Clovelly House School

Clovelly House School Clovelly, Merrylees Road, Thornton, Leicester, Leicestershire LE67 1AP

p.1

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

p.1

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

p.1

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The proprietor, who is also the headteacher, has rapidly established a culture of care and commitment among the staff.  All members of staff share high expectations for what disadvantaged pupils can achieve. They have created an effective, individual curriculum to meet the needs of each pupil.  The good quality of teaching is based on careful planning which takes excellent account of each pupil’s starting points.  Pupils have made good progress in addressing gaps in their learning in the short time since they joined the school.  Strong working relationships between staff, therapists, parents and carers enable pupils to develop trust and respect for adults. Pupils make good progress in their personal development and behaviour.  The headteacher has a good understanding of the school’s strengths and of how much has been achieved since the school opened. She has clear plans for further development.  Pupils who have previously experienced long

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

periods out of school have improved their attendance and commitment to learning.  The school provides a safe environment and all staff work effectively to safeguard the welfare of pupils. Pupils’ individual well-being and emotional resilience are at the centre of the school’s priorities.  The headteacher monitors the daily work of the school effectively. She ensures that all staff are suitably trained to fulfil their responsibilities, including all aspects of pupils’ safeguarding.  The proprietor has ensured that the school meets the requirements of the independent school standards.  The use of assessment to evaluate pupils’ progress from their starting points is at an early stage of development.  Planning for the teaching of science is not as systematic and comprehensive as for English and mathematics.  The school has not yet established sufficient independent external links which can contribute comprehensive support and challenge to the

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

headteacher’s self-evaluation.  A small number of pupils have erratic attendance. As a result, they make inconsistent progress towards their academic targets.

p.1

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.

p.1

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Fully implement plans for the recording and evaluation of assessment information in order to strengthen school leaders’ understanding of the extent of pupils’ progress.  Continuously review and develop strategies to reduce unauthorised absence for the minority of pupils with low attendance.  Improve scientific learning in the curriculum to make sure that all pupils have access to systematic and comprehensive experiences in the subject.  Strengthen external links to share and learn from professional practice in similar school settings.

p.2

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The proprietor has worked tirelessly and effectively to establish solid foundations to ensure good provision during the six months since it opened. She has ensured that all the independent school standards are met.  The headteacher has high expectations of how the school can provide emotional stability, academic success and personal security for disadvantaged pupils. The staff share these aspirations and work diligently to ensure that pupils are safe, secure and achieving well.  Staff are creative and imaginative. They provide a suitable individual timetable for each pupil and work with persistence and patience to ensure that pupils fulfil their potential.  Staff and pupils work well together. Relationships are positive and based on mutual respect. Pupils appreciate the efforts that staff make on their behalf.  The curriculum promotes British values and contributes effectively to the spiritual, moral,

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

social and cultural development of pupils. The school pays careful attention to pupils’ diverse previous educational experiences and individual emotional, social and mental health needs. They provide equality of access to all that the school has to offer.  The curriculum for each pupil provides access to all the required areas of learning. This includes access to GCSE and functional skills examinations at a level and timing appropriate to pupils’ individual needs and responses. Currently, arrangements for teaching science are not sufficiently well developed and effective.  No pupil has yet completed external examinations and moved on to further education or employment. However, pupils receive appropriate careers advice and are supported well to prepare for, and manage, the transition to future opportunities. The school’s advice and guidance includes an appropriate independent element provided by the local careers

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

service.  Pupils are prepared appropriately for a wide range of future responsibilities. A small number of pupils do not take full advantage of these opportunities due to inconsistent attendance.

p.3

Governance

 The school does not have a governing body. The proprietor takes an effective lead in the development of the school and the evaluation of all aspects of its work. She is continuously reflective and explores opportunities for improvement.  In her role as headteacher, the proprietor works closely with her senior leadership team, which includes a respected member who is independent of the school. Together they have established appropriate arrangements for monitoring all aspects of the school’s work.  The headteacher has produced a self-evaluation of the school’s achievements during its first six months of opening. This underpins the school’s action plan, which identifies and plans for appropriate future developments.  All members of staff take part in a process of annual appraisal, including targets for their individual contributions to the development of the school. The headteacher ensures that all staff have access to any training required to fulfil their responsibilities successfully.

