Penarth Group School

Penarth Group School 128, Reddish Road, South Reddish, Stockport, Cheshire, Cheshire SK5 7JG

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Main inspection findings

Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils Paragraphs 7, 7(a), 7(b), 32(1), 32(1)(c)  The proprietor has ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. The safeguarding policy is detailed and pays due regard to the most up-to-date guidance from the Secretary of State. The policy is implemented effectively.  Staff receive frequent training to ensure they are knowledgeable and kept up to date with the most recent guidelines.  Systems to record concerns and subsequent actions are in place. Staff follow these procedures closely and records are kept meticulously.  Leaders and staff are knowledgeable about how to follow up any concerns they may have about the safeguarding and welfare of pupils. Consequently, appropriate actions are taken swiftly when concerns arise. Information is shared with appropriate authorities and parents and carers to help promote pupils’ well-being and safety.  At the start of the inspection, the safeguarding policy published on the school website

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Main inspection findings

did not reflect the most up-to-date version that was in operation in the school. This administrative error was swiftly rectified by leaders.  The standards relating to welfare, health and safety that were checked as part of this inspection are met. Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools Paragraph 34, 34(a), 34(b), 34(c)  The proprietor has ensured that the standards checked as part of this inspection are met. The proprietor and leaders demonstrate a secure knowledge of the independent school standards and appropriate safeguarding procedures.  The headteacher has implemented many new policies relating to child protection and wider aspects of safeguarding since her appointment in February 2020. Clear and appropriate policies for the use of the school’s CCTV systems have been put into place. These promote the safe storage and disposal of any recorded images. The procedures for staff’s use of two-way radios have been implemented. All staff have

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Main inspection findings

received training in how to use these appropriately to help keep pupils safe.  Leaders have established clear and transparent systems that hold staff to account for their actions. Any concerns identified by leaders are recorded in detail. These are shared with staff as part of new performance management and supervision procedures. Appropriate action is taken if staff fall short of leaders’ expectations.  The proprietor has strengthened the governance of the school by recruiting parents. Minutes of governing body meetings are clear and detailed and show that governors undertake appropriate training from national associations. Governors make use of this training and their own professional skills to hold leaders to account for their actions.  The standards relating to leadership and management are met.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements that were checked during this inspection. Not all of the standards and associated requirements were checked during this inspection.

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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

Email address headteacher@penarthgroup.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous standard inspection 12–14 March 2019

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was appointed to their position in February 2020.  The school’s last inspection was a standard inspection on 12 March 2019.

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Information about this inspection

 This emergency inspection was commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE).  The inspection was carried out under section 109 of the Education Act 2014. It was carried out with 30 minutes’ notice due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak.  The DfE requested that the inspector report on the independent school standards in respect of the school’s welfare, health and safety for pupils and leadership and management. In particular, the inspector focused on the arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils.  The inspector held discussions with the headteacher and the chief executive of the proprietor company, who is also chair of the governing body. The inspector had a telephone conversation with a virtual headteacher of a local authority that has placed pupils in the school.  The inspector scrutinised a range of school documents relating to the organisation of the school, leadership and management and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

John Nixon, lead inspector Her Majesty’s 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

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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/ofsted .

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Inspection team

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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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