Lakeside School

Inspection of Lakeside School Naylors Road, Liverpool, Merseyside L27 2YA

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to Lakeside School. Their attendance is excellent and they are proud to be Lakeside pupils. Pupils said that staff are kind and caring and always make them feel safe. Bullying is very rare. Pupils know that they can talk to staff if they are worried, secure in the knowledge that any concerns will be dealt with immediately.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive at this school. They enjoy an excellent range of activities, including swimming, photography and horse-riding. Pupils are creative. They like to sing and play musical instruments. Pupils are proud of their achievements in reading, writing and mathematics. During discussions, pupils showed us their ability in a modern foreign language by confidently greeting us in Spanish.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are active citizens who take their roles as school council members seriously. They raise money for good causes, visit local care homes and help to keep the local community free of litter.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have very high expectations of pupils’ achievement and behaviour. They help pupils to do their very best and to manage their feelings and emotions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils told us that staff bring learning to life. Pupils appreciate their trips to farms, Roman settlements and the theatre.

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better?

Leadership and management are strong at Lakeside School. The dedicated headteacher and senior leadership team have very high ambitions for pupils. They are clear about the purpose of the school. All staff care about their pupils deeply.

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better?

The curriculum is broad and meets pupils’ needs exceptionally well. Pupils’ health, safety and welfare are of great importance. Safeguarding and pupils’ personal development are important features that run through the curriculum.

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better?

All staff have a secure understanding of the school’s curriculum and what they want pupils to achieve. Each pupil has a personalised curriculum that considers their skills, knowledge and ability, as well as what subjects they enjoy. Teachers plan pupils’ learning highly effectively, ensuring that they know what to teach them and when. They check thoroughly that pupils understand what they have learned. This ensures that pupils know more and remember more over time.

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better?

Pupils gain a strong knowledge of a wide range of subjects, such as art, history, geography and science. This is because leaders have carefully designed the curriculum. In all subjects, the teachers carefully plan what they want pupils to know and when to teach it. As a result, pupils know and remember more complex information as they get older. Pupils achieve very well in mathematics. They put their knowledge of mathematics 3–5 December 2019

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to good use when planning events to raise money for different charities. They know that strong mathematical skills are key to their future success.

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Leaders’ recent focus on developing pupils’ writing has paid off. For instance, pupils write moving accounts of the Blitz in London and Liverpool during the Second World War.

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Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. All pupils read several times a day. Older pupils enjoy books from an increasingly wide range of authors. Some are avid readers who are familiar with the work of popular authors such as Roald Dahl, J K Rowling and David Walliams. Staff are well trained to teach phonics effectively. They make sure that pupils get the knowledge they need to improve their reading. Those who find reading particularly difficult do not give up. They persevere until they can read and understand. Leaders provide support to ensure that no pupil falls behind.

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Staff follow the school’s behaviour policy. Most pupils’ behaviour is outstanding. Pupils who find it difficult to manage their own behaviour in lessons take time out. Members of staff manage this well. Pupils soon return to class to work alongside their classmates again.

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Different types of therapy are available for pupils. These meet their needs very well. They include help for pupils to improve their ability to manipulate small items, such as pens and paint brushes. Leaders also help pupils to come to terms with issues they may have with their mental health.

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All pupils have an education, health and care (EHC) plan. Leaders ensure that staff help pupils to meet their development targets. Teachers and teaching assistants are especially skilled at developing pupils’ language, communication and calculation skills.

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The chair of the governing board and the proprietor know the school exceptionally well. They provide effective support, which helps to ensure that the quality of education provided by the school is outstanding.

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All staff are suitably qualified to undertake their roles effectively. Staff morale is exceptionally high. Senior leaders are mindful of their well-being. Staff benefit from some of the same therapeutic services as pupils. They told us that having access to a listening ear is invaluable, especially when work is challenging.

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The proprietor has ensured that all the independent school standards are met. The school premises are suitable and properly maintained. All necessary policies are in place and leaders make these available for parents and carers. The proprietor has ensured that there is a plan in place to make access to the school as easy as possible for pupils with disabilities.

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The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Leaders leave nothing to chance when it comes to safeguarding. Staff are trained to a high standard. They are exceptionally well organised and have highly efficient systems in place. Leaders use any information they gather about pupils to help staff to minimise risks. All pupils are vulnerable. Staff are trained to spot the signs of neglect and abuse. They know exactly what to do if they have a worry about the welfare of a pupil.

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Staff work closely with a wide range of outside support agencies to ensure that pupils at risk of harm are promptly given the help that they need.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 3–5 December 2019

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School details

Unique reference number 133262 DfE registration number 341/6082

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School details

Inspection number 10112066 Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

School category Independent special school

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £63,357–£96,368

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School details

Website www.witherslackgroup.co.uk/lakeside-school

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School details

Email address lakeside@witherslackgroup.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10–12 January 2017 3–5 December 2019

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Information about this school

 Several new staff have been appointed since the previous inspection, including one teacher and six teaching assistants. The governing board has been reorganised and includes a new chair of the board of governors.  The school’s last standard inspection was carried out in January 2017.  All pupils have an EHC plan. The school caters for pupils with complex learning difficulties, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder and social, emotional and mental health difficulties.  The school does not work with alternative providers.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection 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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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 We met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and other senior leaders. We also met with leaders responsible for safeguarding and the welfare of pupils, attendance and behaviour management. A meeting was held with the school’s therapy team, including occupational therapists, an educational psychologist and a mental health worker.  We met with the chair of the governing board and the regional director and operations director from the Witherslack Group. Telephone discussions were held with two representatives of placing local authorities.  We took account of nine free-text responses to Parent View, submitted during the inspection, as well as emails from parents. We considered responses to the inspection questionnaires completed by 19 members of staff and 16 pupils. We also considered the school’s own surveys of views collected from staff, pupils and parents.  We focused deeply on English, mathematics, science and geography during the

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Information about this inspection

inspection. In each subject, we met with the subject leaders, teachers and tutors. We visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and talked with pupils about their learning.  We met with pupils, teachers and other staff. We talked about safety, personal development and behaviour. We checked the school’s records of the suitability of staff to work with children. We also talked with parents about matters relating to safety. We scrutinised the school’s safeguarding policy and related policies and documentation. 3–5 December 2019

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Inspection team

Lenford White, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Tina Cleugh Ofsted Inspector 3–5 December 2019

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to 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 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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