Compass Community School Mountfields Park

Inspection of Compass Community School Mountfields Park Mountfields House, Squirrel Way, Off Epinal Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3GE

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Inspection dates: 27 to 29 February 2024

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school. It is a haven. A place where pupils feel accepted, welcomed and part of a community. Pupils appreciate how every day is a fresh start. They learn to be optimistic and hopeful for their future. As one pupil told inspectors: ‘Yesterday is the past, today is what we work on, and the future is the mystery.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils strive to live up to the school’s expectations for behaviour. Learning to manage emotions and developing life-long social skills are a key part of everyday life at this school. Adults support pupils to sensitively rebuild relationships. Pupils know that adults will listen to their worries and provide them with the support they need. They learn to consider the impact of their actions during the daily ‘reflection sessions’. As a result, most pupils now choose to attend school. Pupils’ attendance, over time, is improving.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Adults celebrate pupils’ individual successes. This builds pupils’ self-esteem and confidence. Some pupils learn to make friendships, others muster up the courage to independently visit shops and pay for items. From producing music tracks reflecting pupils’ own backgrounds and experiences to performing dances at local theatre companies, pupils’ talents and interests are nurtured.

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better?

The school is ambitious for all its pupils. They are all valued. Staff share a common goal. They are proud to work at the school. Pupils learn to be successful because staff are aspirational for them. Staff appreciate the different training opportunities they receive. It helps them to have the right knowledge to support the needs of pupils.

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better?

The school has developed a curriculum that is ambitious in its scope and breadth. Pupils want to learn and do well. Some are working towards relevant qualifications. For others, for the first time, they aspire to attend further education. Aspects of the school’s careers advice and guidance are not fully developed. The school plans to further expand this offer to ensure that all pupils get the best possible support and advice in readiness for their next stage.

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better?

The school’s curriculum offer is three-fold. The academic curriculum is interwoven with pupils’ education, health and care plan (EHC plan) and personal education plan targets. Adults and pupils work towards these targets systematically and logically alongside the planned curriculum. In among this, is a curriculum that focuses on pupils’ individual personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. This is enhanced with therapeutic sessions, which enables pupils to understand their feelings and emotions. It also helps pupils to understand how to stay safe online, in their community and beyond.

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better?

The school uses a range of approaches to identify pupils’ additional needs. This information is used to help pupils overcome the barriers to learning. Where needed, 27 to 29 February 2024 the school seeks advice from outside agencies to ensure the right support is put in place for its pupils. As a result, pupils become more resilient and can tackle suitably demanding work. However, in some mixed-age classes, the teaching strategies used are less well developed.

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better?

Every day, everyone spends time reading. It is part of every English lesson. This is helping pupils to develop their vocabulary and spoken language. They learn to make links to their own lives through the literature they read. For example, after reading ‘A Christmas Carol’, one pupil empathised with how Scrooge changed his behaviour by learning from his mistakes. Pupils who are at the early stages of reading, learn to sound out words. Staff use regular assessments to understand the gaps in their knowledge. These are addressed quickly.

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better?

The school’s personal development programme links closely to the needs of the pupils who attend. Diversity and communities are celebrated. Pupils understand fundamental British values, including the right for democracy and freedom of expression. They learn to understand their own identity. They have an age- appropriate knowledge of relationships. The school’s character development programme closely aligns with the behaviour system. Pupils aspire to collect points which equate to a monetary value. This helps them to learn about budgets and finances. It has also helped to promote pupils’ punctuality.

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better?

Since the school has opened, the proprietor body has provided clear strategic direction for the school. Many members of this body have a background in social care, education and child psychology. This enables them to have the right expertise to support and challenge the school. They are relentless in ensuring that their ambition and vision for this school is upheld. The proprietor body holds the school to account for educational standards and completes thorough checks on the school’s site, attendance, safeguarding and behaviour. It continues to develop meaningful ways to engage parents and carers in their child’s education. The proprietor body ensures that all the independent school standards are met. It ensures that the school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 In mixed-age classes, the teaching strategies used are not as well developed as they could be. This slows down learning for some pupils. The school needs to evaluate its approach for mixed-aged classes so that teaching strategies used meet the needs of all pupils.  The school’s approach to careers and guidance is not yet fully developed. Therefore, the information and guidance pupils receive does not match the school’s ambitions. The school needs to further develop its approach to careers 27 to 29 February 2024 guidance so that all pupils are well prepared for their future education, training or employment.

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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. 27 to 29 February 2024

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School details

Unique reference number 149200 DfE registration number 855/6057

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School details

Inspection number 10286488 Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £71,500 to £83,200

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School details

Website www.compass- schools.org/schools/public/mountfields- park Email address sally.washington@compass-schools.org 27 to 29 February 2024

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Information about this school

 This is the first standard inspection of Compass Community School Mountfields Park School. The school was registered by the DfE on 7 September 2022.  The school has changed its name since the pre-registration inspection from Mountfields House to Mountfields Park.  The school caters for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs.  Almost all pupils have an EHC plan.  The school uses two unregistered alternative provisions.  At the time of the inspection, there were no pupils attending the school who accessed post-16 education. There were no pupils in Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 11.  Since September 2023, the number of pupil admissions has increased significantly.

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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 judgment about the quality of a school’s educational provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school had 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.  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.  The inspection team carried out deep dives into early reading, mathematics, PSHE and the school’s creative curriculum. They held discussions with staff and pupils, visited lessons and considered pupils’ work.  Inspectors held meetings with the head of school, the executive headteacher and representatives from Compass group, including the director of education. Inspectors discussed the provision for looked after children and for pupils with an

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Information about this inspection

EHC plan. 27 to 29 February 2024  Inspectors held discussions with the school about attendance and behaviour, and the opportunities available for pupils’ wider personal development.  Inspectors spoke with pupils about various aspects of school life.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation. They looked at the school’s website and published information about the school’s provision, including policies related to health and safety, curriculum, teaching and complaints. They reviewed the school’s self-evaluation and development plan.  The lead inspector toured the premises to review the suitability of the premises and accommodation.  Inspectors considered the views of parents and carers, including those who submitted comments on Ofsted Parent View as well as on site. There were no responses to Ofsted’s survey of school staff. Instead, inspectors spoke to staff on site about their views of the school.

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Inspection team

Shaheen Hussain, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Janis Warren Ofsted Inspector 27 to 29 February 2024 regulates and inspects 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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