William Morris School

Inspection of William Morris School Eastington, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire GL10 3SH

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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 Not previously inspected

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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 have settled in well to their new school. Staff take the time to learn about pupils’ needs and interests. This puts pupils at ease. Pupils have begun to forge friendships and share mutual interests with their peers. For example, one group goes off site for pony care sessions. Another group visits a local workshop where they craft musical instruments and experiment with silverwork.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school benefits from extensive outdoor space and established gardens. Increasingly, pupils are involved in tending the land by planting and growing fruits and vegetables. They enjoy developing their understanding of science and geography through horticulture.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils improve their social and communication skills in therapy sessions. There are opportunities in class for pupils to participate in discussions. Over time, pupils become increasingly confident to contribute. They know that positive, respectful behaviour is expected of them and demonstrate this most of the time.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Already, in their short time at the school, pupils have visited a wildlife centre, gone to a pantomime and have been ice skating. Visitors are regularly brought into school to help bring the curriculum to life. Through the student council, pupils make their views known. This leads to real change; for example, their request for a climbing frame has been accepted.

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better?

During the school’s first year, leaders have succeeded in establishing a positive school culture. Staff have developed productive and trusting relationships with pupils. Many pupils have made significant improvements to their behaviour as a result of the calm and consistent way that leaders and staff make their expectations clear. The school’s therapy team works directly with pupils on their behavioural challenges. Most of the time, pupils learn alongside one another without distraction. Parents and carers have noticed a positive difference in their children’s attitudes towards school. This is reflected in the very high attendance of most pupils.

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better?

Leaders are ambitious for pupils, all of whom have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school caters for pupils who have so far found it hard to learn successfully in school; many pupils have had a difficult start to life due to their personal circumstances. The school does this well. Leaders consider what pupils could achieve in the long term and provide a curriculum to support that. The curriculum is broad and interesting. Pupils enjoy their learning and feel challenged.

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better?

The curriculum rightly prioritises pupils’ literacy, numeracy and personal and social skills. The learning provided for pupils is well matched to their academic stage. Teaching is informed by ongoing assessment which is used by staff to form a picture of pupils’ knowledge and understanding. This practice is especially strong in the curriculum for early reading. Staff work one to one with pupils to address the gaps 13 to 16 June 2023 in their phonic knowledge. As a result, pupils read with increasing accuracy and fluency.

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better?

Leaders recognise that some pupils will soon be ready to begin work towards formal qualifications. They have begun to introduce pupils to curriculum content that will prepare them for GCSE study. However, this aspect of the curriculum is in development. Leaders have identified a need to enhance subject knowledge among staff, so that they can teach the curriculum content at this level confidently. There are schemes of learning in place to support staff and pupils in their work towards qualifications, but these have not yet been adapted to meet the particular needs of the pupils in the school.

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better?

There is a well-established framework for assessment of pupils’ achievements in different subjects. However, this does not always help staff to focus on the most important curriculum content. Leaders have begun to develop new approaches which are designed to help pupils to learn and remember the most important knowledge. These are not yet well established across the school. Consequently, some of the time that staff spend on assessment does not contribute as well as it could to pupils’ learning.

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better?

Leaders’ vision is for the school to become a specialist centre for arts, crafts and horticulture. The school has excellent facilities and grounds to support these subjects. Already, pupils are enjoying opportunities to use these resources. There is some subject learning under way and more planned. For example, pupils will work with a local charity on a print-making project in the coming weeks. Specialist subject staff are in place. However, there remains a need to develop accreditation routes so that pupils can fulfil their potential in these subjects.

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better?

Pupils place a high value on the teaching they receive in personal, social and health education (PSHE). This includes elements of relationships and sex education. Through these subjects, pupils gain knowledge that will help to keep them safe. Increasingly, pupils participate in small-group discussions. They share their knowledge maturely, showing tolerance and understanding of others.

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better?

