South Devon Steiner School

School and boarding report/School and residential report

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South Devon Steiner School Hood Manor, Dartington, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6AB

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Sixth-form provision Inadequate Overall experiences and progress of children and young people in the boarding provision Inadequate

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The trustees and school leaders have not ensured that the independent school standards (ISS) are met in full.  Leadership and governance of the boarding provision are inadequate. The school does not meet the national minimum standards (NMS) for boarding schools.  The arrangements for safeguarding are ineffective. Statutory legislation and guidance, and the school’s policies, have not been implemented fully.  Leaders do not monitor the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, including in the kindergarten, well enough. They do not know how effective teaching is and the impact it has on pupils’ progress.  Leaders have failed to prepare and publish the required information to show how they comply with their public sector Equality Duty.  Teaching is inadequate. Teachers do not plan learning effectively to meet pupils’ needs. As a result, pupils make weak progress and do not reach the standards of which they are capable.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Teachers’ expectations of pupils and the quality of work pupils produce are too low. Pupils of all abilities make insufficient progress across the curriculum.  Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive inadequate support. Consequently, they make insufficient progress.  Attendance is low and well below the national average. Too many pupils are late for school.  When activities do not meet the needs of pupils, they become disengaged and restless.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

The school has the following strengths  Leaders, including the trustees, recognise the school’s weaknesses, especially in the quality of education. They are acting quickly to address them.  Pupils are polite and well mannered. They show respect to each other and adults.  Parents are overwhelmingly happy with the quality of education their children receive. Compliance with regulatory requirements and national minimum standards for boarding schools

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school must take action to meet the requirements of the national minimum standards for boarding schools and associated requirements. The details are listed in the full report.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Rapidly improve the effectiveness of leadership and management, including governance, by ensuring that: – the safeguarding of pupils takes priority, particularly the practice of safer recruitment, safeguarding training for staff and host families, and the management of child protection cases – attendance and punctuality improve – the monitoring of teaching and learning includes a clear focus on the outcomes of different groups of pupils, especially pupils with SEND – clear priorities for improvement are set which are frequently checked and evaluated for impact by leaders, including trustees – the capacity of trustees increases so that they carry out their roles and responsibilities to rapidly improve the quality of education pupils receive and to ensure effective oversight and monitoring of the boarding provision – senior leaders monitor and develop the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and the boarding provision, so they know what does or does not work well and why

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– the gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding, especially for those pupils with SEND, quickly close – the independent school standards and the national minimum standards are consistently met.  Urgently improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and by doing so raise achievement by ensuring that all teachers: – check regularly and more precisely what pupils can do, to be sure they have understood key concepts before moving on – consistently provide the highest levels of challenge to enable pupils to make strong progress – provide pupils with SEND effective support which meets their individual needs – provide pupils with the help they need to improve their learning – have consistently high expectations of the quality of work that is acceptable.  Swiftly improve the effectiveness of the boarding provision by ensuring that: – boarders do not reside with host families until all safer recruitment checks have been

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

completed satisfactorily – the capacity of the visiting student coordinator role is developed to enable the host family services to be led and managed effectively and ensure that boarders are safeguarded – the out of school hours on-call system is developed to provide appropriate management cover and support for host families and boarders – senior leaders and trustees monitor the boarding provision effectively and ensure that all national minimum standards are met in full – staff are provided with regular opportunities to discuss their roles and to develop their practice – effective systems to consult with boarders and host families are established and the information gathered is used to develop the provision.

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Inadequate

 The trustees and school leaders have failed in their duty to ensure that the independent school standards and national minimum standards are met in full. Most notably, they do not assure themselves that safeguarding is effective or that pupils receive a high standard of education and boarding provision.  Leaders and teachers are not held to account for their roles. As a result, significant aspects of the school’s provision are inadequate.  Leaders do not promote equalities well. They have failed to prepare and publish the required information to show how they comply with their public sector Equality Duty.  Leaders’ systems for assessing, monitoring and evaluating the progress pupils make, including in the kindergarten and boarding provision, are weak. As a result, leaders do not have a secure or accurate understanding of pupils’ performance.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not have their

