Compass Community School Lincolnshire

Inspection of Compass Community School Lincolnshire Thornebrook, 1 London Road, Osbournby, Lincolnshire NG34 0DG

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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 Requires improvement

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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?

Compass Community School Lincolnshire is a friendly and welcoming school where pupils thrive. Pupils are well looked after in a safe and nurturing environment. Pupils spoke about the school as being ‘safe, comforting, accepting, protective and understanding’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff take time to get to know pupils. They understand pupils’ additional needs and interests well. Staff have high expectations of every pupil. Pupils respond to this well. The school’s determination for pupils to succeed results in many gaining qualifications and essential life skills.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff support pupils to manage their behaviour and emotions and to cope with the challenges that they may face. Adults celebrate pupils’ individual successes, both in lessons and through weekly assemblies. Pupils enjoy collecting reward points when they demonstrate positive attitudes in their lessons and in their work.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a varied enrichment programme. This includes regular trips and visits to local amenities and places of interest, such as the National Holocaust Centre and Museum, farms, shops and weekly visits to a local sports centre. Pupils especially enjoy opportunities to cook, play sports and spend time with Rupert, the therapy dog.

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better?

Leaders and staff place pupils at the heart of all they do. The school is highly aspirational for pupils and the curriculum is ambitious for all. Pupils have the opportunity to take vocational qualifications and GCSEs. Class sizes are small, and pupils benefit from individual support in lessons. Teachers can spend plenty of time working with each pupil. Most pupils engage well with their learning. The curriculum is well constructed, and all lessons have well-sequenced schemes of work.

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better?

Teachers’ subject knowledge is good. They present subject matter clearly, promoting appropriate discussion about the topic being taught. Staff select well-considered resources that engage the pupils and support them with learning new material, such as using a plug in a science lesson to introduce a topic about electricity.

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better?

Assessment across the school is variable. In a mathematics lesson, the activity was well chosen to allow pupils to check their understanding of angles. When pupils undertake such assessment opportunities, teachers are then able to identify any gaps in pupils’ knowledge. They can use this information to inform their planning. However, assessment procedures are not fully developed across all subjects and classes. Sometimes, teachers do not use assessment opportunities to check learning or to identify misconceptions and gaps in knowledge. Learning is sometimes moved on too quickly without exploring what pupils know and can remember. 16 to 18 April 2024 Staff model learning well. They provide clear examples for pupils to follow so that they can be successful. Lessons often start with retrieval activities to keep prior learning fresh in pupils’ minds. However, occasionally these activities do not specifically target gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills. During lessons, activities are

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better?

not always adapted when teachers realise pupils’ understanding is not secure.

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better?

The school understands the importance of reading. Some pupils are reluctant readers. The school has introduced several initiatives to develop pupils’ love of reading, such as buying new books and including structured reading activities each day.

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better?

Staff work well with pupils to help them understand emotions and to develop successful strategies to cope when pupils find situations a challenge. Staff take highly effective action to support pupils to overcome their difficulties. Most pupils show positive attitudes to learning as a result. Staff use a consistent, calm and positive approach to manage behaviour. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive. However, occasional, inappropriate comments are not always swiftly addressed.

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better?

There is a strong personal development programme of study that is skilfully matched to pupils’ individual needs and is taught at the right time. Pupils learn how to be healthy and stay safe. They learn about diversity and equality, British values and different faiths and cultures. However, some struggle to recall in detail what they have learned.

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better?

The school prepares pupils well for their next steps. The school has an effective careers programme. Staff supplement pupils’ learning in school with meaningful opportunities to broaden their understanding. Such opportunities include a visit to the local RAF base that matched pupils’ areas of interest and visits to local colleges to find out about the different courses on offer.

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better?

Directors, leaders and teachers are driven by a clear moral purpose. They are aspirational for the future of every pupil and share the ambition and determination to provide a high-quality education for all pupils. Staff say that they feel well supported at the school and that their well-being is considered.

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better?

The proprietor has ensured that all the independent school standards are met. The school’s premises are maintained to a good standard. The procedures in relation to first aid, fire safety and health and safety are appropriate. All necessary information is available to parents and carers. The school’s safeguarding policy is published on the school’s website. The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 16 to 18 April 2024

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 On occasions, teachers do not check closely enough what pupils know and can do. They do not routinely identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and adapt what they are teaching to help fill these gaps. Additionally, they do not always give pupils the opportunities to reinforce their understanding to help prepare them for future learning. As a result, sometimes, pupils’ knowledge and understanding are not as secure as they could be before they begin to learn new content. The school should ensure that all staff know how best to support pupils in their learning so that pupils gain a secure understanding across the different subjects they study and achieve consistently highly.

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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. 16 to 18 April 2024

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School details

Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Gender of pupils Boys Gender of pupils in the sixth form Boys

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School details

Headteacher Ian McCrae (Regional Executive Headteacher) Craig Prestidge (Head of School) Annual fees (day pupils) £62,500

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School details

Email address Craig.prestidge@compass-schools.org

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School details

Date of previous inspection 18 to 20 October 2022 16 to 18 April 2024

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Information about this school

 Compass Community School Lincolnshire is an independent special school. Pupils who attend the school have social, emotional and mental health needs.  The school is registered to admit up to eight pupils, aged 10 to 17. Currently, there are six pupils on roll, aged 13 to 17.  Pupils who are above the compulsory school age pursue a curriculum that is appropriate to their needs, including preparing them for adulthood.  The school does not use the services of alternative provision.  The school’s previous standard inspection took place in October 2022.

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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.  The lead inspector met with the proprietor, the headteacher and members of the local governing board.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in English, mathematics and personal, social and health education. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and pupils’ books and work for science.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; reviewed safeguarding records; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, around the school site and at lunchtime. 16 to 18 April 2024

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Inspection team

Dawn Ashbolt, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Shaun Carter His Majesty’s Inspector 16 to 18 April 2024 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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