The Rise Free School

Inspection of The Rise Free School Browells Lane, Feltham, Middlesex TW13 7EF

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Sixth-form provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

The head of school of this school is Karen Oliver. This school is part of the Ambitious About Autism Schools Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Jolanta Lasota, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Neil Goulden. There is also an executive headteacher, Andrew Nowak, who is responsible for this school. 9 and 10 July 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Following the school’s most recent inspection, leaders have taken decisive and effective action to improve the quality of education as well as pupils’ behaviour. Consequently, pupils are more able to manage their emotions and typically subject curriculums are sequenced and support pupils to build their knowledge.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Bullying is taken very seriously by the school, governing body and trust. The school has put in place personalised and targeted mentoring for individuals who find it particularly hard to maintain and sustain relationships with their peers. As a result, incidents of bullying have decreased over time. Bullying rarely happens and if it does, staff deal with it.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are provided with opportunities to experience a range of careers. For example, they learn about caring for animals such as Cookie and Rosie the school’s guinea pigs and visit a range of places of work such as hospitals and motor vehicle maintenance garages.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In the sixth form, all students have the opportunity to study a vocational course from an extensive offer delivered by a local college. This supports students in the sixth form to think carefully about and plan for their future in either employment or further study. As a result, many students go on to university, internships, apprenticeships or paid employment.

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better?

The school has an ambitious academic and personal and social curriculum. Curriculums have been designed to give pupils, and students in the sixth form, the skills and knowledge they need to become independent adults.

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better?

There is a clear structure to lessons. There are opportunities for pupils to rehearse what they know and can do. Typically, teachers check pupils’ understanding regularly. Mostly, they address errors and misconceptions well because they have strong subject knowledge. Generally, teachers use activities that align with the intended learning. They typically make adaptions so that all pupils can access the learning. However, on occasion, these practices are not applied as routinely in all lessons. This means that sometimes pupils’ misconceptions or gaps are not addressed or pupils are not helped as effectively to access the same learning as their peers.

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better?

The school has in place a systematic approach to teaching phonics. Pupils read books that closely match the sounds they know. For weaker readers, interventions are in place to strengthen their reading fluency and confidence. However, the core reading skills beyond phonics have not been as clearly mapped out. Some staff have not had training to support weaker readers across all subjects. This means that sometimes pupils struggle to understand what they have read. This is because 9 and 10 July 2024

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reading skills are not typically rehearsed or explicitly taught. Also, some subject texts are not routinely adapted and, therefore, are too complicated.

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The school’s therapeutic team works closely with those responsible for behaviour. They get to know each pupil’s communication, emotional, sensory and physical needs. They use this information to create personalised support plans that all staff read and understand. The staff said they valued these plans and the training that goes alongside them. These plans enable staff to know the pupils very well. Subsequently, staff are able to support pupils to manage any emotional dysregulation more readily.

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The school prioritises preparing pupils for adulthood. They provide a broad range of activities that help to develop pupils’ interests, resilience, confidence and independence, including sailing, travel training, school performances and overnight camping trips.

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The personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum has been carefully planned and contextualised for pupils and students. Pupils are helped to develop an understanding of how to keep mentally and physically healthy through weekly well- being, mindfulness and yoga lessons. Pupils are taught about the dangers of sharing private information with strangers as well as people they know. Students in the sixth form are taught about budgeting and managing their finances, as well as other important life skills.

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Frequently, pupils who start at the school or students who join the sixth form have had a negative prior experience of schooling. This has had an impact on their attendance rates at their previous schools. When pupils join this school, staff get to know the reasons why they did not attend school regularly. The school then works with pupils and their families to address those barriers. The school makes personalised plans. This helps pupils to build their trust in the staff team. Consequently, many pupils attend school more regularly over time.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On a few occasions, pupils’ understanding and recall are not checked equally routinely in all subjects. As a result, sometimes pupils are not helped to build on what they already know or gaps or misconceptions are not identified. The school should ensure that all teachers check routinely what pupils know and remember to identify and address any gaps or misconceptions.  Some knowledge and skills in the reading curriculum are not robustly mapped out, and not all staff have received training on how to support weaker readers 9 and 10 July 2024

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across the curriculum. Consequentially, pupils sometimes do not develop their reading skills as swiftly as they should and therefore struggle to access some learning. The school should ensure that all staff, across all subjects, have the necessary skills and expertise to support all pupils to read fluently so that pupils can access their learning independently and mitigate the risk of cognitive overload.

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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.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 9 and 10 July 2024

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sixth form

Headteacher Andrew Nowak (Executive Headteacher) Karen Oliver (Head of School) Website www.theriseschool.com

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sixth form

Dates of previous inspection 8 and 9 March 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 This is a special school for pupils between the ages of four and 19 years. Currently, the youngest pupils on roll are nine years old.  All pupils have an education, health and care plan.  The school caters for pupils with autism.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The sixth form is based at West Thames College.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education 9 and 10 July 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, English, mathematics, PSHE and science. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, had discussions with staff and pupils, visited lessons and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also considered the curriculum in other subjects as part of this inspection.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluation of the school and priorities for improvement.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record of pre-employment checks; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an

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open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, teachers and the wider school team.  Inspectors met with two trustees.  Inspectors met with the chair of the governing body and other governors.  Inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for parents, staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Kieran Bird, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Aliki Constantopoulou His Majesty’s Inspector 9 and 10 July 2024

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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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