Haskel School

Inspection of Haskel School 53 Bewick Road, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE8 4DR

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

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

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Haskel School is a place which exudes calmness, joy and positivity. It is a unique place where pupils are encouraged to celebrate being part of the local Jewish community and also embrace and learn about the world beyond the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say they feel safe at Haskel School and that learning is fun. The pupils, who all have special educational needs and or disabilities, are given interesting and exciting opportunities to learn. The ambitious curriculum, for all subjects, is carefully planned to ensure that all pupils have highly effective learning experiences, often on a one-to-one basis.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school puts knowing the pupils’ individual personalities at the centre of all they do. They value and promote every pupil’s uniqueness. The care, support and guidance that pupils are given here helps to break down any barriers to learning that pupils may have. This helps pupils to achieve extremely well. Pupils are proud of their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour here is exceptional. Staff encourage pupils to work hard using positive, focused praise. They recognise that some pupils may find it hard to manage their emotions. When this happens, staff skilfully calm and refocus pupils on the task at hand. Pupils say that there is no bullying in this school.

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better?

Haskel School provides a broad and rich curriculum for all pupils. The school has carefully crafted the curriculum to meet the diverse range of needs the pupils have. In all subjects, the school has identified the precise knowledge pupils should learn. Progression and sequences of learning are clearly identified. Where pupils may benefit from experiences beyond the school, they attend local mainstream settings for short periods. This is carefully managed to support pupils effectively to build confidence and social skills.

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better?

The school is highly ambitious for pupils. The curriculum is planned through interesting topics, which build pupils’ understanding of their lives or experience of the wider world. Some creative subject areas are interwoven with other learning to interest and stimulate pupils. An example of this is the weekly ‘sing and sign’ sessions. In these lessons, pupils learn Makaton, signing to songs linked to wider curriculum areas. Pupils show great enjoyment in these sessions. In other curriculum areas, such as physical education, staff plan bespoke activities, based on careful checks of pupil’s needs and understanding.

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better?

Learning is organised into four distinct pathways: Discovery, Learning for Life, Formal and Post-16. The Preparation for Adulthood and Careers (PFAC) curriculum is threaded through all pathways. Pupils’ needs are carefully checked before a pathway is assigned. As the curriculum is sequenced across all pathways, pupils can progress through and across them. Highly skilled teachers plan learning within the pathways 8 to 10 October 2024 confidently and consistently. Individualised information about pupils’ needs and effective learning strategies are shared with staff. This enables them to effectively adapt activities to support pupils’ engagement and success.

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better?

The phonics programme is the cornerstone of the school’s early reading programme. Pupils’ knowledge is carefully checked to ascertain their level of language development. When they are ready to access the phonics programme, they are expertly supported, using carefully chosen resources. Pupils are actively engaged with learning through structured routines and effective questioning. The school recognises that reading and communicating are crucial life skills. They use every opportunity to promote enjoyment of language with songs and stories.

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better?

Pupils’ learning in other curriculum areas is also carefully developed. For example, in mathematics, teachers confidently and repeatedly use appropriate mathematical language related to current learning. All learning is designed to be short with regular breaks. However, the breaks are also connected to previous learning. No second is wasted in promoting confidence and self-belief.

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better?

The school’s expectations of learning and behaviour are extremely high. Pupils thrive on known structures for learning, clear instructions and kind, caring interactions with staff. Pupils enjoy school. This is reflected in their attendance, which for almost all pupils is very impressive.

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better?

Haskel School is proud to support pupils to develop understanding of their Jewish heritage. Pupils enjoy Hebrew lessons. They talk with confidence about different festivals and celebrations. Pupils are also taught to have pride in themselves and their community. They enjoy looking after the garden area, growing an impressive amount of fruit and vegetables, or helping others. Older pupils are given support around employability in careers lessons. They have opportunities for work experience or to visit local colleges. Many pupils go on to achieve success after they leave Haskel.

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better?

