Beech Tree School - A Scope School

Beech Tree School Independent school inspection report

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DCSF registration number 888/6017 Unique reference number 119842 Inspection number 342476 Inspection dates 29-30 September 2009 Reporting inspector John Coleman HMI Social care inspector Elaine Clare HMI

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended. The inspection of boarding was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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Age group: 7-19 Published: 22 October 2009 Reference no: 342476 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 Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 08456 404040, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 08456 404040 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk No. 090070 Independent school inspection report

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Purpose and scope of the inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school. 1

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Purpose and scope of the inspection

The inspection of boarding provision was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 2 having regard to the national minimum standards for residential special schools, in order to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided.

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Information about the school

Beech Tree School is a children’s home which provides education. The school is a residential special school for pupils with severe learning difficulties and complex needs aged seven to 19 years. There are currently eight pupils on roll aged 14-19 years of whom six pupils are resident for 52 weeks a year. The admission of day pupils is a recent change in the school’s provision. All pupils have a statement of special educational needs and are funded by their local authorities. Many pupils are admitted following unsuccessful placements at other residential units and/or schools due to the severity of their behaviour. The school is owned by SCOPE which is a charitable trust. The school was last inspected in January 2007. Beech Tree is also inspected by Ofsted’s social care inspectors twice a year and was last inspected in March 2009.

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Evaluation of the school

Beech Tree school provides a satisfactory overall quality of education for its pupils. Due to outstanding provision for pupils’ welfare, health and safety; pupils make good progress in their personal development and behaviour is good. The curriculum is satisfactory and, combined with satisfactory teaching and assessment, pupils make satisfactory educational progress. The school has improved since the last inspection by rectifying all the regulatory failures which were identified; it now meets all the requirements for registration as an independent school. Safeguarding arrangements are in place which meet all the requirements. The overall effectiveness of the boarding provision is good.

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Quality of education

The quality of education is satisfactory overall. The curriculum and other activities are satisfactory in meeting the full range of needs and interests of pupils. Whilst this

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Quality of education

1 www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2002/ukpga_20020032_en_14#pt10-ch1-pb4-l1g162 2 www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukpga_20000014_en_1 Independent school inspection report judgement is the same as at the last inspection, the curriculum has improved and is developing further. In response to the last inspection, the school has put into place a good curriculum map and a clear policy which links well to the assessment procedures. The curriculum is designed in two stages; compulsory school age and 14-19. The compulsory school age curriculum uses a themed cross-curricular approach and access to all elements of the National Curriculum is achieved in this way. The 14-19 curriculum has three areas; world studies, including science, technology, foreign culture, creativity (music, art, dance, drama) and world religions; life skills, including, personal social and health education (PSHE), education, citizenship, leisure and recreation and daily living skills and vocational studies

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Quality of education

including, work-related learning, careers education, and post-school guidance and planning. Curriculum planning is in place for all areas and identifies the objectives for pupils’ learning, taking full account of each individual statement of special educational needs together with any personal and/or behavioural needs. There is a strong focus on promoting opportunities for pupils to interact and communicate with a wide range of people, to express preferences, communicate needs, make choices and decisions and choose options which other people respect and act upon. Communication skills are the priority area for all pupils in the curriculum. Good use is made of the local community to extend pupils’ learning and to bring real-life relevance to educational tasks and activities. For example, pupils are regularly taken shopping to a local supermarket where they practise numeracy skills, develop social competence and learn the importance of healthy eating. Pupils enjoy

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Quality of education

visits to a leisure centre, the swimming baths, a cycle track and to SPACE, a multi- sensory environment. These frequent community excursions do much to aid the transition needs of pupils and to prepare them for the next stage in their young adult lives. The school is beginning to develop a residential timetable of extra-curricular activities to support the good personal development plans which are already in place, in order to complement the school curriculum. This is at an early stage of development and in the main, pupils just access free-choice activities after the school day has ended. The classroom-based curriculum to enable pupils to learn basic skills is carefully planned, but learning is sometimes hindered by bland and uninspiring resources. Although some effective use is made of tactile materials to stimulate interest, the concentration and motivation of pupils is not always maximised because