p.3

Governance

 The school has not yet established secure arrangements to ensure that school leaders and staff have a broad awareness of wider professional practice and national outcomes.

p.4

Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The school has produced an appropriate safeguarding policy which takes full account of the latest government guidance. This policy is available on the school website.  The headteacher is trained, in line with local authority procedures, to lead on all safeguarding matters. She ensures that all members of staff are trained and regularly updated in all aspects of safeguarding.  Staff have a good understanding of the potential risks to which pupils may be exposed, including risks of sexual exploitation, radicalisation and online abuse. Pupils are closely supervised, and the school provides a safe environment.  School staff foster excellent relationships with parents and carers and take a common approach to all aspects of pupils’ personal development and increasing independence. The headteacher ensures that external agencies concerned with pupils’ well-being are

p.4

Safeguarding

well informed when working with individual pupils.

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The quality of teaching is good because staff provide each pupil with a personal timetable tailored to their individual needs. Staff understand the barriers to learning previously experienced by pupils and help them to learn in ways that suit them individually.  Teachers plan effective lessons from suitable schemes of work. They make the objectives of the lesson clear to pupils and guide them systematically through appropriate tasks and activities which help them to achieve successfully.  Teachers have secure knowledge of the subjects they teach and the ability to communicate ideas and skills at a level appropriate to pupils’ abilities.  Pupils enjoy learning and show respect for their teachers. Relationships are positive, and pupils take their learning seriously. For example, pupils worked confidently through revision activities, discussing squared numbers and the calculation of perimeters and

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

areas of various shapes, presenting answers to two decimal places.  Teachers use interesting illustrations to explain concepts, and everyday examples to aid pupils’ understanding. Pupils who have experienced significant periods of time out of formal education develop confidence in their teachers and re-engage effectively in learning.  Staff have appropriate expectations that, despite previous gaps in learning, pupils can make up lost time and succeed. To date, no pupil has been on the school roll for sufficient time to complete external qualifications. Evidence in pupils’ books indicates that the quality of teaching supports pupils to achieve at levels required to progress to courses of further education.  Teachers use questioning skills effectively. They challenge pupils to think and to extend their understanding. Pupils were able to interpret the writer’s use of descriptive language, including similes and metaphors, to communicate an accurate understanding of the

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

characters and the plot of a novel.  Pupils accept advice from their teachers and are willing to persevere and improve their work in response to staff guidance. Staff expect pupils to engage and respond and are successful in achieving desired outcomes.  Pupils’ reading, writing and verbal communication skills are improved through tasks and activities across a range of subjects. Pupils, for example, combine graphic skills, writing and internet research to achieve an understanding of the location and features of the world’s rain forests.  Staff provide accurate information for parents and carers about pupils’ strengths in their learning and their areas for improvement.  Despite the good quality of teaching and the individualised learning programmes, a small number of pupils do not engage consistently due to irregular attendance and poor punctuality.  The headteacher, working effectively with teachers, has designed suitable arrangements

p.5

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

for the assessment of pupils’ work based on clear criteria for each subject. These arrangements enable staff to understand the levels at which pupils are currently working and to identify future learning activities to promote further progress.  The school’s assessment arrangements are at an early stage of implementation. Current pupils have not been on roll for long enough for accurate judgements to be made about the extent of their progress in the medium to long term.

p.5

Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils placed at the school have a history of non-attendance or disrupted periods of previous education. Local authorities place pupils at the school to provide a stable environment in which pupils may develop their emotional and social resilience and learn to regulate their behaviour.  The school is successful in enabling pupils to develop trusting relationships and to build up their self-esteem. In some cases, pupils are provided with part-time academic timetables together with a range of activities to develop their personal and social skills.  There is an appropriate emphasis, in the school’s work with individual pupils, on addressing emotional and mental health barriers to successful relationships. Pupils engage successfully in activities with the school’s therapist and mostly make good progress in addressing significant areas of personal concern.

