Arbour House School

Inspection of Arbour House School 15–17 Glendinning Avenue, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 7QF

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management 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?

Arbour House provides a calm and nurturing environment for pupils to learn. Pupils are happy and safe. Staff know pupils and their families well. Many pupils arrive following poor experiences in education. The overwhelming majority of parents and carers appreciate the care and support the school provides for their children.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Pupils develop trusting relationships with adults. Pastoral support is strong. Pupils receive individualised provision that includes preparing them for the next steps in their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff support pupils to learn in a calm and purposeful environment. Pupils learn to manage their behaviour through clear routines and the positive relationships they have built with adults. Adults adapt readily to changes in pupils’ behaviour to ensure that learning is not disrupted. Staff promote a positive ethos of respect in the school. In turn, pupils value and respect others. Bullying is rare.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders ensure that pupils receive a curriculum that supports their personal development alongside their academic needs. This curriculum is responsive to the needs of the individual.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have high ambition for every pupil at the school. This ambition is shared among the whole staff team. Staff morale is high. They appreciate the determined leadership of the headteacher. Leaders and staff understand the needs of pupils well. All are pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, leaders organise personalised and flexible curriculums to enable staff to respond to pupils’ needs and adapt learning accordingly.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders prioritise reading. Staff recognise the importance of all pupils being able to read. Teachers ensure that relevant support is in place for those working towards examinations. Pupils in the younger years are supported in learning to read through a well-structured phonics scheme. Staff carefully assess where pupils are in their learning and adapt teaching where necessary. Staff look to pupils’ interests to provide a range of books to support their love of reading.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Older pupils say they like reading. They read a range of high-quality texts as part of the English curriculum and through books they select for themselves from the local library. Pupils talk about the range of books they have read and enjoyed. Staff provide pupils with regular opportunities to read across the week. This provides pupils with the time to immerse themselves in a range of different stories for enjoyment.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have developed individualised learning pathways linked to the national curriculum to organise knowledge and skills across a range of subjects. Everyday living skills are woven throughout the curriculum. In art and English, careful consideration has been given to what learning comes when and how new learning builds on what pupils know. Staff carefully check pupils’ prior understanding. They provide frequent 17 to 19 May 2022 feedback for them to improve their work. However, this is still developing in other subjects. Key content staff want pupils to know is not always broken down in precise detail. As a result, some pupils do not gain the range and depth of knowledge they should over time.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Staff receive frequent training in how to support pupils with complex needs, including their social and emotional needs. As a result, staff understand how to develop pupils’ communication skills, which enables pupils to access more of the planned curriculum.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Pupils’ behaviour is managed well. Clear routines and planned sensory activities at the start of the school day enable pupils to settle to learning successfully. When pupils struggle with their behaviour, staff react sensitively using personalised strategies to support pupils to re-engage with their learning.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders place pupils’ personal development at the forefront of the curriculum. Carefully planned opportunities allow pupils to experience independence and develop self- awareness. The personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum enables pupils to develop into well-rounded citizens. Through careful conversation, pupils consider aspects of their well-being, including healthy relationships. Staff provide pupils with many opportunities to learn how to live independent lives. These include using public transport and visiting local areas of interest, such as the gym and libraries, as well as developing their cultural understanding through visits to London.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Governors and the proprietor board understand their responsibilities and provide effective challenge to leaders. They have an accurate view of the school and its strengths. They ensure that the school meets the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. Leaders support staff well. Staff are proud to work and the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have clear processes in place to keep pupils physically and emotionally safe. Relevant checks are carried out when appointing new staff. Staff know that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. They receive regular and comprehensive safeguarding training. Staff understand how to recognise and report any concerns about a child’s welfare. They know leaders take all concerns seriously.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe through PSHE lessons, visits to the local community and through discussions.

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Safeguarding

Relevant safeguarding policies are available on the school’s website for parents. 17 to 19 May 2022

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Many areas of the curriculum, such as English and art, have been well designed and implemented. However, leaders have not yet developed other areas of learning to the same level so that pupils learn as well as they could. Leaders need to ensure that knowledge develops systematically across all subjects so that all pupils know more and remember more over time in all subjects.

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How can I feed back my views?

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 . 17 to 19 May 2022

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School details

Unique reference number 143642 DfE registration number 838/6039

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School details

Inspection number 10212958 Type of school Other Independent Special School

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School details

Email address arbouradmin@potens-education.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26 to 28 June 2018 17 to 19 May 2022

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Information about this school

 Arbour House is a special school which provides education for pupils with autism spectrum disorder, complex personal, social and emotional health issues and learning difficulties. All pupils have an education, health and care plan.  Pupils attend from a number of local authorities across the region.  The school does not use alternative provision.  Since the last inspection, the school applied for a material change to increase the number of pupils the school could accommodate and the age range of pupils. The capacity now stands at 25 and the school takes pupils from the age of 6 to 18.

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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 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-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, the regional director and chief executive of Potens and the chair of the governing board.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, art and PSHE, including living skills. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of work.  Inspectors met with the designated safeguarding lead and regional director to evaluate the school’s safeguarding procedures and to check safeguarding records, including the school’s single central record.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors carried out a range of activities to confirm whether the independent school standards were met in full. Activities included: consideration of the site and premises, scrutinising the information the school provides to parents, including the complaints policy, and records and considering how well leaders ensure that pupils’ health, safety and welfare are protected.  Inspectors considered responses to the staff survey, spoke to parents either face to face or on the telephone and took into account the free-text responses from Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. 17 to 19 May 2022

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Inspection team

Heather Barraclough, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Susan Aykin Her Majesty’s Inspector 17 to 19 May 2022 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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