The PFAC curriculum is used exceptionally well to prepare pupils for life beyond the school, independence and adulthood. Pupils are given a wide range of experiences to build their confidence and independence. For example, pupils learn about travelling on public transport, cooking and safety. Respect and other fundamental British values are interwoven through all aspects of learning and activity in the school. Pupils learn about different faiths and cultures beyond their community through visits and visitors to the school. The school has consulted on the relationships, health and sex education curriculum. They ensure that all statutory elements are included in the curriculum and are taught at an age-appropriate level, taking into account pupils’ individual needs and understanding.

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better?

The proprietor body and governing body successfully share their vision for excellence with everyone. There is a passion and a determination here to help pupils achieve skills for learning and for life. Parents and carers and pupils are supportive of the school. They recognise it as a special place and in the words of one pupil they ‘hope other pupils can benefit from coming here’. 8 to 10 October 2024 The school has secure systems in place to ensure that the independent school standards are met. This ensures that the school’s statutory duties are carried out fully, including compliance with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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. 8 to 10 October 2024

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School details

Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

School category Independent special school

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £28,455 to £48,995

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 to 7 October 2021 8 to 10 October 2024

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Information about this school

 All pupils at Haskel School have an education, health and care plan. The school provides specialist provision for pupils, aged five to 19, with profound and multiple learning disabilities, speech, language and communication needs, autism and social, emotional and mental health needs.  Since the last inspection, the school has expanded and now operates from two different addresses, following approval from the Department for Education (DfE) in March 2022. – 53 Bewick Road, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE8 4DR – 245 Alexandra Road, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE8 1RD  This is a Jewish faith school.  The word Haskel is Hebrew for intelligence. The proprietor uses this word as an acronym to represent the school’s mission of ‘Helping and Supporting Kids to Excel in Life’. The school aims ‘to provide education for children whose special educational needs cannot be met in a mainstream school so that they can blossom into self-motivated productive members of British society in which their

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Information about this school

academic and social potential is developed’.  The proprietor has notified the DfE of the change in name from The Haskel Society to Haskel School. The registered charity which originally founded the school remains unchanged since the school opened in 2013. The chair of the proprietor board has not changed. There is a governing body, which was established in October 2017.  Pupils attending Haskel School may also visit other local independent schools or the local college for further education for some of their educational activities.  The school provides support for other independent schools in the local area. Some of the pupils from these schools may also attend Haskel School for some learning sessions.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school does not have a website.  There is a governing body which was established in October 2017.

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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 8 to 10 October 2024 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, meetings were held with the headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator and leaders of specific provisions or subjects. Inspectors also met with both designated safeguarding leads, the chair of the proprietor board, one of the trustees from the founding charity and a member of the governing body, as well as other members of staff. They also sought the views of one of the local authorities who commission places at the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading and English, mathematics, the wider topic curriculum and personal, social, health and emotional education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to

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Information about this inspection

teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also reviewed curriculum plans, policies and other documentation regarding other areas of the curriculum.  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.  To check compliance with the independent school standards, the inspectors reviewed records linked to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils and the welfare, health and safety of pupils, along with any complaints held about the school and other record-keeping systems. The lead inspector also undertook a tour of both school buildings.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school throughout

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Information about this inspection

the day, including lunchtime and breaktimes. Inspectors discussed pupils’ experiences at the school in meetings. Some of these meetings had a member of school staff present.  Inspectors reviewed a wide range of documents relating to school improvement, behaviour, health and safety and arrangements to safeguard pupils.  Parent’s views of the school were considered through their responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View. We also considered 38 staff surveys and six pupil surveys.

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The school’s proposed change to the maximum number of pupils

The school has applied to the Department for Education (DfE) to make a ‘material change’ to its registration. At the DfE’s request, we checked whether the school is likely to meet the relevant independent school standards if the DfE decided to approve the change. This part of the inspection was carried out under section 162(4) of the Education Act 2002. 8 to 10 October 2024  The outcome of this part of the inspection is: the school is likely to meet the

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Inspection team

Andrea Batley, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Matthew Vellensworth His Majesty’s Inspector 8 to 10 October 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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