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Inadequate

needs well met and therefore do not make good progress. The work of the newly appointed SEND leader is showing positive direction. Recently introduced systems for the accurate identification of pupils with SEND and support for teachers in planning provision is better meeting pupils’ needs. Nonetheless, it is too early to see the impact in the progress pupils make.  Leaders do not have secure systems in place to monitor the quality of teaching and learning. Consequently, there is too much variation and inconsistency in the quality of teaching to enable pupils to learn well and make good progress.  The curriculum is planned along the established principles of Waldorf Steiner education. The main lesson each day provides an intensive study into a specific topic area. This is accompanied by lessons that are typically creative or active in nature. However, teachers do not provide learning activities which build pupils’ academic knowledge and

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Inadequate

understanding. Consequently, pupils’ core areas of knowledge are limited, especially in their writing and mathematics, and are well below what is expected at this stage of their education.  Leaders and managers do not ensure that the boarding provision is suitably staffed and resourced. For example, the visiting student coordinator does not have the opportunity to complete some of the responsibilities of the role effectively. In addition, on-call arrangements are reliant on the goodwill of staff rather than appropriately planned systems.  Leaders and managers do not provide staff members who have responsibility for boarding and safeguarding matters with regular formal supervision opportunities to discuss their work, to reflect on their role or to develop their practice.  Leaders and managers do not meet regularly with host families outside of the annual premises check, and do not actively seek feedback about their hosting experiences. As a

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Inadequate

result of leaders’ lack of monitoring, they do not identify ways to develop the boarding provision.  Leaders, including trustees, have an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. Together, they are working to rectify the weaknesses they have identified. Nonetheless, this work is early in its implementation and it is too early to see any impact.  Leadership and management of the sixth-form provision enables students to make stronger progress. Nonetheless, the provision is inadequate due to safeguarding requirements not being met.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and their understanding of British values are strong. For example, pupils are able to demonstrate a clear understanding of the rules of law and democracy. This was exemplified when pupils were talking to inspectors about the politics and implications of the United Kingdom leaving the European

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Inadequate

Union.  Pupils welcome the rich opportunities the school provides. Outdoor activities are a firm favourite with pupils. They spoke with excitement about the numerous occasions when they can explore and enjoy nature and all that it has to offer. They enjoy growing food and tending to the plants they grow.  Parents and carers who responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, or who wrote to inspectors, were overwhelmingly positive about the quality of education and care their children receive. ‘It is a wonderful place for children and young adults to learn’, ‘My children are thriving here’ and ‘I am full of admiration of the nurture and care which this school provides’ are just three of the many positive comments made by parents.

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Governance

 The board of trustees has not ensured that the school provides an acceptable quality of education and keeps pupils safe. They have not checked that the ISS and NMS are met.  There have been recent changes to the board of trustees. However, the board has vacancies which are yet to be filled. This is limiting the ability of trustees to carry out their roles and responsibilities. They have not ensured that school leaders provide an effective standard of education and safeguard pupils.  Trustees understand the strengths and weaknesses of the quality of education. However, they were not aware of the deficiencies identified by inspectors in the school’s safeguarding arrangements nor the boarding provision. Trustees demonstrated to inspectors that they have the determination and commitment to rapidly rectify the shortcomings in safeguarding alongside their planned work to quickly improve the quality of education.

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Governance

 The leadership and governance of boarding is ineffectual. Trustees do not monitor the boarding provision and they do not require boarding matters to be reported to them. Consequently, trustees do not accurately understand how the boarding provision is performing and cannot confirm confidently that boarding pupils are kept safe.  Senior leaders’ understanding of the boarding provision’s strengths and areas for development is tenuous. They have not evaluated the boarding provision against the national minimum standards, and do not include boarding matters in the school’s development plan.  Trustees do not hold senior leaders, or the staff with responsibility for safeguarding matters and the boarding provision, to account. There is insufficient challenge and direction to enable these areas to develop.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.  Procedures for the recruitment of staff and host families do not meet the requirements set out in the most recent guidance by the Secretary of State. Not all of the checks required for staff and host families have been carried out before staff start in role and before boarders reside with host families. This is particularly the case for overseas checks. There is much work to do before the school meets the statutory requirements. Consequently, leaders, including trustees, cannot assure themselves that pupils are safe.  Leaders, and trustees, have detailed child protection policies in place which adhere to ‘Keeping children safe in education, 2018’. However, staff do not fully implement these policies and so cannot assure themselves that pupils are effectively safeguarded against all potential risks.  Leaders, managers and trustees have failed to implement suitable safeguarding systems

