Applied Educational Solutions

Applied Educational Solutions 10 Central Parade, Green Street, Enfield EN3 7HG

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leadership and management are inadequate because safeguarding is ineffective and some of the independent school standards are not met.  Until this inspection, some of the required pre- employment safeguarding checks on staff and governors had not been completed; some were not known about.  Pupils’ personal development and welfare are inadequate because of safeguarding failures, including in relation to weak first-aid arrangements.  The quality of teaching requires improvement because it is still not yet consistently good. As a result, pupils’ outcomes also continue to require improvement.  Staff deployed to teach pupils individually sometimes do not have the subject knowledge, or are not sufficiently prepared, to facilitate effective learning.  The most able pupils are still not sufficiently challenged.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils’ emotional well-being and self-confidence develop as a result of the school’s highly structured and nurturing approach. In turn, pupils’ behaviour improves over time and is good overall.  The curriculum is designed well to meet pupils’ complex needs.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

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

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management and pupils’ welfare by ensuring that: – the proprietor and governors work together to ensure that all the independent school standards are met – the proprietor and governors pay greater attention to detail in ensuring that actual practice reflects policies – the arrangements for safely recruiting staff are reviewed and improved to meet statutory requirements at all times – the arrangements for the provision of first aid are improved so that there is always a qualified first aider available to pupils.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and therefore pupils’ outcomes, by ensuring that: – staff given responsibility for teaching are sufficiently prepared, and have adequate subject knowledge, to facilitate learning effectively – learning tasks appropriately challenge pupils, especially the most able.  The school must meet the independent school standards, as set out in the annex of this

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 The effectiveness of leadership and management at this alternative provider is inadequate because leaders have not ensured that all of the independent school standards are met.  Leaders have failed to keep abreast of the changes in statutory guidance in relation to safeguarding since the school’s last full standard inspection. They have also not assured themselves that the arrangements for first aid meet requirements; at the time of the inspection, there was only one qualified first aider on the staff.  The proprietor, who is also the headteacher, is absent for two days a week to undertake other work. As was the case at the previous inspection, this means that the school is still regularly left without effective and consistent leadership and management.  The quality of teaching has not improved significantly since the previous inspection. Although there is improved monitoring of teaching and checks on teachers’ performance,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

these have not had sufficient impact on teaching quality. In particular, the most able pupils are still not challenged enough and pupils receive varying levels of teaching quality.  The school’s curriculum covers all the required areas of learning and has improved since the previous inspection. Pupils now enjoy more project-based learning. For example, they recently learned about business and enterprise and developed their computing skills in the context of preparing and reviewing a bake sale. Pupils also have access to a range of physical activities at local facilities, such as boxing, swimming and hockey. Overall, the curriculum prepares pupils well in their readiness to learn in their next school.  The school’s promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is relatively strong. Staff teach pupils about different faiths, cultures and religions as part of the planned programme for personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

religious education. There is appropriate coverage of equality and British values. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Governance

 At the previous inspection, there were no arrangements for governance in place. There is now a governing body which comprises an external chair, a staff member and a previous staff member. Governors meet regularly and undertake frequent visits to the school. However, they have not worked effectively enough to ensure that the independent school standards are met. They have accepted what the proprietor has told them about compliance with statutory requirements without further checks. As a result, governors have not ensured that safeguarding is effective. However, they are now committed to rapidly improving the school.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are ineffective.  At the start of the inspection, leaders had not carried out some checks on the suitability of staff in accordance with national guidance. Until the inspector identified the multiple oversights, the single central register of vetting checks did not meet statutory requirements. For example, checks on new staff, including the barred list check and relevant prohibition checks, had not been made. Leaders completed all the required checks during the inspection.  The staff recruitment procedure sometimes lacks rigour, including in relation to obtaining two professional references and the recording of the interview process.  Leaders have succeeded in ensuring that there is a culture of care in which pupils say they feel safe. Staff training is effective. Staff know pupils well and any concerns are raised quickly.  The school’s acceptable safeguarding policy is available on the school’s website.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Although there have been some minor improvements since the previous inspection, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is still not consistently good.  Teaching continues to lack sufficient challenge for the most able pupils. Teachers formally plan to meet the learning needs of pupils in three ability groups. However, the work given to pupils in the ‘high-ability’ group is not difficult enough for the most able pupils, who complete the work extremely quickly.  Staff from a variety of backgrounds and with varying levels of expertise are deployed to teach pupils, often individually, and to assess the work in their books. While this provides pupils with an intensive level of support, staff are not consistently well prepared, and sometimes do not have adequate subject knowledge, to facilitate learning effectively.  Pupils are still not aware of what they need to do to achieve at the standards of which

