On Track Education Centre Westbury

Inspection of On Track Education Westbury Broadway House, Headquarters Road, West Wiltshire Trading Est, Westbury, Wiltshire BA13 4JY

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Sixth-form provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils speak very fondly of their school. For many of them this is the first time that they have enjoyed school and been successful within it.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between staff and pupils are friendly and supportive. Pupils really appreciate these relationships and trust the adults who work with them. As a result, pupils feel able to speak with staff very openly and this actively supports their development.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a strong focus on meeting the needs of individual pupils, and the school plans its curriculum carefully. It is well matched to pupils’ education, health and care (EHC) plans and pupils’ learning needs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are many trips and visits for pupils across the school year. These widen pupils’ knowledge and experience and they describe how much they enjoy them. The school also organises many events for fun, such as a school fete and sports day. These are days when pupils, staff and parents come together for activities, celebration and enjoyment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site is calm, orderly and well- mannered. Bullying is rare, but if it occurs, it is quickly and effectively managed by staff.

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better?

Proprietors work very closely and effectively with the school’s leaders. As a result of their actions, the school meets all of the independent school standards.

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better?

Leaders have created a strong and very well-developed ethos that permeates the school. Staff share leaders’ values and work well together as a team. As a result, this is a happy school where pupils value and trust the staff. Many pupils who have failed to thrive in education are beginning to learn for the first time. As a result of the skills of staff, the school is able to understand and meet pupils’ complex needs. This enables pupils to re-engage in learning and make progress.

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better?

Leaders have completed much work to develop the structure and sequencing of the curriculum. Those staff who have responsibility for subject leadership have successfully adapted the curriculum to meet the needs of individual pupils. For example, the mathematics curriculum provides a number of ‘pathways’ for pupils who are at different stages of mathematics learning. The school is continuing to develop its curriculum across all subject areas. The new library is helping to ensure that reading is given a greater priority across the school.

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better?

Staff are skilful at creating individual learning plans that reflect pupils’ EHC plans and ensure that pupils’ different needs are met. Teachers assess pupils’ learning well and 25–27 February 2020

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include this information in the termly report for parents. Teachers’ subject knowledge is good. For example, teachers have good mathematical knowledge and explain this well to pupils who value this.

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The school is successful at creating unique learning pathways for its students in the sixth form. This work begins early, at key stage four, to ensure that their next steps are well planned. All sixth-form students continue to follow courses in English and mathematics with some success.

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Pupils’ behaviour in classrooms and at social times is very calm and orderly. Pupils describe behaviour as good and some told us how much they appreciate the generally ‘quiet school’. Records show that behaviour at the school has improved over time. Every pupil has a key worker who plays an important role in understanding their needs and ensuring the school responds to them. However, pupils are often over-reliant on the adults with whom they work and lack independence and resilience.

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The school has strong working relationships with parents that are maintained through regular telephone conversations. The school’s ethos is one which highlights the positive achievements of pupils and celebrates this with everyone.

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Both within and beyond the classroom, the personal development curriculum is at the heart of the school. The personal, social and health education curriculum is a well-planned sequence of learning. The personal development curriculum is well focused on meeting the needs of individual pupils. The school maintains an annual ‘activities and cultural calendar’. This shows a range of events and topics to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of social and cultural diversity. For example, there are frequent trips beyond school, with follow-up work that builds on and consolidates these visits. These include visits to the local war memorial and the museum, and work supporting the local food bank.

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Leaders take careful note of the workload of staff, and this has resulted in good staff morale. In a recent survey, all agreed that they enjoy working at this school.

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The school’s accommodation has been subject to high-quality improvements. There are now specialist areas for the teaching of science and cookery. A multi-use games area has been recently built in the grounds.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There are strong and effective systems and policies to keep pupils safe. Pupils feel very safe and feel able to talk to staff if they have any concerns. The high quality of relationships between staff and pupils make for a very positive, calm and supportive atmosphere within the school. 25–27 February 2020

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Those responsible for safeguarding are appropriately trained. They ensure that all staff receive regular and appropriate training.

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The school has effective processes in place to ensure that suitable staff are recruited.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The school has done much work to structure and develop its curriculum. This is enabling pupils to make stronger progress. However, in order to ensure that this is consistent across the school, leaders need to further develop the subject and pedagogical knowledge of staff.  Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. However, they are overly reliant on the support and interventions of their teachers. The school needs to build greater resilience and independence in its learners.

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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 are the provider and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 25–27 February 2020

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School details

Unique reference number 136019 DfE registration number 865/6043

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School details

Inspection number 10121022 Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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Proprietor On Track Education Services Ltd

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Annual fees (day pupils) £27,641–£42,199

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Email address westbury@ontrackeducation.com

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Date of previous inspection 14–16 June 2017

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Information about this school

 On Track Education Westbury is an independent special school which caters for pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties and interaction needs, including ASD, ADHD and Trauma.  Most pupils are placed at the school by local authorities and a significant proportion have education, health and care plans or statements of special educational needs. Most pupils have histories of severely disrupted education. 25–27 February 2020

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 The school is owned and run by On Track Education Services Ltd., which has a number of other schools and support services across the country. The directors of this company act as the proprietor and in the roles of governance.  The school opened in 2009 and moved into its present accommodation in 2014.  The school does not use alternative providers, although pupils do often undertake activities off-site in the company of a member of staff.  The last standard inspection took place in June 2017. At this time, the school was judged to be good.

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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 a representative of the proprietor, senior and middle leaders, staff and pupils during the course of the inspection.  The inspection considered the following subjects in depth, visiting classrooms, talking with subject leaders and meeting subject staff and pupils with their exercise books: English, mathematics, science and PSHE. Visits were also made to see other subjects across the school.  In order to inspect safeguarding, we checked the school’s single central record of recruitment and vetting checks, considered its safeguarding policy, interviewed the member of staff designated as the safeguarding leader and spoke with pupils and staff.  Surveys of the views of parents and carers, pupils and staff were also considered as part of the inspection process.

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Inspection team

Malcolm Willis, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

John White Ofsted Inspector 25–27 February 2020

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regulates and inspects 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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