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Safeguarding

to keep pupils safe. Safeguarding agencies are not always provided with full information to enable effective and protective decision-making to take place. There is a failure to refer all concerns in a timely fashion. In one case, the school’s actions had the potential to jeopardise investigative processes.  Leaders, managers and trustees fail to address allegations made by pupils directly with the members of staff concerned. Pupils’ concerns do not feature in the outcomes of investigations that are carried out by the school, despite evidence to support their concerns. In one case, assessment of a summer host parent did not take account of their circumstances to ensure that pupils were suitably and safely placed.  Safeguarding records are often haphazard and therefore leaders cannot confirm whether they are up to date and sufficiently detailed.  The policy for the recruitment of staff is not in line with the statutory guidance ‘Keeping

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Safeguarding

children safe in education’. The policy does not make it clear that references must always be obtained from current or most recent employers and that discrepancies between application forms and references should be verified thoroughly. Consequently, there are occasions when this required practice is not implemented.  Leaders and managers cannot confirm how many times boarders have stayed with host families without all of the required checks being in place. Neither can they currently prevent this unsafe practice from continuing, as they do not have a suitable system in place to enable them to track and monitor the appropriateness of host families effectively.  Leaders and managers do not ensure that all adult members of host families receive good-quality safeguarding training that is regularly refreshed.  Leaders and managers are unable to confirm that every member of staff and every volunteer has undergone safeguarding training. They do not maintain a reliable system to

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Safeguarding

help them to monitor this practice effectively.  Risk assessments are in place for activities in and out of school. These meet the requirements of the ISS. They are appropriately detailed and checked by leaders to ensure that they remain fit for purpose.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are not high enough. Pupils’ work viewed by inspectors shows that, too often, they have undertaken work that is well below the standards expected for their age. Therefore, pupils are underachieving across the school’s planned curriculum.  In ‘main lessons’ and other subjects, teachers do not give adequate thought to what pupils already know, can do and understand. Teachers do not plan learning to precisely meet the academic needs of pupils. This hampers significantly the progress pupils make.  Teachers do not consistently plan lessons that have a clear purpose. Instructions are often confusing, especially for pupils with SEND. Consequently, much learning time is lost as pupils try to understand what it is they are meant to be doing. For example, lower- school pupils were confused in a mathematics lesson on number. They did not have the necessary prior knowledge and understanding to enable them to complete the task.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Teachers do not use their assessment procedures effectively when planning learning. Furthermore, they do not monitor pupils’ learning well during lessons and, therefore, do not find out quickly enough if pupils are finding the task too easy or too hard. For example, pupils’ misconceptions are not consistently identified, and they continue to make errors in their work. This lack of monitoring by teachers hinders pupils’ learning.  In art and craft lessons, teachers demonstrate a strong understanding and plan activities which excite and motivate pupils. Work viewed during the inspection was of a high quality, including needlework, basket weaving and clay work. Furthermore, pupils enjoy the music and drama activities afforded to them. During the inspection, Class 10 pupils were holding evening performances to showcase their talents in drama and music. It was a privilege for inspectors to witness their rehearsals and to hear such beautiful singing.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development is inadequate. Leaders and trustees have not ensured that safeguarding practices at the school meet the government’s statutory requirements. Consequently, they cannot assure themselves that individuals are suitable to work with pupils. This places pupils’ welfare at risk.  Pupils feel safe at school. Pupils are taught about personal safety and how to keep safe when online.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is inadequate. Too many pupils do not attend school often enough. Attendance is well below national average. The number of pupils who are regularly late is high. Attendance figures are not noticeably improving because leaders do not monitor and analyse the attendance of pupils and take the necessary action to ensure that it improves.  Pupils typically behave well during lessons and during breaks and lunchtimes. However, when activities do not meet the needs of pupils, because work is either too easy or too difficult, they can become disengaged and restless.  Pupils who spoke with inspectors believe that, for most of the time, staff implement the behaviour policy consistently. However, pupils described that sometimes this consistency falters as, ‘it depends on the mood of the teacher’.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Standards across the school are too low. Across a range of subjects, many pupils, especially in the lower school, do not make the progress of which they are capable. Too many pupils are working several years behind where they should be. Consequently, they do not have the knowledge and skills on which to build on their work when they arrive in the upper school.  Pupils with SEND do not achieve well enough. This lack of achievement is because, until very recently, pupils were not having their needs identified accurately and were not receiving the correct support and guidance to meet their needs effectively.  At the end of Class 5 (Year 6), pupils do not reach the standards expected for their age in reading, writing or mathematics.  Pupils’ spelling, punctuation and grammar, particularly in the lower school, are weak. This reduces the quality of their writing. Such errors are not routinely picked up by teachers.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

