Applied Educational Solutions

Inspection of Applied Educational Solutions 10 Central Parade, Green Street, Enfield EN3 7HG

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

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

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils join this school with the intention to be here for a short period of time. They arrive after a difficult time at their previous school or after not being in school recently. Leaders aim to make pupils enjoy learning again. They want pupils to be able to move onto their next school ready for learning in the classroom.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Despite the difficulties the pupils have faced previously, leaders are keen for them to do well and achieve their goals. Leaders offer a broad range of subjects. However, leaders have not carefully planned what they want pupils to learn while they are at the school. They do not regularly assess the ability of pupils when they arrive at the school. This means they cannot effectively plan to meet the pupils’ academic needs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are cared for and feel safe at school. They have not had a good experience previously, but leaders get pupils engaged with school once more and make a positive difference to their attendance. Pupils can find social situations difficult and this can lead to bullying. Staff do not tolerate this and act quickly. They talk with the pupils to help them understand why their behaviour was wrong.

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better?

Leaders teach pupils a range of subjects from English, mathematics and science, to art and physical education (PE). Pupils have lesson time for reading, writing and mathematics every day. Staff lead PE lessons in the park, at a local boxing gym and at another school’s swimming pool. However, the knowledge that leaders want pupils to learn in these subjects is not defined. It is also not clear how knowledge is built over time so that pupils can know and remember more. For example, in science, pupils were learning about power and energy. The subject plans do not provide any information on what knowledge about power and energy pupils should know. The subject plans are also not followed consistently. For example, in the subject plan for science, power and energy follows the topic of insulation. However, pupils had previously learned about plants instead of insulation. This does not help pupils to increase their scientific knowledge in a logical way. Pupils do not achieve as

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better?

Pupils do not arrive at the school with detailed information about the things they can and cannot do. Therefore, leaders need to assess pupils so that they can plan learning to help pupils build their knowledge. This is challenging for leaders as pupils may not wish to engage in this assessment. However, leaders have not developed a consistent system to deal with this. Some pupils are assessed and some are not. Some pupils complete assessments, but the assessments are not checked by a teacher. This means staff do not know the gaps that exist in pupils’ knowledge. The curriculum planning is not tailored well enough to help pupils close gaps in their knowledge or build on the knowledge that they have.

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better?

Leaders have a vision for pupils to control their own behaviour and be ready to return to mainstream or specialist schools. Each pupil has a key worker. These staff 15–17 June 2021 work with pupils to build their confidence and self-esteem so that they are ready to learn. Staff praise pupils often and pupils receive reward points when they demonstrate good behaviour. If pupils behave poorly, they receive negative points. Pupils discuss their behaviour as a group three times a day.

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better?

Leaders work hard with parents and carers to improve attendance. Pupils arrive with poor attendance at their previous schools. Leaders demonstrated the positive impact they have on pupils’ attendance once they join this school. Staff work effectively with pupils to help them to learn to manage their behaviour. Leaders respond to pupils’ interests when they choose what to teach and when to teach it. However, this affects the order of the topics taught. Consequently, aspects of the curriculum are not delivered in a logical way. This makes it harder for pupils to build their knowledge and remember it.

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better?

Staff are not all specialist teachers. They are teaching pupils with complex needs across several different subjects. Staff do not always have the subject knowledge they need to teach in all curriculum areas. Some staff also lack the skills to know the best way to teach a subject, for example teaching pupils who are at the early stages of learning to read. Leaders do not have a strategy to teach phonics and staff lack training in this area. Where staff had better subject knowledge, pupils learned more effectively.

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better?

Leaders plan how to help pupils develop their character. Staff work closely with individual pupils and they encourage them to think about their actions and how they affect others. If pupils show a lack of tolerance to each other, staff deal with it straight away. Leaders then follow this up in personal, social, health and economic education lessons.

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better?

Before the pandemic, leaders took pupils on a residential trip to Lea Valley water park. As well as participating in canoeing, pupils cooked and ate together. This helped improve their social skills. Leaders organise visits from guest speakers and local colleges to talk about careers and college courses.

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better?

Pupils at the school have a range of needs. Some pupils have an education, health and care plan. Leaders do not always receive accurate information about pupils’ abilities when they arrive at the school. Leaders focus on improving pupils’ social skills when they arrive at the school. They want pupils to be ready to learn in a classroom. However, leaders do not assess pupils’ academic ability quickly and plan their learning well enough.

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better?

