GLADE School

Inspection of GLADE School 49 Junction Road, Totton, Hampshire SO40 3BU

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Sixth-form provision Good 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?

Pupils enjoy coming to Glade School. They are happy and safe. Pupils achieve ambitious goals because of the school’s nurturing approach to supporting pupils with autism spectrum disorders. Learning is planned around pupils’ interests and individual needs. Learning spaces are bespoke to each pupil. For example, some pupils choose to sit at a desk surrounded by their favourite books. Others decorate their spaces with blankets and cushions because this makes them feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff get to know pupils’ needs really well. They have high ambitions for pupils’ behaviour. Staff recognise when a pupil begins to get upset or frustrated. Their calming and prompt approach helps to minimise pupils’ outbursts and impulsive behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Adults help pupils to understand how to communicate positively with others, including when using social media. This is especially important because sometimes pupils do not understand how their words and actions might upset other people. Adults deal with any incidents of bullying very sensitively, but make sure that it stops.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are enthusiastic about the school. They appreciate the regular communication with staff and value the personalised approach to learning. As one said, ‘My child lives a happier, more fulfilled life,’ because of the difference the school makes.

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better?

The leaders and directors’ expertise in autism spectrum disorders has enabled them to set up a school that supports pupils’ special educational needs very effectively. The curriculum meets pupils’ different academic, behavioural and therapeutic needs well. Pupils are safe, cared for and achieve positive outcomes.

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better?

Leaders are still ironing out how best to check that the school’s policies and procedures are working well. Directors have set up a range of systems to keep themselves informed about the school’s effectiveness. However, these systems are not working as well as they should be. Some inexperienced leaders are not using the school’s systems for noting and updating concerns efficiently. Some analysis, for example of attendance and behaviour, is not being conducted well enough. Consequently, those responsible for governance are at risk of not having all the information they need to respond promptly to any issues that arise.

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better?

Adults take time to get to know pupils’ needs, interests and abilities extremely well from the time they join the school. They use this information to plan ambitious programmes of study that are bespoke for each pupil. This approach helps pupils, many of whom have been out of education for some time, to attend school regularly. 2 to 4 November 2021 Teachers typically teach one pupil at a time. Teachers constantly adapt their subject plans to engage each pupil in learning new information and skills. Lessons are carefully structured to build on what each pupil already knows. Resources are tailored to each pupil’s learning needs. Teachers check regularly that pupils have remembered new information and adapt their plans to fill in any gaps in learning. Consequently, pupils gain confidence in their abilities, and their learning in a range of subject areas improves.

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better?

Often pupils who join the school are still in the early stages of learning to read. Staff identify pupils’ gaps in reading when they join the school. Staff use various methods to help pupils fill these gaps, prioritising a phonics approach to help pupils learn to decode unfamiliar words. Some pupils who join the school are able readers but refuse to read for themselves. Adults expertly help such pupils to change their minds, for example by reading to pupils and gently encouraging them to join in. Some pupils read avidly. Adults encourage these pupils to increase the range of books they read by introducing pupils to new authors and genres.

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better?

Pupils’ behaviour is good. Staff achieve this through a strong understanding of autism spectrum disorders, along with a patient and caring approach. Adults are well trained and recognise quickly when a pupil needs more help to regulate their behaviour and maintain their self-control. Pupils learn to be responsible for their actions and respectful of others. This is a significant challenge for some pupils due to the nature of their needs.

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better?

Adults support pupils to develop and maintain good mental health. Leaders have made sure that pupils have access to a range of extra help to meet pupils’ therapeutic needs. Pupils who need extra help get it quickly.

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better?

Pupils’ personal development is prioritised, particularly the development of social skills. The curriculum includes lots of opportunities to understand and thrive in the wider community. There are carefully planned and managed opportunities for pupils to learn to interact with others, for example with small group discussions in school, and visits to local shops and places of interest.

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better?

Throughout their time in school, pupils are encouraged to think about their futures. Regular careers education and opportunities for work experience support this work. Leaders make sure pupils gain qualifications and skills that will help them move on to suitable next stages such as college or work. Those pupils not quite ready by the end of Year 11 stay at the school into the sixth form until they are. One parent, of a pupil who recently left the sixth form, said his son is now happily attending college independently. He said, ‘It’s a huge achievement that did not seem possible before my son joined Glade.’

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 2 to 4 November 2021 Safeguarding is staff’s constant consideration. Leaders and staff are knowledgeable about safeguarding, especially the extra risks that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities face. Adults keep a watchful eye on pupils. They recognise quickly when a pupil needs additional help to keep themselves safe. Leaders make sure that pupils swiftly get the help they need. Leaders communicate well with local authorities when they need to escalate concerns. Pupils feel and are very safe in the school.

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Safeguarding

However, at the start of the inspection, some of the systems designed to support safeguarding practice were not being used well enough, including how frequently risk assessments were updated in the light of new information. This practice was quickly tightened up during the inspection.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Some inexperienced leaders are not as familiar as they need to be with the school’s requirements for recording and analysing information about pupils’ attendance, behaviour and safety. Consequently, there is a risk that leaders and directors do not have all the information they need to respond to any issues that arise. Directors need to make sure their management systems are working as intended, so that they have accurate and up-to-date information on how well the school is doing. This will enable them to respond to any concerns promptly.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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 . 2 to 4 November 2021

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School details

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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sixth form

Proprietor Fair Ways Community Benefit Society

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sixth form

Annual fees (day pupils) £69,519 to £90,343.95

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected 2 to 4 November 2021

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Information about this school

 Glade School is an independent special school for pupils with autism spectrum disorders. Pupils are referred to Glade School by a local authority. All pupils have an education, health and care plan. Several pupils have been out of formal education for some time before coming to the school.  This is the first standard inspection of a newly registered school. The school was registered by the Department for Education in August 2020 and opened as Glade School in September 2020. Before then, the provision operated as an outreach division of Fair Ways School, which is registered with and inspected by Ofsted.  The school uses one registered and three unregistered providers of alternative education.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors 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

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID- 19pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, other senior leaders and a range teachers and other staff. They also met with the director of education, the managing director and the chief executive officer of Fair Ways Community Benefit Society.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: science; mathematics; personal, social and health education; and the ‘careers and transition’ programme. This involved discussion with the leaders of these subjects, checking curriculum plans, visiting lessons, looking at pupils’ work and talking with pupils and staff about learning in these subjects.  Inspectors also visited lessons, spoke to teachers and looked at a sample of pupils’ work from a wider range of subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors met with the designated safeguarding lead and other safeguarding leaders. They spoke to a range of staff and some pupils. Inspectors scrutinised safeguarding records, including those relating to risk assessments, health and safety checks and the safer recruitment of staff.  Inspectors took account of the views of parents through consideration of the four responses to Ofsted’s online parent survey and accompanying free-text comments, and by telephone conversations with four parents. They considered 2 to 4 November 2021 the views of staff through conversations and scrutiny of the 20 responses to the online staff survey. Inspectors spoke to pupils in class and around the school, and considered the five responses to the online pupil survey.  The lead inspector toured the school premises, checked the school’s website, explored the attendance and admissions registers, and scrutinised a range of

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Information about this inspection

other documentation to check that the school complies with the independent school standards.

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Inspection team

Catherine Old, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Sian Thornton Ofsted Inspector 2 to 4 November 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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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