Consequently, pupils continue to make the same errors.  Pupils’ work viewed by inspectors shows that much is not completed. Furthermore, work is often untidy and poorly presented. Teachers do not tackle this effectively. This results in pupils falling further behind in their learning and producing work that is not of a high quality.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 The arrangements to keep children in the kindergarten safe are not effective. Leaders have not carried out all the required recruitment checks prior to staff commencing in post. Therefore, leaders cannot assure themselves that children are safe in the kindergarten. However, all other welfare requirements of the early years foundation stage are met.  Leaders do not check effectively how well children are doing in kindergarten. Consequently, they do not know what children can and cannot do. Therefore, activities planned do not consistently meet their needs, especially for older children and those children with SEND. As a result, the progress children make is inconsistent.  The quality of teaching in the kindergarten is too variable. Leaders do not check the quality of the provision to ensure that all children, irrespective of their age, are making good progress.  Staff in the kindergarten form extremely positive relationships with the children. They

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Early years provision Inadequate

provide a nurturing environment where the children are happy and are well looked after.  Staff are effective role models for the children in how they act and talk to one another. As a result, children learn how to behave well, learn good manners and form positive relationships with one another.  Parents who responded to the online survey or wrote to inspectors are extremely happy with the quality of the provision in the kindergarten. ‘Our children love coming to school and are proud of the school’, ‘My experiences have far exceeded my expectations’ and ‘My child is thriving’ are just three of the comments received regarding the early years provision.

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Sixth-form provision Inadequate

 The provision in the sixth form is inadequate because safeguarding is ineffective.  Leaders have high expectations in terms of academic and personal development. They have adopted a secure approach to planning and assessment. This enables students to achieve and progress successfully to the next stages of their education, employment or training.  Teaching in the post-16 provision is effective, enabling students to acquire new knowledge and understanding.  The programme of study allows students to build on prior attainment and their personal aptitudes and interests. This is seen, for example, in the major projects they undertake in Class 12 (Year 13), which provide a foundation for future study.  The school’s provision for careers and work-related learning for post-16 students enables them to make informed decisions about their future. All students undertake a significant period of work experience in Class 11 (Year 12). This helps them to investigate possible

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Sixth-form provision Inadequate

career paths.  Attendance in Class 12 (Year 13) is not good enough as students miss, on average, one day in 10 of their studies. Current students in Class 11 (Year 12) have better attendance.  Students make good progress as they move through the levels of the New Zealand Certificate of Steiner Education. Pupils begin studying for this at level 1 in Class 10 (Year 11) and continue through levels 2 and 3 in the post-16 provision. All current pupils attained levels 1 and 2 at the end of Class 10 and Class 11 respectively. The current Class 12 (Year 13) will be the first to complete level 3 in the school’s history.

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Inadequate

 Although boarders said that they felt safe in the school and with host families, leaders and managers do not implement safeguarding procedures effectively. Child protection policies are not always followed appropriately, and at times, boarders have been placed by the school to stay with host families without all the required safer recruitment checks being in place.  Despite a clear enthusiasm and willingness demonstrated by staff, the boarding provision is not led and managed well enough. Leaders, managers and trustees do not monitor this provision to ensure that all the national minimum standards are met and that boarders are protected.  Leaders and managers do not provide sufficient opportunities for boarders and host families to provide feedback on their boarding and hosting experiences. While host families said that they feel very well supported by the visiting student coordinator, formal systems to liaise with host families about their role are not in place.