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

they are capable. Teachers do not consistently follow the school’s assessment policy, focusing on effort and behaviour rather than on how to improve the work, as required.  The teaching of phonics and reading skills is effective. Pupils are given many opportunities to write and complete a significant amount of work in their books, especially in English, mathematics and science. There is evidence that many pupils are making progress over time in these subjects, with greater emphasis being placed on extended writing.  Staff have strong behaviour management skills. Positive, respectful relationships between pupils and staff ensure that pupils remain focused on their learning.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate.  Although pupils say that they feel safe, the arrangements for safeguarding are ineffective. In addition to concerns around the vetting checks on staff, the school’s first-aid policy is not implemented well because there is only one trained first aider.  Staff prioritise the raising of pupils’ self-esteem and the development of their social and communication skills. As a result of the highly structured, personalised approach, pupils generally re-engage with learning and make progress in developing their personal skills.  Pupils regularly learn about keeping themselves safe, including online, and about wider safety issues such as radicalisation, safety on the streets and the dangers of gang membership.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Most staff listen carefully to pupils, understand their needs and manage their behaviour well. Thanks to the generally effective support, incidents of misbehaviour typically decrease over time.  Staff are nurturing, caring and patient. Most thoroughly understand pupils’ complex needs and backgrounds.  The behaviour system is effective for most pupils. Pupils are generally very eager to ‘reach gold’ as a result of good learning and behaviour.  Most pupils attend very regularly. A small number of pupils attend infrequently or rarely. In these cases, leaders do all they can to work with the relevant agencies to take necessary action. Where pupils’ attendance has been very low in their previous setting, their attendance at Applied Educational Solutions typically improves slightly over time.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Pupils are now assessed from their various starting points in all subjects. Teachers compile evidence of pupils’ progress in individual ‘progress tracker’ folders. While the school is now able to provide more consistent, accurate information about pupils’ outcomes, including an analysis of the attainment of pupils in 2016 and 2017, there is little precise information on the progress of current pupils. Inspection evidence suggests that pupils are not making consistently good progress across the curriculum, reflecting the uneven quality of teaching.  There is a lack of clarity about pupils’ destinations and how leaders and staff intend to prepare pupils for their next permanent school placement. Although, as stated by the representative from the only placing local authority, Applied Educational Solutions is used as a temporary measure as an alternative provider, there is no evidence of collaborative

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

transition planning for pupils. For example, pupils currently in Year 6 do not know what is going to happen at secondary transfer.  Pupils’ reading skills are developing well as a result of effective phonics teaching and reading practice. Leaders have also identified the need to focus more on developing pupils’ extended writing. The work in this area has had a positive impact.  Pupils generally feel more positive about learning and about attending school as a result of attending Applied Educational Solutions. Pupils who have left the school so far have all proceeded successfully to mainstream or special schools.

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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

Website www.appliededucationalsolutions.com

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School details

Email address applied.eduational.solutions@outlook.com

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3–5 February 2016

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Information about this school

 Applied Educational Solutions is an independent co-educational day school for up to 10 pupils aged eight to 14 years old. It currently provides alternative provision to a local authority.  The school is based in converted retail premises in Enfield, London. It makes use of local parks, a primary school, a community centre and a boxing club for physical education and recreational activity. It does not commission any alternative providers.  Pupils typically have an education, health and care plan or are under assessment for one. Pupils have social, emotional and mental health difficulties and many have additional learning needs.  The school’s previous inspection in February 2016 was its first full standard inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 This full standard inspection took place with one day’s notice.  The inspector observed a range of teaching jointly with the headteacher. He met with a group of pupils and met pupils informally throughout the inspection. He also observed an assembly.  The inspector had several meetings with the proprietor/headteacher throughout the inspection.  The inspector met with two governors, including the chair of the governing body.  The inspector met with all staff and considered the four responses to the staff survey.  The inspector spoke with a senior representative from the school’s only placing local authority.  There were no responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. The inspector spoke with a parent by telephone.  The inspector scrutinised the school’s information about pupils’ progress, attendance and incidents of misbehaviour and physical intervention. He also considered a range of pupils’

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Information about this inspection

work.  The inspector reviewed a wide range of other documentation, including school policies, logs, evidence of staff training and information related to safeguarding and health and safety.  The inspector toured the premises and considered a range of additional information and evidence in relation to the independent school standards.

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Inspection team

James Waite, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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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 that such arrangements have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State (paragraph 7, 7(a) and 7(b)).

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

 The proprietor must ensure that first aid is administered in a timely and competent manner by the drawing up and effective implementation of a written first aid policy (paragraph 13).

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

 The proprietor must ensure that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role, and fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently, and actively promote the well-being of pupils (paragraph 34(1), 34(1)(a), 34(1)(b) and 34(1)(c)). 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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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