Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mr Keith Bates Head of School Eaton Hall Special Academy Pettus Road Norwich Norfolk NR4 7BU

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No formal designation inspection of Eaton Hall Special Academy

Following my visit to your school on 14 September 2017, 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 inspection of Eaton Hall Special Academy

This 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 wished to determine the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements for pupils at the school.

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No formal designation inspection of Eaton Hall Special Academy

This inspection was unannounced and conducted as a result of a complaint to Ofsted. In accordance with Ofsted’s procedures, the school was not given details of the complaint but was notified in writing (August 2017) of the issues raised. The complaint raised concerns about the practices in place for obtaining information about safeguarding pupils; the lack of information available; and the effectiveness of the leadership team in relation to ensuring pupils’ safety.

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Evidence

The single central record of employment checks and other documents relating to safeguarding pupils and child protection arrangements were scrutinised. Meetings were held with the head of school, the deputy head of school, the chair of the governing body, a group of pupils and three teachers. I met with the chief executive officer of the trust to confirm the inspection arrangements and the action taken following the written notification of the complaint. I toured the school with two pupils and spoke with staff and pupils in some of the classrooms visited. I spoke to a representative from Norfolk local authority on the telephone. This inspection was conducted at the same time as a full inspection of the welfare provision. Two social care inspectors checked the school’s compliance with the national minimum standards for residential special schools. A separate report for the welfare inspection is published on Ofsted’s website. Evidence relevant to the

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Evidence

safeguarding arrangements across the education and care provision was shared with me.

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Evidence

Having considered the evidence, I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Context

There are 54 pupils on roll. All pupils are boys and all have an education, health and care plan or a statement of special educational needs. Nineteen pupils are resident. Almost all pupils are from White British backgrounds and none speak English as an additional language. Two-thirds of pupils are supported by pupil premium funding; a higher proportion than found nationally.

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Context

The school became an academy in December 2012 and there was a change in the trust arrangements in January 2015. The school is the lead school in the Rightforsuccess Academy Trust, a multi-academy trust. There are five schools in the trust, all within the Norwich area. The governing body fulfils the governance responsibilities of the school.

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Context

The quality of education has not been inspected by Ofsted since the conversion to academy status. Prior to conversion, the school’s overall effectiveness was judged as outstanding. The overall quality of the residential provision was judged good at the most recent inspection.

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Leadership and management

Having received a letter from Ofsted about issues raised from a complaint, leaders took action quickly. The head of school, in collaboration with the staff, reviewed the effectiveness of the arrangements to safeguard pupils, particularly when inappropriate behaviour was unforeseen or of unexpected severity. A result of the scrutiny has been a sharper focus on assessing and addressing the risk of harm for each pupil.

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Leadership and management

Governors receive termly reports from the school’s designated safeguarding lead. The reports are suitably detailed but governors’ scrutiny and challenge in relation to safeguarding pupils, and leaders’ subsequent action to address concerns or queries are not clear.

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Leadership and management

An appropriate range of policies are available on the websites for the school and the trust. Some policies on the school’s website are not up to date or reviewed as frequently as the governing body requires, such as the ‘Prevent’ duty policy.

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Leadership and management

Residential and teaching staff work collaboratively to support pupils across 24 hours each day. Many of the school’s policies and procedures sensibly cover the day and residential provision. Staff from education and care have frequent opportunities to share information, such as in daily handover meetings, weekly staff meetings and joint training. Each pupil has an allocated team of education and care staff to promote and monitor progress and well-being. These joint arrangements are effective in keeping staff well informed about pupils’ personal development.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum promotes pupils’ safety and well-being appropriately. Pupils develop an understanding of concepts such as tolerance, rule of law, liberty and justice. Different forms of bullying are discussed and explained. Cyber bullying is particularly well covered. Arrangements to monitor and control pupils’ access to the internet is well thought through and comprehensive. Having reviewed the curriculum for pupils’ personal development, staff in Year 3 are trialling a new way of threading the themes throughout units of work so that personal development is better linked to meaningful contexts and real-life experiences.

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Leadership and management

Taking responsibility for behaving appropriately and learning from the consequences of inappropriate behaviour are important priorities. Staff expect pupils to become resilient and reliable. Staff talk to pupils about making good choices, sensitively, explicitly and assertively. Positive choices and respectful relationships are modelled by staff.

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Leadership and management

Behaving responsibly in lessons where safety and well-being could be easily compromised, such as science, physical education and design and technology, is well understood by pupils. Potentially hazardous equipment is readily accessible. Pupils know and respect the rule about taking themselves out of class if they need to calm down, so that others can stay safe in lessons. Pupils know, for example, that scientific experiments will not take place until pupils can be trusted.

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Leadership and management

The boys support one another well, for example through the buddying system. Being a buddy is a prized responsibility that has to be applied for.

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Leadership and management

The relevant employment checks are carried out for staff and recorded appropriately on the single central record. Staff are suitably trained and experienced in keeping children safe. In addition to the designated lead, seven other staff are trained to the same level for child protection. Concerns about pupils’ safety and well-being are recorded appropriately in school, and followed up with external support services when help is not provided to the pupils and their families quickly enough. All parents spoken to as part of the inspection of the residential provision are confident that their children are safe in school.

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External support

There are no external partners providing support to the school.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Governors to ensure that safeguarding arrangements are monitored and scrutinised rigorously, and that the findings are acted upon effectively.  Governors and the trust to ensure that the website provides up-to-date information to parents and others.

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Priorities for further improvement

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Norfolk. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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