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Inadequate

 Leaders and managers have not ensured that each boarding pupil is spoken with at least once per term about their boarding experiences, as is required. Children are asked to complete questionnaires to give their feedback. Any concerns written on these questionnaires are followed up appropriately and records are maintained about the actions taken.  These gaps in practice result in senior leaders not having a clear understanding of their boarding provision. They do not use feedback well enough from those who use the provision to identify ways that it can be developed.  The visiting student coordinator obtains information from host families and boarding pupils to enable her to match them together. Host families and boarding pupils often communicate with one another before boarding starts, enabling relationships to develop. In the vast majority of cases, boarders spoke positively about their host families and their

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Inadequate

experiences. The small number of dissatisfactions with host provision are resolved effectively.  The aim of the boarding provision is to provide boarding opportunities to children from overseas to enable them to experience life in another country and to develop their English. All boarding pupils who contributed to this inspection were confident that these aims were fully met in practice. Host family members could also describe the progress boarding pupils make with learning English and developing their confidence. All boarding pupils said that they would recommend the boarding experience to others and that they had particularly enjoyed making new friends.  Boarding pupils feel integrated into the school and do not identify problems with bullying or discrimination.  The visiting student coordinator appropriately completes the required checks on host family accommodation; this includes a risk assessment and an annual visit. The

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Inadequate

coordinator is satisfied that the accommodation provided is suitable. This view was also shared by a social worker who undertakes regular private fostering arrangement checks. Some boarding pupils and hosts suggested to inspectors that it would be helpful if the coordinator undertook unannounced checks of the home.

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School details

Social care unique reference number 2531482

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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

The inspection of boarding provision was carried out under the Children Act 1989, as amended by the Care Standards Act 2000, having regard to the national minimum standards for boarding schools.

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School details

School category Independent boarding school

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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School details

Of which, number on roll in sixth form 26

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School details

Proprietor Rudolf Steiner School South Devon Limited

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School details

Email address enquiries@steiner-south-devon.org Date of previous inspection 12 September 2007

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Information about this school

 South Devon Steiner School was founded by a group of parents in 1980.  The school aims to provide a Steiner Waldorf education, promoting the fundamental principle of protecting the right to childhood and creative abilities for life.  Two pupils have an education, health and care plan.  The upper school, classes 9 to 11, offers the New Zealand Certificate of Steiner Education (NZCSE).  The school does not provide any alternative provision.  The school was last inspected by Ofsted in 2007 and was judged good. Since 2007, the school has been inspected by the Schools Inspection Service (SIS). The last full standard inspection was conducted by SIS in 2018. The school’s effectiveness was judged to require improvement.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was conducted at the request of the Secretary of State. The Department for Education commissioned Ofsted to carry out this standard inspection earlier in the cycle than previously planned.  This was an integrated inspection. A full inspection of the boarding provision by social care inspectors took place with the inspection of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with host families who provide boarding accommodation. They spoke with pupils and held meetings with the leaders with responsibility for welfare and boarding.  Inspectors held meetings with the education manager, senior leaders and staff. The lead inspector and a social care regulatory inspector held a meeting with four trustees.  Inspectors spoke with representatives from the local authority. Inspectors observed learning in classes across a range of subjects and the ‘main lesson’. All visits to classes were conducted jointly with senior leaders. Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of pupils’

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Information about this inspection

work.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including pupils’ attainment information and details regarding pupils with SEND. They also considered a range of documentation in relation to safeguarding, child protection, attendance and behaviour. In addition, the inspectors undertook checks of the premises.  Discussions were held with pupils throughout the inspection and formally in groups.  Inspectors considered 129 responses to Parent View and over 45 letters received during the inspection. They also took into account the 25 responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Jen Southall, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Paula Lahey Social Care Regulatory Inspector

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Inspection team

Michelle Oxley Social Care Regulatory Inspector

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

 3 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that the teaching at the school- – 3(a) enables pupils to acquire new knowledge and make good progress according to their ability so that they increase their understanding and develop their skills in the subjects taught; – 3(b) fosters in pupils self-motivation, the application of intellectual, physical and creative effort, interest in their work and the ability to think and learn for themselves; – 3(c) involves well planned lessons and effective teaching methods, activities and management of class time; – 3(d) shows a good understanding of the aptitudes, needs and prior attainments of the pupils, and ensures that these are taken into account in the planning of lessons.