Leaders place pupils’ career aspirations at the heart of their planning for each individual. The school is run by the Novalis charitable trust. The trust has developed social enterprises which offer supported work experience for pupils. For example, pupils can work in a café within the trust. Pupils are supported to think about different career pathways in interviews with an independent expert. The school is building links with employers and further education providers, taking into consideration where pupils live.

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better?

The proprietor body ensures that the school has an open culture. Independent professionals and advisers routinely visit the school. This forms part of the school’s ongoing self-evaluation. The board of directors includes professionals with relevant experience and expertise. This supports the school’s senior leaders with their day-to- day challenges and long-term priorities. As a result, the independent school 13 to 16 June 2023 standards are met in full. Leaders ensure that the school meets the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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better?

The professional development of staff is well supported by the trust. Staff, including early career teachers, value the expertise that exists within the trust related to supporting pupils with SEND. The school engages with academic research and arranges for international experts to talk to staff and parents. This leads to a strong, shared understanding across stakeholders of the approaches used to support pupils and families within the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff receive valuable and timely safeguarding training. The process for reporting concerns is well understood in school. Leaders maintain detailed records. They work closely with safeguarding partners, such as the police and social care, to keep pupils safe.

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Safeguarding

Leaders, including those at the trust, get to know families well. They offer support in the form of family therapy. There is considerable expertise within the trust to support this work.

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Safeguarding

Staff adapt the PSHE curriculum and the focus of therapy sessions to address any misconceptions among pupils. They create an environment in which pupils are happy to discuss sensitive issues.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Leaders’ aims for what pupils will achieve through the curriculum have not yet been fully realised. Some aspects of the curriculum are in the early stages of development. As a result, pupils’ learning does not yet build purposefully towards accreditation in some subjects, such as those linked to the school’s vocational offer. Leaders should further develop the subject curriculums so that, over time, pupils can achieve their full potential.  Some assessment practices are not precisely focused on the essential curriculum knowledge that pupils need to learn. Assessment is not often used to promote the retention of knowledge. Consequently, pupils do not embed their knowledge well enough. Leaders need to identify the most crucial knowledge to be learned and make sure that it forms the focus for retrieval and assessment. 13 to 16 June 2023

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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. 13 to 16 June 2023

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School details

Type of school Other Independent Special School

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School details

School category Independent residential special school

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £62,400 to £83,070

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School details

Email address info@william-morris.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected 13 to 16 June 2023

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Information about this school

 The school was registered by the Department for Education on 4 August 2022. This was the school’s first standard inspection.  The proprietor, Novalis Trust, runs one other school.  This is a residential special school with places for 14 pupils boarding. There are currently no boarders. Leaders intend to admit boarders from September 2023.  Although the school is registered for pupils of age 7 to 19, there are currently no students in the sixth form.  This is a specialist provision for pupils with complex learning needs and associated social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. All pupils have education, health and care plans. All placements are funded by local authorities.  The school uses no alternative providers.

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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

 This was the first routine inspection the school 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.  Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher and members of the senior leadership team, the chair of the board of trustees and one other trustee, the chief executive officer of the trust and the principal, who oversees both schools within the Novalis Trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, with a focus on early reading, mathematics, PSHE and science. For each deep, dive inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 To inspect safeguarding, the lead inspector met with the headteacher and deputy headteacher, who hold the roles of designated, and deputy, safeguarding leads. The lead inspector scrutinised the single central record of adults working in the school and held discussions with leaders from the trust about their role in keeping pupils safe. Inspectors also held discussions with staff and pupils about the culture of safeguarding in the school.  The lead inspector spoke with a representative from Bristol local authority about their experience of placing pupils at the school. 13 to 16 June 2023  Inspectors took into account the responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents. Inspectors also consider the responses to the survey for staff.

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Inspection team

Lydia Pride, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

David Simons Ofsted Inspector 13 to 16 June 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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