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Quality of education

of the over-use of plain paper and pencils. Additionally, opportunities to engage pupils through the effective use of computers are underdeveloped. The range of computer equipment is barely adequate and pupils experience frustration when lessons are delayed because of technical difficulties with the equipment. The effectiveness of teaching and assessment are satisfactory in meeting the full range of pupils’ needs. Teaching is characterised by good relationships between staff and pupils. Staff treat pupils with respect, patience and understanding and they provide excellent guidance and support to meet pupils’ personal and behavioural needs. Consequently, pupils make good progress in their personal development. Praise is used extensively and motivates pupils to concentrate and focus on learning. Consistent application of the school’s systems and policies for managing behaviour results in pupils feeling valued and respected. In the best lessons, such as seen in a

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Quality of education

music therapy session, the teacher captures the pupils’ interest with skilful keyboard Independent school inspection report accompaniment to successfully engage their participation. In this outstanding lesson there is much enjoyment as pupils learn to sing and bang a drum in rhythm. Lessons with high levels of active participation are the most successful. The pace of learning however relies heavily on the attitudes and application of pupils. When pupils behave appropriately, teaching can proceed satisfactorily and pupils’ learning is satisfactory. Lessons are planned and overseen by the senior teacher and delivered by a combination of the senior teacher and several care/teaching assistants. The assistants are knowledgeable about the pupils’ personal needs, but are less secure in their understanding of the curriculum and of the teaching strategies which are most effective in delivering the curriculum. The classroom environments are unattractive

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Quality of education

and, in some cases, deliberately sterile so as to limit any possible distraction for pupils. This can be counter productive for some pupils and poor displays undervalue their work. There is a five-year education plan in place to improve many areas of school including teaching resources such as a library, an interactive whiteboard, an art room, technology and sensory areas. These are rightly prioritised, but there is no similar priority planned to improve the quality of teaching and learning. There is a staff training plan but it does not identify the specific teaching skills needed by the care staff. The school has detailed assessment procedures in place and these are well matched against pupils’ curriculum, personal and behavioural needs. Assessment is continually completed and good records are kept of pupils’ achievements. There is a lack of any educational analysis or tracking of the progress pupils make.

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Quality of education

Pupils make satisfactory progress in their learning. Many pupils make great strides to improve their behaviour and increase their communication skills. The school is successful in enabling pupils to improve their concentration and to make increasingly better responses and choices. The outdoor practical activities and tasks, many of which are off-site, successfully engage pupils and motivate them to advance their learning. The signing skills of teachers and care staff are used well to aid communication and to develop pupils’ responses. In the classrooms, pupils’ progress is only satisfactory due to occasional disengagement and/or poor behaviour, some uninspiring resources and the satisfactory teaching skills of the care assistants. In addition, the targets set for pupils’ learning do not have sufficiently rigorous expectations. As a result the school is unable to accurately judge whether pupils’ educational progress is satisfactory or not.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

The quality of provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils generally enjoy school, particularly the practical activities in lessons such as music and baking and when visiting the outdoors. Attendance rates are good and staff are successful in ensuring that pupils are encouraged to arrive punctually to school from their homes. The school does much to manage pupils’ behaviour effectively and to improve pupils’ ability to manage their own actions and responses. There are some occasions when pupils’ behaviour is unacceptable and the schools’ procedures deal with this well. Overall, as a result of the excellent and consistent Independent school inspection report application of the school’s non-confrontational policy, pupils’ behaviour and their attitudes to learning are good. The care staff are employed in both the school and children’s home and this gives pupils continuity and security. The successful efforts

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

to improve pupils’ social development in the home significantly aids their learning in school, and the established relationships between pupils and staff enable the transition at the start of each day to proceed smoothly. Visits to a local agricultural college encourage pupils’ independence and help prepare them for the wider world. Pupils’ economic well being is supported well in their daily personal development programmes. The pupils have visited the local Mormon community for a social occasion but do not visit places of religious worship in any planned way. Cultural experiences include cooking foods from around the world and the study of other cultures and faiths. Pupils learn about the emergency services through visits from the fire service and the local community police officer.

