Quay View School

Quay View School Bere Alston, Yelverton, Devon PL20 7EX

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The new headteacher is making changes to improve the quality of education at the school. Stronger systems are emerging. Behaviour incidents have sharply reduced. However, there has not been enough time under this leadership to see consistent and sustained improvement.  School development planning is not well developed. Responsibilities for improvements are not distributed across the leadership team.  There are inconsistencies in the checking of the well-being of pupils who do not attend school.  Some schemes of work do not lead to engaging, relevant activities that maintain pupils’ interest.  Until very recently, staff had not had regular feedback on the quality of their work or been given professional development that supports them effectively to make improvements.  The quality of teaching and learning is inconsistent across a range of subjects. For example, pupils do not make the same progress in their writing as they do in mathematics or

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

science.  Leaders cannot be sure that that the assessments that teachers make about pupils’ progress are consistently accurate.  Risk assessments are sometimes not kept up to date and therefore do not provide specific strategies to reduce identified risks for pupils.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The proprietor is ambitious for the school and works closely with school leaders. The independent school standards are met in full.  Leaders have an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in the school’s performance.  Staff appreciate recent improvements and are positive about the future of the school.  There is a strong commitment across the school community to the vision of ‘safety, life, growth’. This successfully helps to shape the priorities for further development.  Pupils receive a wide range of well-considered therapies and nurture provision. These support pupils’ emotional needs effectively.

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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.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that: – the school development plan describes how responsibilities for improvements are distributed across the leadership team – systems are in place to check that the agreed policies and procedures, including risk assessments and checks on pupils who do not attend, are implemented effectively – schemes of work outline a curriculum that is relevant to pupils’ needs and interests.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that: – staff receive the feedback and professional development that they need so that the quality of teaching and learning is consistently at least good – teachers regularly check their assessments with assessments made in other schools so that pupil progress information is reliable.  Improve outcomes for pupils by ensuring that: – pupils’ writing improves so that they are able to use their writing skills to produce

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

complete and finished pieces of work – pupils make consistently good progress across a range of subjects so that they have the skills needed to prepare them for their next steps in education, employment or training.  Improve pupils’ personal development, welfare and behaviour by ensuring that: – the new approaches and strategies to improve behaviour and bullying incidents are maintained so that staff, parents and carers are confident about how behaviour is managed and that pupils feel safe and secure at school – pupils’ non-attendance is recorded appropriately and that the recently improved communication with agencies and parents for when pupils do not attend continues.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 The role of middle leaders to support whole-school priorities is underdeveloped. The school development plan describes appropriate actions and is organised around three key themes of ‘safety, life and growth’. However, it includes little detail about how and when actions are checked or the difference that actions will make on outcomes for pupils. Actions are mainly the responsibility of the headteacher and operations director.  Staff have not, until recently, had regular support and guidance through a performance management system to help them to improve the quality of their work.  Similarly, there have not been robust checks made on the progress that pupils make. An assessment framework, which draws on a range of information, including the engagement of pupils in their lessons, the number of behaviour incidents and the academic progress pupils make, is now in place. However, there has been little checking

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

that academic assessments are reliable as there is not a structure in place to enable teachers to compare their assessments with those made in other schools.  Leaders have identified that although all schemes of work are in place, some parts of the curriculum do not promote active, meaningful and engaging learning experiences for pupils. The curriculum is a focus for further development outlined in the school development plan. Some improvements have already been made, including making more links with outdoor learning to develop pupils’ knowledge. For example, pupils enjoyed a garden project in which they identified leaves and plotted areas to grow plants.  A detailed scheme of work covers a wide range of personal, social and health education themes. There is an emphasis throughout the curriculum on encouraging pupils to be responsible for their actions. Pupils are encouraged to support their local community.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

Some pupils helped to clean up the kitchen and paint the local community hall. Some pupils supported a local village litter pick to help improve the environment. These activities help pupils to develop an understanding of the needs of others, and this helps to prepare them for a future life in society.  Staff appreciate the recent drive to ensure that they are more involved with their own professional development as well as with the development of the school. Staff say that morale is more positive and that they feel empowered to make improvements to teaching and learning.

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The school’s application to make a material change to its registration

 Although the independent school standards were met during this inspection, there is new leadership and improvements seen at the school are not embedded. In addition, the premises to be considered are not ready for use. Therefore, it was not possible to assess whether this provision would be likely to meet all the standards in full should the requested material change take place, in particular for parts 1, 3, 4, 5 and 8.

