The Henslow and Evolution School

Inspection of The Henslow and Evolution School Middletown, Nr Welshpool, Shropshire SY21 8FF

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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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?

This is a school where pupils thrive. Most pupils arrive following unsettled and disrupted periods of education. However, pupils settle into the school quickly. Adults get to know pupils and their individual needs. Staff are ambitious and support pupils to realise these high expectations. Pupils gain a variety of qualifications in a wide range of subjects. They develop confidence and self-belief. They leave the school ready to flourish in the next stage of their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe. They develop very strong and trusting relationships with staff. Pupils behave exceptionally well. Disruption to learning is rare. If pupils do become angry or upset, staff skilfully support pupils to acknowledge their feelings and manage their own behaviour. This means that pupils quickly return to their learning. Incidents of bullying are very rare. If they do occur, staff quickly deal with any issues.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders ensure that pupils study a broad and balanced curriculum. The school’s unique curriculum allows pupils to learn skills they would not ordinarily learn in school. For example, pupils learn to ski, horse ride, climb and play Japanese drums.

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better?

Leaders have established a well-designed curriculum that builds towards ambitious end goals. Pupils study a bespoke curriculum that reflects their interests and unlocks their potential. All pupils study English and mathematics, with many working towards qualifications at GCSE level. The wider curriculum is designed around individual pupils’ strengths and interests. Leaders ensure that pupils gain a range of qualifications which equip them to be successful in future education or employment.

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better?

Leaders use assessment well to identify gaps in pupils’ prior learning. In the core subjects of English and mathematics, leaders quickly identify areas that need to be revisited and consolidated. This includes identifying gaps in pupils’ phonic knowledge. Leaders carefully identify the sounds that pupils find difficult and quickly support them to catch up. Pupils who are in the early stages of learning to read, read books that are well matched to the sounds they know. Leaders have thought carefully about the books that they want the pupils to know and love. Leaders carefully develop pupils’ understanding of different texts through learning in other curriculum areas. For example, in history, pupils learn about America in the 1930s while studying Of Mice and Men in Year 9. This helps pupils to secure a deep understanding of the texts they study.

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better?

Plans in some other subjects are not always as well sequenced. Leaders carefully plan what needs to be taught over time. However, they have not clearly identified the essential knowledge that should be prioritised. This means that leaders do not always know what gaps to address and in what order in these subjects. Therefore, pupils do not progress as well as they could. 10 to 12 January 2023 Pupils arrive at the school with many additional needs that have made learning a challenge for them in the past. Leaders and staff work hard to understand pupils’ needs so that bespoke support can be put in place. They work closely with specialists, such as speech and language therapists and educational psychologists to identify the most effective support. Teachers are skilled at putting provision in place to meet pupils’ sensory processing needs or emotional and mental health needs. However, some teachers do not always consider pupils’ speech, language and

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better?

communication needs when adapting the curriculum in classes. This means that some pupils do not learn or communicate in lessons as well as they could.

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better?

The curriculum is enriched to give pupils opportunities to learn skills that will prepare them for life. Deliberate thought is put into learning opportunities that develop pupils’ character. For example, pupils in the secondary phase are taught to ski. This happens in the autumn term as leaders want pupils to develop resilience early in the school year. One leader explained, ‘They will fall down, but they learn to get back up again. They use this experience to build on all challenges they face in the future.’ Leaders take great care to enrich timetables to allow pupils to flourish. For example, pupils learn to ride and take care of horses, rock climb and take part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme. Pupils receive regular impartial careers guidance to support them in their decisions for the future. In lessons, staff plan personal, social and health education (PSHE) lessons carefully to consider the

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better?

individual needs and backgrounds of pupils. Pupils learn in depth about other cultures and religions. They are tolerant and respectful.

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better?

Pupils’ behaviour improves significantly over time. Staff are experts at spotting when a pupil is anxious or beginning to display challenging behaviours. Staff remain calm and follow pupils’ individual behaviour plans consistently. Staff expertly support pupils to return to learning as quickly as possible, with minimal impact on lessons. Relationships between staff and pupils are incredibly strong. Pupils talk with immense pride about how they work towards achieving challenging qualifications. As one pupil said, ‘I could never have achieved this in my other schools.’

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better?

The proprietor body ensures that the independent school standards are consistently met. The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. Leaders make sure that all policies are available on request. The proprietor body considers staff’s workload carefully. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about working in the school. They feel well supported by leaders.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that a culture of safeguarding is at the heart of everything they do. Records kept are extremely detailed. Staff are well trained in logging all concerns. As one staff member summarised, ‘We log everything as this could be the last piece of the puzzle for a bigger picture.’

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They have detailed lessons about how to 10 to 12 January 2023 keep safe online. Leaders keep themselves abreast of emerging issues in the local area and adapt learning accordingly.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make careful checks on the suitability of adults who work at the school. The safeguarding policy takes into account the latest government requirements. The policy is published on the school’s website.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 In some subjects, leaders have not ensured that the essential knowledge they want pupils to remember is made clear. They have also not ensured that the curriculum in these subjects is well sequenced. This means that pupils do not learn as well as they could in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that in all curriculum foundation subjects, the key knowledge that they want pupils to remember is made clear and that this content is taught in a logical order.  The provision for pupils’ cognition, learning, communication and interaction needs are not consistently implemented in all classes. This means that at times, pupils do not have opportunities to learn and communicate as well as they could. Leaders should ensure that for these pupils plans explicitly focus on these areas of need and that staff implement such plans effectively.

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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. 10 to 12 January 2023

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School details

School category Independent special school

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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form

Telephone number 01743 850517 or 01938 739077

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form

Email address jacqui.brooks@reflexionseducation.org.uk

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form

Date of previous inspection 26 to 28 March 2019 10 to 12 January 2023

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Information about this school

 The school is situated over two sites, approximately 10 miles apart. Primary-age pupils are usually placed in Evolution School. Secondary-age pupils are taught in Henslow School.  There is a headteacher working across both sites.  All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Most also have an educational, health and care plan. The school caters for pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. Pupils are referred to the school by a large number of local authorities.  Pupils enter the school at different stages of their education. Most have experienced long periods of disruption to their formal education before they join.  The school is one of a group of schools managed by Reflexions Care Group Limited.  Leaders currently use two unregistered alternative education provisions and three registered provisions.  The school does not have a religious character.

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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-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the headteacher and the deputy headteachers. Inspectors also met the special educational needs coordinator, teachers and teaching assistants.  The lead inspector met a representative of the proprietor body.  Inspectors completed deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics, computing and PSHE. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, discussed the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors looked at a range of documents, including policies, curriculum plans, health and safety records, behaviour records and the school’s improvement plan.  The lead inspector reviewed the school’s safeguarding policy along with a range 10 to 12 January 2023 of safeguarding information. This work included scrutiny of the school’s single central record of checks made on adults. Inspectors checked staff’s safeguarding

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Information about this inspection

training and spoke to staff about safeguarding procedures.  Inspectors reviewed responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil questionnaires. They also considered responses to Ofsted Parent View.  The lead inspector toured both of the school sites to check that they met the requirements of the independent school standards.

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Inspection team

Eve Morris, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Chris Pollitt His Majesty’s Inspector 10 to 12 January 2023 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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