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

The overall welfare, health and safety of pupils are outstanding. The school meets the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act. The school carries out comprehensive risk assessments to ensure the safety and well being of all pupils, staff and visitors. For example, all visitors are required to wash their hands when entering the school. The school management ensures that the health and safety policies are up to date and takes notice of all the most recent government guidance, including that for safeguarding. Staff training is in place so that first aid and child protection regulations are fully met. Fire drills are undertaken regularly and fire fighting equipment and electrical appliances are checked rigorously. Supervision is very carefully organised to ensure pupils are safe at all times, including in the residential accommodation. Healthy lifestyles are strongly encouraged through the life skills which are taught in cooking, baking and shopping. School lunches offer

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

healthy choices including a daily salad bar. Pupils are encouraged to take part in a range of physical activities such as swimming, cycling and walking.

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Suitability of the proprietor and staff

The procedures for checking and vetting all staff are rigorous and fully comply with the regulations for safeguarding pupils. All staff are subject to an enhanced criminal records bureau check. A single central record is kept as required by the regulations.

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School’s premises and accommodation

The school is a very safe environment in which pupils can live and learn and it is well kept and maintained. Good use is made of the outdoors to extend learning in, for example, the sensory garden and the summer house. Although there are no specialist facilities for science, good use is made of kitchen facilities and of resources in the local community. Independent school inspection report

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Provision of information for parents, carers and others

The school keeps parents, carers and local authorities well informed of pupils’ welfare and personal progress. The small number of responses in questionnaires shows very good support for the school from parents and placing authorities. All the regulatory requirements are now met which is an improvement since the last inspection.

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Procedures for handling complaints

The complaints procedure fully meets requirements. Records show that a small number of complaints have been received and appropriate action has been taken.

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Effectiveness of the boarding provision

The residential provision was judged to be good and national minimum standards were met. A full report on this provision is available in the social care section of the Ofsted website.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school meets all of the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 as amended (‘the Regulations’).

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What the school could do to improve further

While not required by regulations, the school might wish to consider the following points for development:

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What the school could do to improve further

 implement a tracking system to regularly check on the amount of progress pupils make in their educational learning  provide training to improve the teaching skills and curriculum knowledge of the care assistants who deliver education  improve the quality and suitability of curriculum resources used in the classroom  ensure that classroom environments are stimulating for all pupils. Independent school inspection report Inspection judgement recording form outstanding good satisfactory inadequate

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What the school could do to improve further

Overall quality of education  How well the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of pupils 

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What the school could do to improve further

How effective teaching and assessment are in meeting the full range of pupils’ needs 

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What the school could do to improve further

How well pupils make progress in their learning 

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What the school could do to improve further

Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

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What the school could do to improve further

Quality of provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 

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What the school could do to improve further

The overall welfare, health and safety of pupils 

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What the school could do to improve further

Evaluation of boarding provision  Independent school inspection report

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School details

Name of school Beech Tree School – A Scope School DCSF number 888/6017 Unique reference number 119842 Type of school Residential Special School Status Independent Date school opened 1985 Age range of pupils 7-19 Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll (full-time pupils) Boys: 8 Girls: 0 Total: 8 Number of boarders Boys: 6 Girls: 0 Total: 6 Number of pupils with a statement of special educational need Boys: 8 Girls: 0 Total: 8

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School details

Number of pupils who are looked after Boys: 6 Girls: 0 Total: 6 Annual fees (day pupils) £ 47,000 Annual fees (boarders) £250,000 Headteacher Mr Paul Boldy Proprietor Scope Reporting inspector John Coleman HMI Dates of inspection 29-30 September 2009

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