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Governance

 The proprietor is committed to ensuring that the further improvements needed are made and that the focus for the school is to improve the quality of education. The proprietor has ensured that the new headteacher has support and guidance from the group’s operations director. This strong oversight has ensured that the independent school standards are met in full. Plans are in place to grow and develop a governing body to provide longer-term challenge and support to the leadership team.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The school has a safeguarding policy on its website, which meets requirements. It describes child protection procedures and provides useful guidance about a wide range of safeguarding concerns, such as child sexual exploitation and children who are missing.  Leaders have reviewed safeguarding procedures. There have been improvements to training for staff in recent months. The safeguarding team has expanded and safeguarding records are better organised. There is a strong commitment to communicate more closely with agencies and to report any concerns appropriately and more quickly than has happened in the past. Leaders ensure that when mistakes happen, lessons are learned and safeguarding practices are improved.  Risk assessments are in place for the site, for activities, including residential visits, and for individual pupils. Staff understand pupils’ needs and risks and are continually adapting

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Safeguarding

what they do to reflect risks. However, checks to ensure that individual written risk assessments accurately describe current risks are not rigorous. Therefore, some assessments do not provide up-to-date information or strategies to use to reduce risks for pupils.  At times, there has been confusion about the recording of absences and about who is responsible for pupils when they do not attend for longer periods. Communication with parents in these circumstances has improved significantly recently.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Teaching and learning are inconsistent. Pupils’ writing skills are not as well developed as their skills in mathematics or science. Teaching supports pupils’ learning of grammar skills. However, these skills are rarely drawn on to produce longer pieces of writing in English. This limits the progress that they make.  Pupils are encouraged to reflect on their engagement in learning after each lesson and to recognise their own behaviours and the effect of these on the progress that they make. As a result, pupils are more often able to maintain their focus during lessons. However, although reducing, there remain some incidents of pupils walking out of lessons and not being involved in their learning.  The curriculum is undergoing improvement to ensure that activities are more relevant, active and engaging, while maintaining appropriate challenge. Some improvements are already in place. In science, pupils take part in investigations with enthusiasm, such as to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

work out the DNA of an onion. In mathematics, pupils show age-appropriate skills in solving complex algebra problems.  Pupils are increasingly able to understand what it is they need to do to improve their work. Teachers assess what pupils know, can do and understand throughout the year to show the progress that pupils are making. However, the system is new and there are inconsistencies in how well teachers use these assessments to plan activities. In addition, assessments are not regularly checked alongside assessments made in other schools to ensure that they are accurate.  Many teachers have good subject knowledge and are able to challenge and extend pupils’ knowledge and understanding during lessons. Teaching resources are of a good quality, including the use of interactive technology, which pupils enjoy. Staff increasingly understand pupils’ learning needs through weekly summaries, which brings information

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

for each pupil together and helps staff to plan lessons that match pupils’ needs more closely.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Due to their special educational needs, some pupils face significant challenges to be able to tolerate other pupils and behave appropriately towards them. Bullying incidents during lessons and around the school have been high in the past. Some parents have not received good communication about how incidents have been resolved.  Strong systems of communication between staff and careful tracking of bullying incidents have led to a decline in incidents this year. Leaders are committed to maintaining this improvement by communicating better with parents and listening to pupils’ views more effectively.  Leaders recognise that different approaches and strategies suit different pupils. A specially designed nurture curriculum is now in place for some pupils who struggle to engage with learning and for those pupils who have had a high number of behaviour

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Personal development and welfare

