Aspris Telford School

Inspection of Aspris Telford School The Upper Forge, Dale Road, Coalbrookdale, Ironbridge DE11 9LR

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Inspection dates: 21 to 23 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Aspris Telford is a small school with a big heart. Care, kindness and understanding fill this school community. This is a place where pupils get a fresh start. At Aspris Telford, pupils find staff who believe in them and are driven to make a special difference in their lives.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all pupils. There are high expectations for what pupils should learn and when. However, some work remains to ensure that all pupils get the most from every lesson.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils arrive with varying experiences of education in the past. For some, school life has been previously challenging; relationships and attachments have been even harder. However, at Aspris Telford, staff are attentive and act when pupils need help. Pupils told inspectors that they could rely on staff to help them. Consequently, pupils feel safe, and their behaviour improves quickly. This creates a calm and purposeful learning community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Life beyond school is also nurtured. Trips to places such as Birmingham city centre, a safari park and a local ice rink enrich that sense of the world around them. Pastoral support and career advice help develop the pupils’ vision for learning and the world of work.

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better?

Since the previous inspection, there have been several changes to leadership at Aspris Telford. The new leadership team has brought added enthusiasm and drive to the school. They understand what the school does well and areas it could be better at. Staff feel well supported and that the school is well led and managed. The school’s capacity for making the necessary improvements to the quality of education is strong.

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better?

The proprietorial body is highly supportive of the school. Its members share the leadership team’s ambition. There is a strong team around the school to provide the right support for the quality of education, facilitating links with other schools and monitoring the health and well-being of staff. All the independent school standards are met. The proprietorial body and school leaders have robust systems to ensure that these standards are regularly monitored and do not drop.

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better?

Recently, the school has made considerable changes to the curriculum. The Bridge and Forge curriculums have been carefully developed to provide lessons to fill prior learning gaps and ensure that pupils gain the necessary qualifications and experiences for the next steps into employment, training and education. Some staff are highly knowledgeable about what content should be included in the curriculum and how this should be taught. For example, in one lesson, inspectors saw staff skilfully developing teamwork skills through pupils building ‘spaghetti towers’ 21 to 23 November 2023 together. However, not all staff are as skilled and knowledgeable about how the curriculum should be taught and adapted.

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better?

Pupils arrive at Aspris Telford with diagnosed complex social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. These needs have created barriers to learning for pupils in the past. Staff work hard with parents and carers and other services to fully understand these needs and identify the necessary support. One parent, whose views were echoed by others, told inspectors that ‘It feels as if leaders know my family better than I do.’ Some pupils also have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). While staff are highly skilled in meeting SEMH needs, not all staff are skilled in adapting the curriculum for pupils with SLCN. In some cases, too many words are used, or there are not clear enough systems to support pupils’ understanding of new words and concepts.

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better?

In some subjects, pupils learn more and remember more because learning builds on what they already know. For example, in English, the pupils’ work is based on what they already know and then carefully builds their knowledge over time. Personalised learning pathways not only fill gaps in knowledge but also adapt learning to how pupils learn best. For example, inspectors saw some pupils developing their understanding of different types of words because they needed this before moving on to more challenging tasks. However, this is not the case in all subjects. In some, it is not always clear how learning builds precisely on what individual pupils know and can remember.

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better?

Reading rightly has a high profile at the school. Leaders have worked tirelessly to identify the right systems to help those pupils who are not confident readers. Some staff have been well trained in early reading; others have training planned for later this year. Many high-interest, low-reading-age ability books have been purchased and are used daily with pupils. Opportunities for reading are also well planned in other lessons. For example, inspectors observed pupils reading in one lesson to develop their knowledge about equality and disabilities as they discussed the protected characteristics.

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better?

Behaviour is a strength at Aspris Telford. Some pupils’ SEMH needs and SLCN make concentration and attention difficult. For others, past experiences have made building trusting relationships with staff hard. Staff are skilful in supporting pupils to regulate how they feel and then engage with learning, ensuring that sensory needs are met. For example, inspectors saw pupils using fidget toys to aid concentration and self-regulation. At Aspris Telford, pupils build strong attachments, secure relationships, and develop self-belief and confidence. Over time, pupils attend more and become increasingly focused on their learning.

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better?

Helping pupils to be ready for life in the modern-day West Midlands is a priority. Lessons in personal, social, emotional and economic education create an understanding of relationships, staying safe and the world around them. Work experience at a local farm, boxing gym, nursery and hair salon provides opportunities to develop an understanding of the workplace. Alternative provisions are used well to support pupils’ learning programmes. For example, an inspector 21 to 23 November 2023 visited a therapeutic riding provision to support those with SEMH needs and provide vocational learning opportunities.

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better?

Leaders ensure that the school meets the requirements of Schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 and a suitable accessibility plan is in place.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The school has not yet ensured that all staff have had the training and support they need around subject content and pedagogy to implement the school curriculum. This means that the curriculum is not always implemented in a way that develops the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn. The school needs to ensure that all teaching staff have the necessary skills and knowledge to implement the curriculum so pupils learn and remember more over time.  How the curriculum is implemented does not always precisely match what pupils already know, can do and remember in all subjects. This means that pupils do not have the opportunity to consolidate previous knowledge and build new skills based on what they have remembered from the past. The school needs to ensure that the curriculum implementation and work provided for pupils precisely build on what they know, remember and can already do in all subjects.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Some staff do not consistently ensure that their own speaking, interactions and communications support pupils’ understanding of what is being taught. In those cases, well-intentioned interactions between staff and pupils are based on too many words that confuse some pupils. The school needs to ensure that all staff carefully and precisely use language to make instructions and communication clear for all pupils, including those with complex speech, language and communication needs.

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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. 21 to 23 November 2023

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School details

Type of school Other Independent Special School

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School details

Proprietor Aspris Children’s Services Limited

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School details

Website www.aspriscs.co.uk/find-a-location/aspris- telford-school/ Email address telfordschool@aspriscs.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 5 to 7 November 2019 21 to 23 November 2023

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Information about this school

 The school was registered by the Department for Education on 5 June 2019. This is the school’s second standard inspection.  The school caters for pupils with SEMH needs.  The school uses two unregistered alternative provisions.  The school is located in a rural setting near to the historic Shropshire town of Ironbridge.

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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

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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 leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single 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.  During the inspection, inspectors completed deep dives in the following subjects: English, including reading, mathematics, science and skills for employment and training. In these subjects, they visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work, and talked with pupils and staff about how these subjects were taught. Inspectors also looked at other subjects in less detail to check how they were planned and

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Information about this inspection

taught.  Inspectors observed informal times to evaluate safeguarding and pupils’ behaviour.  During the inspection, the inspectors had formal meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders, subject teachers, the chair of the proprietorial body and pupils. They also talked informally with parents, pupils and staff to gather general information about school life.  An inspector also spoke with representatives of the proprietorial organisation. 21 to 23 November 2023  An inspector held phone calls with parents to gather their views about the quality of provision for their child and communication between the school and home.  An inspector also visited one of the alternative provisions to sample the school’s use of that provision.

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Inspection team

Chris Pollitt, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Melanie Callaghan-Lewis Ofsted Inspector 21 to 23 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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