p.5

Personal development and welfare

 Older pupils begin to reflect on their personal aspirations and to engage in future planning. The quality of personal support provided by staff, including careers advice and guidance, challenges pupils to recognise the changes they need to make to fulfil their ambitions.  Pupils are safe in school and they learn to accept responsibility for developing their own healthy and safe lifestyles. Staff provide a wide range of opportunities for pupils to understand the risks to which they may be exposed in the wider community, including risks of sexual exploitation, cyber-bullying, radicalisation and exposure to substance abuse.  The school places a strong and successful emphasis on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development. Pupils engage successfully in school meetings where they share their views and aspirations. Staff introduce issues related to racism, discrimination and respect for diversity through the curriculum and social events such as sharing a meal to

p.5

Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils demonstrate respect for staff and good levels of cooperation within classrooms and the wider school environment. Pupils’ behaviour in classrooms and around the school is good. They follow instructions and begin to take responsibility for organising and managing aspects of their own learning.  Pupils improve their attendance and their attitudes to learning although, for some pupils, this is not an immediate or consistent response. Poor attendance in previous placements has hindered the academic progress of pupils.  Staff work patiently and persistently to help individual pupils address their barriers to regular attendance. The school’s behaviour reward system is partly successful in motivating pupils. Staff continuously review all aspects of the curriculum, pupils’ preferred learning styles, sanctions and rewards to identify and agree approaches suited to

p.6

Behaviour

individual needs.  Relationships between pupils are positive and there is no bullying.

p.6

Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils make good progress in their learning, mostly from relatively low starting points. Once they have settled into the expectations and routines of the school, pupils begin to close the gaps in their learning and to make good progress towards standards expected for their age.  There is some variation in the extent to which pupils fulfil their academic potential, dependent on their personal aspirations and commitment. In the short time since the school opened, there is evidence that all pupils have made good progress in some aspects of their learning.  Disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities make progress in line with other pupils from similar starting points. The individualised approach to learning and the quality of relationships with staff ensure that pupils accelerate their progress.  Pupils read fluently and with levels of understanding that enable them to access and

p.6

Outcomes for pupils Good

understand texts appropriate to their individual stages of learning. They do not generally read for pleasure beyond the classroom but do engage well when reading and discussing novels during English lessons. Their comprehension and ability to interpret the writer’s meaning are mostly secure.  Pupils make good progress with the development of their basic skills, including writing, punctuation, spelling and the use of numbers. Evidence in their workbooks demonstrates good progress, often over relatively short periods of time, in their accuracy and expression of ideas.  The school has not been operating long enough to judge pupils’ progress over a time span of more than a few months. No pupils have yet completed Year 11 and entered for external examinations.  Pupils demonstrate a range of understanding and skills appropriate to foundation-level achievement in GCSE examinations in English and mathematics. However, future success

p.6

Outcomes for pupils Good

is at risk due to irregular attendance and variable commitment to learning. The school provides access to functional skills examinations in these subjects as an alternative qualification.  No pupils have moved on to further education or employment. Current pupils have applied successfully for further education placements.

p.7

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.

p.8

School details

Type of school Other independent special school

p.8

School details

Email address JCollighan@clovellyhouse.co.uk

p.8

School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

p.8

Information about this school

 Clovelly House is an independent special school which provides full-time education for pupils, aged between 10 and 18 years, who are placed at the school by a variety of local authorities. Current pupils are aged between 13 and 16 years.  The school is situated in a rural location in Leicestershire. It aims to develop pupils’ self- worth, emotional resilience and positive well-being in a nurturing environment.  The school aims to meet the needs of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Most pupils have missed large periods of previous education and require individual support to access learning.  The school does not use the services of any alternative providers.  The school was registered by the Department for Education in August 2017 and admitted its first pupils in October 2017. This is the school’s first standard Ofsted inspection.

p.8

Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching and learning across a range of subjects. He scrutinised samples of pupils’ work in a variety of subjects, including English and mathematics, and discussed these samples with teaching staff.  The inspector held discussions with the proprietor of the school, who is also the headteacher. He discussed all aspects of the school’s leadership and management with the headteacher and teaching staff.  The inspector considered responses to an inspection questionnaire completed by members of staff. He spoke with a small number of parents and carers. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.  The inspector scrutinised several school policies, procedures and records to check the school’s compliance with the independent school standards.

p.9

Inspection team

David Young, 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 .

p.9

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.

p.10

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 .

p.10

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.

p.10

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 .

p.10

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 .

p.10

Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspection team

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

p.10