The proprietor and chair of governors have good knowledge of the school and its pupils. Governors meet regularly to support and challenge the proprietor. Minutes of these meetings show that governors visit the school and ask probing questions. For example, on a visit to the school, governors identified the lack of initial assessments of pupils’ needs. The school has an accessibility plan and is compliant with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. 15–17 June 2021 The proprietor is passionate about providing a good education to pupils who have struggled in their previous schools. He leads staff well to meet the social and emotional needs of the pupils. He has thought through the school’s priorities for relationships and sex education and targeted this to the needs of the pupils in the school.

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better?

Leaders have not ensured that the independent school standards related to the quality of education provided have been met.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The school has a safeguarding policy and this is in line with current government guidance. It is available on the school website.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff know the pupils well and know what local issues may affect them. They teach pupils how to stay safe online. Leaders work closely with outside agencies to ensure that pupils get the support they need. All staff have received safeguarding training. They know how to record details of issues that pupils report to them and who to refer them to.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Staff do not accurately assess pupils’ individual needs and the gaps in their knowledge when they join the school. This means that the work that staff set for pupils does not support them to gain sufficient knowledge. Leaders should find ways of checking pupils’ prior knowledge. They should use this information to adapt the curriculum and help pupils build their knowledge.  Leaders have not fully planned the curriculum. They do not identify the core knowledge they want pupils to know and remember across the subjects. As a result, pupils’ learning experiences are not coherent. Leaders need to plan the sequence of learning more thoughtfully and be clear about what they want pupils to know and remember.  Staff’s training and development to improve their subject and pedagogical expertise is infrequent. This means that staff do not always have the subject knowledge and skills they need to teach effectively. Leaders should make sure

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

that staff gain the expertise to deliver a planned curriculum effectively so that pupils can make progress through the curriculum. In particular, staff require training in teaching phonics to pupils at the early stages of learning to read. 15–17 June 2021

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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 . 15–17 June 2021

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School details

Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Website www.appliededucationalsolutions.com/

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School details

Email address admin@appliededucationalsolutions.com

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 and 15 May 2019 15–17 June 2021

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Information about this school

 Applied Educational Solutions is an independent day school for up to 10 pupils.  The school’s last standard inspection was in May 2019.  The school provides an alternative provision for pupils who have social, emotional and mental health difficulties and many have additional learning needs. Some pupils have an education, health and care plan.  The school makes use of local parks, a boxing club and another independent school’s swimming pool for physical education and recreational activity.  The school does not use any other alternative provision.  Some pupils have been permanently excluded from their previous school. Pupils may be placed in the school by the local authority. Other pupils are referred to the school from a mainstream school. Some of these pupils remain on roll at their original school as they spend a fixed period at the provision.  The school does not receive additional funding, including pupil premium funding

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Information about this school

or Year 7 catch-up premium.  The school operates a breakfast club each morning.

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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 has failed to meet the independent school standards. These are the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the proprietor, who is also the headteacher, the chair of governors and other staff.  Inspectors did deep dives in these subjects: reading, English, mathematics, PE and science. Inspectors discussed these subjects with the proprietor and the supply teacher, looked at pupils’ work, visited lessons and spoke with pupils.  Inspectors checked the single central register of staff’s suitability. Inspectors held meetings with the designated safeguarding lead and the chair of governors. Inspectors spoke with staff about their safeguarding training.  Inspectors toured the premises and looked at a range of documentation to check the school’s compliance with the independent school standards.  The Department for Education commissioned Ofsted to carry out this inspection earlier in the cycle than planned. 15–17 June 2021

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Inspection team

Mark Smith, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

David Radomsky Her Majesty’s Inspector 15–17 June 2021

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

 2(1) The standard in this paragraph is met if-

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 2(1)(a) the proprietor ensures that a written policy on the curriculum, supported by appropriate plans and schemes of work, which provides for the matters specified in sub-paragraph (2) is drawn up and implemented effectively; and

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 2(1)(b) the written policy, plans and schemes of work-

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 2(1)(b)(i) take into account the ages, aptitudes and needs of all pupils, including those pupils with an EHC plan.

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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-

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 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;

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 3(c) involves well planned lessons and effective teaching methods, activities and management of class time;

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 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 1. Quality of education provided

– 3(e) demonstrates good knowledge and understanding of the subject matter being taught;

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 3(f) utilises effectively classroom resources of a good quality, quantity and range;

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 3(g) demonstrates that a framework is in place to assess pupils’ work regularly and thoroughly and use information from that assessment to plan teaching so that pupils can progress.

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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-

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

– 34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently; 15–17 June 2021 – 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently. 15–17 June 2021 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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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