Compass Community Cledford Park

Inspection of Compass Community School Cheshire Cledford House, Cledford Lane, Middlewich, Cheshire CW10 0JN

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

From the moment that they join the school, pupils feel valued, listened to and safe. This helps them to enjoy school. This is important given the traumatic experiences that pupils have experienced in the past.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are helped to overcome their challenges with the support of staff, therapists, parents and carers. That said, there are no excuses. Pupils are expected to treat other pupils and staff with respect, follow the rules and complete the work set.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are interested and enthusiastic learners and enjoy the planned activities. Pupils begin to learn across a wide range of subjects. However, planned learning does not always build on what pupils already know and can do. This means that they are not learning as much knowledge as they can or remembering their learning readily.

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What is it like to attend this school?

As pupils settle in, they start to focus on the future. Pupils work towards relevant qualifications, including GCSEs. They know that these will help them to secure future careers. Pupils learn how to look after themselves, for example by preparing healthy meals. They are encouraged to develop hobbies. For example, pupils enjoy horse riding and dance.

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better?

Leaders receive limited academic information about most pupils when they join the school. Additionally, many pupils have experienced considerable gaps in their education. Staff carry out baseline assessments. However, these do not always provide teaching staff with the information that they need to plan pupils’ learning. This makes it tricky for teaching staff to plan activities that build on what pupils know and can do. This wastes valuable learning time for pupils.

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better?

Some curriculum plans include guidance for teachers to help them to teach the different subjects. Additionally, there are resources available for staff to use with pupils. That said, not all teachers know about this guidance or the resources available to them. Consequently, staff spend more time than they need to plan and prepare learning activities.

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better?

Teaching staff get to know pupils well. They use what they know about pupils’ interests and aptitudes to plan lessons which engage pupils. Often, pupils only attend the school for a very short time. Teaching staff try to prioritise learning which will help pupils make the most of their time at this school. For example, in personal, social and health education (PSHE), teaching staff have replaced this term’s planned content with a unit on mental health. This learning is helping pupils to identify, manage and seek help for poor mental health if they need to do so. 15 to 16 June 2021

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Most pupils have struggled with attendance, behaviour and learning in their previous schools. The planned curriculum helps pupils to have a positive attitude to learning. Pupils say that they are making better progress at this school than they did in their previous schools.

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Good relationships are at the heart of this school. Adults quickly gain the trust of pupils and help them to recognise when they are feeling angry or upset. Pupils appreciate staff helping them to better regulate their emotions and behave well. This reduces the level and frequency of serious incidents taking place so pupils can concentrate on learning.

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Most pupils at the school have an education, health and care (EHC) plan. Teaching staff work well with therapeutic staff to provide for pupils’ complex social, emotional and mental health needs. That said, leaders do not always ensure that teachers use the information in these EHC plans effectively when planning learning.

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Leaders and staff support pupils to be prepared for their next steps, whatever and whenever they may be. Right from the start, adults work with pupils to ascertain their aspirations and ambitions. Leaders provide pupils with opportunities to help them achieve these outcomes. For example, leaders have made arrangements so that pupils can continue to study the GCSE subjects they chose in their previous school.

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The experienced governing body has rigorous systems in place to check on the effectiveness of the school. Members make sure that the independent school standards are met consistently. For example, they make sure important policies such as safeguarding are available on the school’s website. Leaders have installed ramps to improve access to the school buildings for people with disabilities. This is part of the proprietor body’s ongoing commitment as set out in the accessibility plan.

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Governors have made sure that the school has suitable curriculum plans in place. However, they have not had sufficient oversight of the quality of education to pinpoint what is going well and what needs to improve.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff make sure that they keep pupils as safe as they can. Leaders carry out thorough checks to make sure that all adults are suitable to work with pupils. There is frequent training so that staff understand their roles and responsibilities. Staff are highly vigilant. They act quickly on any concerns. Leaders keep track of those pupils who leave the school at short notice, to make sure that they get back into education. School and specialist staff, such as the therapy team, make sure that pupils understand the risks that they face and how to manage them. 15 to 16 June 2021

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Leaders have mapped out how pupils’ knowledge and skills should develop over time. Governors have not checked that leaders and staff are delivering the subject curriculum plans as intended. This means that leaders have not identified whether pupils are learning more and remembering more. Leaders should ensure that they monitor carefully how the curriculum is being taught and identify the help and support that teaching staff need.  Leaders have not ensured that teaching staff are clear about how assessment is used. Leaders should ensure that teaching staff use assessment to find out pupils’ starting points and check on pupils’ learning across the curriculum over time. They should ensure that this is used to inform curriculum planning and enable pupils to build on what they know and can do, right from the start.  Governors review a range of performance data frequently to assure themselves about the school’s effectiveness. They make checks on many aspects of the

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

school’s work but do not focus on some of the most important aspects. Governors have not monitored the effectiveness of the delivery of the curriculum and its impact on pupils’ progress. Governors should ensure that they have systems in place to check the effectiveness of the planned curriculum so that pupils achieve well.  Many of the pupils at the school have EHC plans. These set out the provision required and expected outcomes for each pupil. There is not enough emphasis on overseeing the day-to-day implementation of these plans. Leaders do not always check that these pupils get the specific help and support that is required. Leaders should make sure that EHC plans are used more effectively to meet the different needs of these pupils. This will help this group of pupils make better progress.

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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 . 15 to 16 June 2021

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School details

Unique reference number 148047 DfE registration number 895/6019

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School details

Inspection number 10193276 Type of school Other Independent Special School

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School details

Email address martin.mcmeel@compass-schools.org

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected 15 to 16 June 2021

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Information about this school

 The school was registered by the Department for Education on 17 November 2020.  This is the school’s first standard inspection.  The school caters for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. Pupils usually join the school with significant gaps in their learning. Many have suffered traumatic experiences and had multiple previous school moves.  Almost all pupils have an EHC plan. Most are children looked after.  The school does not currently make use of any alternative provision.  The school operates from one site: Cledford House, Cledford Lane, Middlewich, CW10 0JN.

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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

 During the inspection, the inspector met with the executive headteacher, headteacher and staff. The inspector also met the subject leaders and the senior leader responsible for teaching, learning and curriculum for Compass Community schools. The inspector met with the members of the proprietor body and the chair of the governing body.  The inspector considered responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and confidential questionnaires completed by staff.  The inspector met with the people responsible for safeguarding in the school. The inspector scrutinised a range of documentation in relation to safeguarding. The inspector spoke to staff, parents and pupils about safeguarding. The inspector also considered the survey responses from staff and parents around safeguarding.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour throughout the school day. The inspector spoke to pupils about bullying, behaviour and leaders’ expectations of

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Information about this inspection

pupils. The inspector also considered pupils’ responses to a recent survey carried out by the school.  The inspector carried out deep dives into these subjects: English, mathematics and PSHE. For each subject, the inspector spoke with the subject leader, teaching staff and pupils, and examined curriculum plans for the subject. The inspector visited lessons in the subject being taught during the inspection and reviewed pupils’ work. The inspector extended the scope to look at physical education. 15 to 16 June 2021

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 Throughout all inspection activities, the inspector gathered evidence about whether the school meets the independent school standards.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the 2020-21 COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders of the school, and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.

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Inspection team

Pippa Jackson Maitland, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector 15 to 16 June 2021

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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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