Froebel House School

Inspection of Froebel House School 5 Marlborough Avenue, Hull HU5 3JP

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Inspection dates: 14 to 16 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

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

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Froebel House School follow clearly defined routines and behaviour expectations. This ensures the school environment is calm and orderly. The school’s merit system enables pupils to earn stickers and work collectively towards house points. The school celebrates pupils’ positive behaviour in the ‘worthy of praise’ assembly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides pupils with opportunities to be house captains or monitors. These roles encourage pupils to take on responsibility. The school inspires pupils to consider their future careers. Pupils are aspirational, they hope to be doctors, surgeons and teachers.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s curriculum is not well developed. Staff have not considered how it is sequenced to build learning from Reception to Year 6. The curriculum for children in early years is under review. The school is beginning to ensure that the curriculum is planned across the seven areas of the early years framework.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures that pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 experience computer lessons. These pupils know how to stay safe online. Pupils in the other year groups are not taught about internet safety. This potentially exposes younger pupils to dangers, such as online bullying. Some pupils know not to interact or share personal information with strangers.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that they feel safe at Froebel House School. However, the school’s safeguarding processes are not thorough. There is not an effective culture of safeguarding.

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better?

The school’s current curriculum is in its infancy. Some subjects are more developed than others. For example, in history, the school has started to define the vocabulary and key historical concepts it wants pupils to know and remember. This is an indication that the school understands the necessary changes it needs to make to ensure that the curriculum schemes of work are appropriate.

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better?

In mathematics, pupils experience a jumbled, disconnected series of lessons that do not build their knowledge, skills or understanding. The school has not coherently planned how its resources support pupil progress. The school uses different approaches across the key stages. It has not considered when to introduce high- quality mathematical vocabulary. As a result of these unlinked activities, pupils do not have opportunities to apply their knowledge in problem-solving or reasoning tasks and achieve as well as they could.

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better?

The school has recently introduced a phonics scheme to support the teaching of early reading. Staff have not yet had training to effectively develop pupils’ early reading skills. The school has not matched pupils’ reading books to the sounds they 14 to 16 November 2023 know. The school recognises that this means that reading books do not complement pupils’ phonics knowledge. The school has not assessed pupils’ phonics retention. The implementation of the school’s curriculum in mathematics and early reading demonstrates why the independent school standards relating to the appropriateness of plans and schemes of work are not met.

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better?

The current system to identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is at the early stages of development. The precise needs of some pupils with identified or potential SEND are increasingly understood. However, SEND assessments are based solely on standardised scores in reading and mathematics tests. Consequently, this assessment does not give teachers the precise information about the areas of the curriculum that pupils find challenging. In classrooms, support for pupils with SEND is not consistently used. As a result, there are occasions where pupils with SEND are not provided with the most appropriate assistance to be successful.

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better?

There is an early years curriculum in place for communication and language, mathematics and personal, social and emotional development. The remaining areas of the early years curriculum need further curriculum consideration. This means that children are not prepared well enough with the foundational knowledge across the subjects that they need for entry to Year 1. Adults model the language and vocabulary well. They encourage children to use words like ‘unique’ to describe what is special about themselves. Children respond positively to routines in the early years. They move sensibly and with purpose to their desks to complete tasks.

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better?

Pupils agree that they are treated equally. They recall lessons across the curriculum where they have discussed equality. The school ensures that pupils know how to stay physically and mentally healthy. Pupils know why it is important to have a balanced diet, to exercise and drink water. However, the school does not provide pupils with enrichment opportunities to develop their interests and talents. There are also no opportunities for pupils to contribute to the local community to expand their understanding of citizenship, for example.

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better?

The proprietor has not ensured that all the independent school standards are met. Several unmet standards were addressed during the inspection. Nevertheless, there remain several standards that are not met. This is particularly the case with standards linked to safeguarding. Elsewhere, there is a limited understanding and shared vision across the school of how pupils’ subject knowledge builds progressively. The school does not have an accurate self-evaluation of its curriculum. There is a distinct lack of professional development for staff. This is limiting their ability to lead and improve the curriculum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. 14 to 16 November 2023 The school does not promote an effective culture of safeguarding. There is not a shared recognition that ‘it could happen here’.

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Safeguarding

The school does not promote an open culture of sharing information. There is a process to record concerns, but there is little evidence that leaders follow up any disclosures. The school does not routinely record conversations when pupils initially share potential safeguarding concerns. This means that the school does not gather information effectively or identify patterns of concern at the earliest stage.

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Safeguarding

Pupils say that if they are worried, they would tell an adult. However, inspectors found that the school does not respond in a timely manner to any potential safeguarding disclosures.

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Safeguarding

The independent school standard for the arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils is not met. The independent school standard for leadership and management is also not met.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Procedures and processes to safeguard pupils are not effective. The school does not have an open and positive culture of safeguarding. The school should ensure that the practice for reporting and recording safeguarding concerns is robust and that the leaders, including the proprietor, act on all concerns in a timely manner.  The school has not ensured that pupils’ reading books match their phonics knowledge. As a result, pupils often read books that contain sounds they do not know. The school should ensure that reading books connect precisely to pupils’ phonics knowledge.  Some subjects, for example mathematics, are not well sequenced. This means that pupils do not have opportunities to build their knowledge over time. The school should ensure that the curriculum is coherent and well sequenced in order to build progressively from Reception to Year 6.  Some of the prime and specific areas of learning within the early years foundation

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

stage are underdeveloped. As a result, activities and teaching do not give children the chance to build their knowledge and skills over time. The school should ensure that the curriculum is clearly defined and used to inform teaching, resources and experiences for Reception children.  The school has not ensured that curriculum leaders have the support and training to develop their subject expertise. This means there is not a strong understanding of how a subject builds on what pupils already know. The school should ensure that leaders understand the strengths and areas for development in their area of curriculum responsibility. 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

Unique reference number 118123 DfE registration number 810/6000

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School details

Local authority Kingston Upon Hull City Council

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School details

Inspection number 10286387 Type of school Other Independent School

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Number of part-time pupils

Annual fees (day pupils) Between £5,594 and £5,960

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Number of part-time pupils

Email address froebel@froebel.karoo.co.uk

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Number of part-time pupils

Dates of previous inspection 22 to 24 January 2019 14 to 16 November 2023

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Information about this school

 The interim headteacher took up post in September 2023. They are also the proprietor.  A new deputy headteacher was appointed at the start of this academic year.  The school does not use any 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

The school has failed to meet the independent school standards. These are the requirements of 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 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 interim headteacher, curriculum leaders, staff and pupils.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, personal, social and health education, and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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

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Information about this inspection

culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors completed a premises check. They checked the school buildings and grounds against the independent school standards.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at playtime.  The Department for Education commissioned Ofsted to carry out the standard inspection earlier in the cycle than previously planned.  The views of parents, staff and pupils were considered from meeting with them and from the responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire, including Ofsted Parent View. 14 to 16 November 2023

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Inspection team

Alison Stephenson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Liam Colclough His Majesty’s Inspector 14 to 16 November 2023

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

 2(1) The standard in this paragraph is met if- – 2(1)(a) the proprietor ensures that a written policy on the curriculum, supported by appropriate plans and schemes of work, which provides for the matters specified in sub-paragraph (2) is drawn up and implemented effectively; and

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

 7 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that- – 7(a) arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school; and

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

 34(1) The standard about the quality of leadership and management is met if the proprietor ensures that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school- – 34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently; – 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently; and – 34(1)(c) actively promote the well-being of pupils. 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

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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