Purbeck View School

Inspection of Purbeck View School Northbrook Road, Swanage, Dorset BH19 1PR

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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 at Purbeck View School are well cared for. Staff are on hand to make every day as successful as it can be for pupils. They know pupils well and go to great lengths to provide a curriculum that matches their interests and needs. Leaders’ expectations for pupils are high. In most cases, these expectations are realised.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The local community plays a vital role in school life. Pupils get to know the local area and take part in local events. Leaders make the most of local facilities to enhance pupils’ experiences. For example, pupils are involved in feeding the horses at a nearby farm. Staff increasingly prepare pupils for life outside school and for adulthood. Through reading, pupils are increasingly able to identify key places using road signs and to read bus timetables.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff manage and support pupils’ behaviour well. Bullying does not occur. Adults support pupils to work with and alongside one another.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a calm place to be. Pupils make the most of the outside space, including tending to the vast garden. Staff keep a watchful eye on pupils and encourage them to communicate their feelings. Pupils are safe.

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better?

Leaders have ensured that the independent school standards (the standards) are met in full. They have created a culture where staff feel valued and appreciated. Staff are positive about how well leaders manage their workload and well-being.

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better?

Leaders at all levels have increased their understanding of the quality of education. Because of this, they have been able to bring about improvements to reading. They have designed a curriculum that is broad and ambitious and that considers the needs and interests of pupils. Currently, school leaders’ understanding of how well staff are bringing the curriculum to life is less clear. Senior leaders are developing middle leaders to help improve this aspect of their work.

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better?

The proprietor body uses a wealth of information to ensure that the school is performing as it should. The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. The proprietor body has recently turned its attention to improving its monitoring and improvement of the quality of education that the school provides, including through external support. It is too early to see the impact of this work.

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better?

The school exclusively provides education for pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan. Leaders consider EHC plan targets closely. They break these targets into smaller, achievable chunks and use these to form pupils’ learning plans. In most cases, the curriculum closely matches pupils’ needs, but this is not yet consistent. 22 to 24 March 2022 All pupils, including students in the sixth form, require phonics support. For the earliest readers, pupils follow an appropriate phonics programme to help them learn and recognise more sounds. Teachers use assessment information to find out which sounds pupils struggle with. Pupils are beginning to use these sounds in words and sentences, but this work is still in its early days. Pupils read, or listen to someone reading, daily. Leaders have chosen reading books carefully and invested well in the school library. Pupils visit the school and community libraries to help further their

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better?

Across the curriculum, pupils learn what they need in order to become increasingly independent. Staff help pupils to learn important knowledge and skills, often through repeating activities until pupils are familiar with these. Over time, pupils carry out tasks with little or no instruction, for example in knowing to secure wood with G-clamps before sawing, or the steps needed to tidy up the space in which they have been working. Students in the sixth form benefit from a rich, varied curriculum to help them plan for adulthood.

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better?

Leaders encourage pupils to forge links with the local community. They achieve this through activities such as carrying out newspaper rounds, getting to know people who keep them safe, such as police officers and lifeguards, and trips to local shops and facilities. In school, the curriculum supports pupils with important life skills such as cooking and hygiene. The school’s relationships and sex education curriculum helps pupils learn about concepts such as consent and appropriate touch. The school’s careers programme provides advice and support for pupils, but these vary in quality.

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better?

Staff manage pupils’ behaviour well. They get to know pupils well. Staff consider pupils’ behaviour as a means of communicating how they are feeling. Pupils attended school throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Their current attendance is strong. Leaders take effective action if pupils’ attendance needs to improve.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders complete necessary recruitment checks on new staff in a timely manner. Once appointed, staff receive a thorough induction so that they are prepared for their new role well. Staff continue to get the up-to-date training they need, focusing on local and national concerns, such as the ‘Prevent’ duty and sexual abuse and violence against girls. Staff know how to spot potential concerns about a pupil’s welfare and pass these on to leaders. Record-keeping is detailed and robust, helping leaders to spot any emerging patterns. Leaders keep in contact with local authorities, social workers and the local area designated officer appropriately. 22 to 24 March 2022

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Teachers do not use their knowledge of pupils to adapt the school’s curriculum with sufficient precision for some pupils. When this occurs, learning is less closely matched to pupils’ needs. This can limit the progress that pupils make. Leaders need to ensure that teachers use assessment information to adapt the curriculum with greater precision.  Careers support for pupils is not as robust as it should be. Pupils do not consistently get the high-quality advice they need to prepare them for life after school. Leaders need to tighten up this aspect of their work so that all pupils receive consistently strong careers advice and support.  Leaders at all levels are building up their understanding of how good the quality of education is. This work is in its infancy. As a result, the curriculum, and how well it is taught, vary in quality. Leaders need to monitor the quality of education more closely, providing support, training and challenge where needed.

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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 . 22 to 24 March 2022

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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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Website

www.cambiangroup.com/specialist- education/our-schools/autism- schools/purbeck-view-school/ Email address paul.kniveton@cambiangroup.com

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Website

Date of previous inspection 8 to 10 January 2019 22 to 24 March 2022

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Information about this school

 All pupils have autism spectrum disorder.  All pupils have an EHC plan, funded by a wide range of local authorities.  The school is registered for 57 pupils between the ages of seven and 19 years old.  The school does not use any alternative providers.  All pupils attend the school full time.

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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 had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders, and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading; personal, social and health education; mathematics; and physical education. Inspectors met with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke to teachers, communicated with some pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work. Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about how they support pupils’ personal development.  The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead to consider staff recruitment procedures and the school’s safeguarding arrangements. He also spoke with two members of the proprietor body and the regional education leader.  The lead inspector carried out activities to consider how well the school meets the standards. This included: a detailed tour of the site and premises; scrutinising the school’s single central record; and considering documents, policies and plans linked to the health, safety and welfare of pupils, such as the fire risk assessment

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Information about this inspection

and checks on fire safety equipment.  Inspectors considered pupils’ behaviour throughout the inspection. Inspectors also spoke with leaders to consider how they support pupils’ behaviour and attendance. 22 to 24 March 2022  The lead inspector considered responses to the Ofsted staff survey, alongside seven responses to the online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View. This included six free-text responses from parents and carers.

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Inspection team

Nathan Kemp, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

John White Ofsted Inspector 22 to 24 March 2022 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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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