comprehensive training in child protection and wider safeguarding issues, such as child sexual exploitation, anti-bullying, keeping pupils safe from extremism and other relevant issues in line with current legislation. Staff members are, for example, clear on how to report a child protection concern or an allegation about another member of staff.  The risk assessment policy has been reviewed with greater consideration now given to

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Main inspection findings

low-, medium- or high-risk categories. All risk assessments have been recently revised and actions to mitigate risks are consistently put in place. These include those relating to the road crossing and the campus lake as well as access to the school campus which is much more carefully monitored than previously by security personnel.  All standards that were checked in this part of the independent school standards are now met. Part 4. Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors Paragraph 17, 18(1), 18(2), 18(22)(f), 18(3), 19(1), 19(2), 19(2)(e) and 19(3)  At the last full inspection, these standards were not met because leaders did not know about, or comply with, statutory guidance for checking that staff were safe to work with children. The first progress monitoring inspection found that much work had been done but risk assessments were not sufficiently detailed.  All of the required checks on staff, proprietors and supply teachers are now fully in

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Main inspection findings

place. The single central record contains all of the necessary information and the document has been revised meticulously. Senior staff and governors undertake regular checks to keep this document under review and to ensure that it is fully up to date and wholly complies with the latest guidance.  Interview and post-interview procedures and practices are clearly identified and followed through. Risk assessments of staff awaiting disclosure and barring service checks are now more rigorous. Evidence suggests that risk assessments are carried out systematically and actions to mitigate risks are considered and actioned. Risk assessment processes are now sufficiently rigorous and detailed to keep pupils safe.  All standards that were checked for this part of the independent school standards are met.

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Main inspection findings

Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools Paragraph 34(1), 34(1)(a), 34(1)(b) and 34(1)(c)  At the last full inspection, the effectiveness of leadership and management was found to be inadequate. School leaders had not ensured that all the independent school standards and the national minimum standards for boarding schools had been met. The first progress monitoring inspection found that there had been some improvements but all of the standards were not met so that the standards in part 8 were also not met.  Since the progress monitoring inspection, the school has established a new governing board and appointed a new headteacher, head of upper school, head of boarding and academic director. Senior leaders and governing board members have responded proactively to the findings of the previous inspections. As a result, all standards that were previously unmet are now met.  Robust procedures are in place to ensure that safeguarding is effective. Leaders have

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Main inspection findings

acted to ensure that staff access training relating to protecting young people, such as training about child sexual exploitation and radicalisation. Training covers all staff including catering, housekeeping and maintenance staff. As a result, all staff are aware of the school’s policies and practices for child protection and safeguarding.  The school has worked with determination to develop and implement an effective action plan. The action plan has been rewritten after the Department for Education (DfE) rejected it. The new plan sets out clear milestones that enable leaders to keep planned changes on track and check the impact of their work.  All standards that were checked in relation to the independent school standards are met consistently.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements that were checked during this inspection. This included the standards and requirements that the school was judged to not comply with at the previous inspection. Not all of the standards and associated requirements were checked during this inspection.

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The school now meets the following independent school standards

 Ensure that arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school and that such arrangements have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State (paragraphs 6, 7, 7(a), 7(b)).  Ensure that arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of boarders while they are accommodated at the school and such arrangements have regard to the national minimum standards for boarding schools (paragraphs 8, 8(a), 8(b)).  Ensure the welfare of pupils at the school is safeguarded and promoted by taking appropriate action to reduce risks that are identified (paragraphs 16, 16(b)).  Ensure that all required checks are made to confirm the suitability of staff and supply staff and that such checks are made within the required timeframe in relation to the appointment of staff (paragraphs 17, 18, 19).  Ensure that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school

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The school now meets the following independent school standards

demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently (paragraph 34(1), 34(1)(a), 34(1)(b)).  Ensure that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently and pupils’ well-being is promoted (paragraph 34(1), 34(1)(c)).

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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

School status Independent boarding school

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School Details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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School Details

Of which, number on roll in sixth form 219

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School Details

Email address headmaster@tasisengland.com

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School Details

Date of previous standard inspection 1 December 2016

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Information about this school

 TASIS England, also known as The American School in England, is part of the TASIS Foundation operating schools in England, Switzerland and Puerto Rico. The school was founded in 1976 by Mary Crist Fleming and is situated on a 46-acre campus in the village of Thorpe near Egham in Surrey. TASIS England is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the European Council of International Schools.  The school is registered as an independent co-educational boarding school for boys and girls. It is registered to accept 800 pupils aged three to 18 years. There are currently 712 pupils on roll, including 192 boarders. There have been significant changes in staff and senior management since the last inspection. An interim headteacher was appointed in April 2017 and a new headteacher has been appointed to take up post in July 2017.  There are no pupils with an education, health and care plan or with a statement of special

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Information about this school

educational needs. However, the school has identified pupils who have additional educational needs and offers additional support for them. Pupils attending the college are from a wide range of countries around the world. The largest proportions are from the United States, with many others from Europe, Asia and South America.  The last full inspection, in May 2016, judged the school to be inadequate. School leaders had not ensured that all of the independent school standards and the national minimum standards for boarding schools were met. A monitoring inspection in November 2016 identified a number of improvements but some standards, relating to welfare, health and safety as well as the suitability of staff, were still identified as unmet.  The TASIS England school seeks to aims to ‘embody and instil the values of personal responsibility, civility, compassion, justice, and truth’ and is committed to balancing the

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Information about this school

pursuit of knowledge with the love of wisdom, an appreciation for beauty and the development of character through ‘artistic endeavour, physical activity, and service to others’.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was carried out at the request of the registration authority for independent schools. The purpose of the inspection was to monitor the progress that the school has made in meeting the independent school standards and other requirements that it was judged not to comply with at its previous inspection. This inspection did not consider the requirements of the national minimum standards for boarding schools.  This was the second progress monitoring inspection since the last full inspection. As a progress monitoring inspection, the inspection was carried out without notice.  The school’s action plan to address the failings identified in the last full inspection was rejected by the Department for Education in May 2017.  The inspector met with the interim headteacher as well as other senior and middle leaders. He also met with members of the governing board, the designated safeguarding

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Information about this inspection

lead, the deputy designated safeguarding lead and staff responsible for the single central record.  There were no lessons taking place at the time of the visit but the inspector toured the school and met with a number of staff. He also had a meeting with a group of pupils and examined a range of school documents, including those relating to school improvement, action planning, safeguarding, health and safety, risk assessment and mental health.  The inspector reviewed the checks made on staff in relation to their suitability to work with children and discussed the effectiveness of safeguarding with the school’s designated safeguarding lead and other staff. The inspector also examined the quality of the information provided by the school on its website.

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Inspection team

Paul Metcalf, 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 visitwww.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

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 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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