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

 7 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that – 7(a) arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school; and – 7(b) such arrangements have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State.  8 Where section 87(1) of the 1989 Act applies in relation to a school the standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that – 8(a) arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of boarders while they are accommodated at the school; and – 8(b) such arrangements have regard to the National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools or, where applicable, the National Minimum Standards for Residential Special Schools or the National Minimum Standards for Accommodation of Students under Eighteen by Further Education Colleges.

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Part 4. Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors

 18(2) The standard in this paragraph is met if- – 18(2)(b) no such person carries out work, or intends to carry out work, at the school in contravention of a prohibition order, an interim prohibition order, or any direction made under section 128 of the 2008 Act or section 142 of the 2002 Act, or any disqualification, prohibition or restriction which takes effect as if contained in either such direction; – 18(2)(c) the proprietor carries out appropriate checks to confirm in respect of each such person- – 18(2)(c)(i) the person’s identity; – 18(2)(c)(iii) the person’s right to work in the United Kingdom; and – 18(2)(e) in the case of any person for whom, by reason of that person living or having lived outside the United Kingdom, obtaining such a certificate is not sufficient to establish the person’s suitability to work in a school, such further checks are made as the proprietor considers appropriate, having regard to any

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Part 4. Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors

guidance issued by the Secretary of State; and – 18(2)(f) in the case of staff who care for, train, supervise or are in charge of boarders, in addition to the matters specified in paragraphs (a) to (e), the proprietor checks that Standard 14 of the National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools or, where applicable, Standard 14 of the National Minimum Standards for Residential Special Schools, is complied with.  18(3) The checks referred to in sub-paragraphs (2)(c) and (except where sub- paragraph (4) applies) (2)(e) must be completed before a person’s appointment. – 21(3)(a)(vii) a check of S’s right to work in the United Kingdom was made; and – 21(3)(a)(viii) checks were made pursuant to paragraph 18(2)(e).

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

 34(1) The standard about the quality of leadership and management is met if the proprietor ensures that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school- – 34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently; – 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently; and – 34(1)(c) actively promote the well-being of pupils.

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Statutory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage

 3.9. Providers must ensure that people looking after children are suitable to fulfil the requirements of their roles. Providers must have effective systems in place to ensure that practitioners, and any other person who is likely to have regular contact with children (including those living and working on the premises), are suitable.

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The school must meet the following national minimum standards for boarding

provision.  The school ensures that: arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school; and such arrangements have regard to any guidance issued by the secretary of state. (NMS 11.1)  The school’s governing body and/or proprietor monitors the effectiveness of the leadership, management and delivery of the boarding and welfare provision in the school and takes appropriate action where necessary. (NMS 13.1)  There is clear leadership and management of the practice and development of boarding in the school. (NMS 13.2)  The school’s leadership and management consistently fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the standards are met. (NMS 13.4)  The school’s leadership and management and governance actively promote the well- being of pupils. (NMS 13.5)  Schools operate safe recruitment and adopt recruitment procedures in line with the regulatory requirements and having regard to the relevant guidance issued by the

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The school must meet the following national minimum standards for boarding

secretary of state. (NMS 14.1)  Any staff member or volunteer employed or volunteering in a position working with boarders receives regular reviews of their boarding practice. (NMS 15.1)  Boarders are actively encouraged to contribute views to the operation of boarding provision. (NMS 17.1)  The school can demonstrate that members of the host family aged over 16 are subject to a DBS check, with a satisfactory outcome known before any pupil is placed. (NMS 20.5)  The school ensures that all adults providing lodgings for pupils on its behalf have undergone safeguarding training that is updated regularly as advised by the local safeguarding children board, and that they understand the school’s policy in relation to pupils going missing and their role in implementing that policy. (NMS 20.6)  At least once per school term a member of staff discusses their lodging separately with each pupil accommodated by or on behalf of the school in lodgings, recording the

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The school must meet the following national minimum standards for boarding

pupil’s assessment in writing and taking action on any concerns or complaints. (NMS 20.9) 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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The school must meet the following national minimum standards for boarding

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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The school must meet the following national minimum standards for boarding

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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The school must meet the following national minimum standards for boarding

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.

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The school must meet the following national minimum standards for boarding

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 .

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The school must meet the following national minimum standards for boarding

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The school must meet the following national minimum standards for boarding

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The school must meet the following national minimum standards for boarding

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