The Green Room School Kingsley

Inspection of The Green Room School Kingsley 1 Old Park Farm, Forge Road, Kingsley, Bordon, Hampshire GU35 9LU

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Inspection dates: 14 to 16 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

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

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel lucky to belong to the Green Room community. For many, this is the first school where they have experienced any success. Typically, pupils join the school at a time of crisis. High-quality support enables them to recover emotionally and to regulate their behaviour. As pupils grow in confidence, staff push the boundaries of what they can learn. This enables pupils to achieve exceptionally well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a happy and uplifting environment. New pupils quickly feel accepted and safe, so they can begin to enjoy and value learning. Kindness, patience and understanding restore their self-worth. What once seemed impossible becomes a reality, as pupils regain hope and can see a pathway to a brighter future. One parent summed this up, commenting that the school has been a ‘lifeline’ for her son.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s rural farm setting opens up rich opportunities afforded by the expansive outdoor spaces. Pupils learn subjects such as equine studies, animal care and horticulture. Through helping to look after the school’s much-loved animals, they develop their skills of caring, understanding the responsibility that this entails. Pupils uncover hidden talents, develop new interests and can see how their learning relates to the world of work.

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better?

The school provides pupils with an inspiring curriculum that is tailored around their individual needs. This enables pupils to unlock their potential and rediscover the joy of learning. Pupils learn skills that prepare them well for the future and for adult life. From very low starting points, pupils achieve the best possible outcomes. They gain the academic and vocational qualifications they need to pursue their career aspirations.

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better?

The foundation for the school’s success lies in the very effective work to develop pupils’ personal, social and emotional skills. This begins with the strong, nurturing relationships that staff forge with pupils. Adults model and foster kindness, respect and tolerance. This enables pupils to feel ‘safe and brave’ and to re-engage with learning. Pupils develop greater resilience so that they can deal more easily with setbacks.

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better?

Individual learning plans ensure that staff fully understand pupils’ significant needs. This means that they can plan the right curriculum and the most appropriate teaching approaches. This is informed by comprehensive initial and ongoing assessments. Staff provide expert guidance to help pupils understand and manage their emotions and behaviour. Many pupils continue to need a very high level of support. Staff anticipate when they may find things difficult and work pre-emptively to support them, giving them effective coping strategies. Any difficulties are seen as a learning opportunity. This is a holistic approach, involving therapists and other professionals. 14 to 16 November 2023 Attendance is high. This is remarkable given that many pupils did not attend school at all prior to joining the Green Room. Pupils want to be here, and this reflects leaders’ aspiration to make learning ‘unmissable’. Strong partnership working with

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better?

families is highly successful in overcoming barriers to good attendance.

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better?

A wide variety of texts form the backbone of the reading curriculum. This helps pupils to learn new vocabulary, draw meaning from texts and develop their fluency. Specific gaps in pupils’ knowledge are successfully addressed through individual teaching and coaching.

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better?

The school provides a very extensive range of enrichment activities tailored to individual pupils’ interests and aspirations. Special events such as the winter fayre and the summer festival are highlights of the year. These celebratory events bring the community together and promote a strong sense of belonging. Pupils receive highly effective careers guidance and carefully planned work experience. These experiences combine to enable pupils to achieve ambitions they once thought were not possible.

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better?

Principled leadership, huge ambition and an unwavering moral purpose to change pupils’ lives for the better are pivotal to the school’s success. Staff fully ‘buy in’ to this, which means that this ambition translates into day-to-day life at the school. There is a very strong sense of teamwork. Staff are valued and appreciated. Leaders recognise the challenges of working in this setting and do all they can to support staff’s well-being.

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better?

The proprietor and trustees bring considerable expertise and experience to their roles. As the school has grown, they have strengthened further their systems and structures to enable them to maintain effective oversight. The proprietor visits the school regularly and gathers the views of pupils, staff and parents. Trustees have an accurate understanding of the school’s many strengths and the priorities for further improvement.

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better?

The proprietor has ensured that the independent school standards and other requirements are met. The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010, including the publication of a suitable accessibility plan.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 14 to 16 November 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. 14 to 16 November 2023

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School details

Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Proprietor The Green Room Foundation Ltd

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School details

Headteacher Becky Thompson (Head of School)

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £39,300 to £47,280

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School details

Email address info@thegreenroomschool.com

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 3 to 5 October 2018 14 to 16 November 2023

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Information about this school

 The school caters for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Many have a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and/or attention hyperactivity disorder. Most pupils have social, emotional and mental health needs. All pupils have an education, health and care plan.  Pupils are referred to the school by their local authority. Approximately half of the number on roll are pupils from Hampshire. The remaining pupils are from other local authorities, including Wokingham, Bracknell, Reading and Surrey.  The school’s previous standard inspection was in October 2018. Since then, Ofsted has carried out three material change inspections in April 2019, November 2020 and September 2022, respectively. These inspections were carried out following the proprietor’s application to the Department for Education for an increase in the number of pupils on roll and a change to the age range of pupils

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Information about this school

from 11 to 18 to 9 to 18.  Since the previous standard inspection, the number of pupils on roll has more than doubled.  At the time of this inspection, there were currently no key stage 2 pupils or sixth- form students on roll.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The head of school took up post in January 2023. The former headteacher is now the director of education for The Green Room Foundation and a member of the foundation’s executive leadership team.

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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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine standard 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 met with the head of school and other senior leaders.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: literacy, including reading; mathematics; and personal and social development. For each deep dive, 14 to 16 November 2023 inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons and spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also considered the curriculum and sampled pupils’ work in other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single

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Information about this inspection

central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Parents’ views were considered through their responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and through parents’ free-text comments. An inspector met with two parents and held telephone discussions with a parent and a former pupil of the school.  Inspectors considered the views of staff during meetings with them and took account of their responses to the staff survey.  Inspectors spoke with pupils throughout the inspection and considered their responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.  The lead inspector met with the chief executive officer and held a separate meeting with the chair and another member of the board of trustees.

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Inspection team

Sue Cox, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jason Philipsz Ofsted Inspector 14 to 16 November 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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