incidents in the past. This has proved to be successful for these pupils as they now feel increasingly safe and secure at school and, therefore, are more often able to take part in lessons.  Leaders plan a programme of careers guidance, for all pupils and tailored towards the curriculum, that includes themes such as the ‘world of work’, as well as periods of work experience for older pupils. This guidance helps to prepare pupils well for their next steps in education, employment or training. Leaders are currently revising this provision to ensure that it meets new government requirements, including those to ensure that younger pupils have access to support and guidance about their career options.  Pupils receive a wide range of therapies, such as art, equine, and speech and language therapy. These approaches are well established. Pupils describe how they value these sessions because they support their emotional and communication needs well.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Some staff and a small number of pupils and parents do not feel confident about the management of poor behaviour. Leaders have recognised the need for improvement. There is a move towards a therapeutic approach to support pupils’ emotional needs and to introduce positive strategies to help pupils to manage their behaviour. A programme of training for staff to develop their skills in managing behaviour has started. Pupils enjoy receiving rewards for their positive engagement during lessons.  There are recent improvements to pupils’ behaviour. Analysis provided by leaders shows that the number of serious incidents related to poor behaviour, including at the alternative provision, has dramatically reduced over the past few months.  Although most pupils attend school regularly, a small number of pupils who may have specific medical needs or other significant challenges do not attend school often enough.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 The school’s assessment information shows that, over time, most pupils make good progress towards their targets in English and mathematics. However, some targets are not appropriately challenging to ensure that pupils make the progress they are capable of.  The assessment of pupils’ achievements does not lead to an analysis of how pupils are achieving compared to the expectations for their ages. In addition, the school does not have information about the progress that the small number of pupils who do not attend school make, as there is patchy provision to support learning or assessment for these pupils.  Pupils’ books show that progress in writing does not match progress in other subjects. Too often, pupils learn writing skills in isolation and do not apply them to write completed pieces across a range of subjects.  On arrival, a 12-week assessment period of observation and assessment helps staff to

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

determine the most appropriate provision for pupils. Different pathways, which include nurture, functional or academic, are chosen depending on this assessment.  The nurture pathway supports pupils who have difficulties in engaging with traditional teaching approaches. This highly personalised approach enables pupils to develop positive attitudes towards their learning.  Leaders are working to improve the relevance of the curriculum provided for the functional pathway to ensure that activities provided support pupils to achieve the life skills that they need.  On the academic pathway, pupils study a range of qualifications, usually entry-level 1, 2 or 3 in English, mathematics, science and other subjects, as appropriate to their needs and abilities. Currently, a few pupils are studying entry-level qualifications in mathematics.  Older pupils often have placements at local colleges and work experience placements to

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

help prepare them for their next stages in education. The small number of pupils who left the school last year all went on to successful placements at local colleges.

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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

Proprietor Priory Education Services Ltd

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School details

Website www.priorychildrensservices.co.uk

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School details

Email address southernpenninsulaservices@priorygroup.com

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7–9 July 2015

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Southern Peninsula Services, which belongs to Priory Education Services, within the Priory Education and Children’s Services. Priory Services provides fostering services, children’s homes and special schools.  In September 2017, the school changed its name from ‘Chelfham Bere Alston’ to ‘Quay View School’.  The school provides education for pupils who have complex needs, such as autistic spectrum disorder, severe learning disabilities and social, emotional and behavioural needs.  The previous inspection was in July 2015.  In September 2017, two headteachers were appointed as co-headteachers. One headteacher recently left the school.  The school uses an alternative provider, Collytown Therapy Ponies, to provide equine therapy for some pupils.  There were too few pupils in the sixth form to report on during this inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 The Department for Education (DfE) commissioned the inspection to take place earlier than previously planned. This is due to concerns raised to the DfE about the school’s provision in relation to reporting safeguarding concerns appropriately.  The DfE also commissioned Ofsted to consider the school’s application to make a material change to increase the numbers of pupils from 30 to 45 and to look at Chelfham Kilworthy House as additional premises. There was also a request to conduct a boarding inspection for the school to become a residential special school. This was carried out by a social care inspector and is reported separately.  Several meetings took place with the headteacher and the operations director. Inspectors also met with other senior leaders and teachers. Meetings took place with the proprietor and other members of the Priory group. The inspector spoke to a representative from Devon local authority.

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Information about this inspection

 The lead inspector observed learning in several classes with the headteacher. A sample of pupils’ workbooks was scrutinised alongside information that the school has on the progress that pupils are making.  The inspector talked to pupils informally and had a meeting with a group of pupils. The few views provided on Parent View were considered, as well as views provided by a parent on the telephone.  A number of activities took place to check compliance with the independent school standards. These included a walk of the premises. A range of school documents were also considered, including the school development plan and self-evaluation information. A number of school documents, including school policies and documents relating to health and safety, safeguarding, bullying, complaints and attendance, were scrutinised.  Meetings with staff took place and the 30 responses to a staff survey were also taken into

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Inspection team

Tonwen Empson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Tracey Ledder Social care regulatory 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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