Hestia School

School progress monitoring inspection report

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Hestia School Bigby Street, Brigg, North Lincolnshire DN20 8EF

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Main inspection findings

Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils Paragraph 7, 7(a) and 7(b)  The safeguarding policy is available to parents and carers on the school website. It clearly states the designated staff responsible for safeguarding. The policy states what to do if staff have a concern about the well-being or safety of a child attending the school.  The single central record demonstrates the checks carried out on staff working with children. These checks meet statutory requirements.  All staff receive mandatory safeguarding training. This includes training covering the school’s health and safety policies and procedures.  Staff ensure that pupils rehearse safety procedures with regular fire drills. Staff review the school’s emergency protocols to strengthen their confidence to manage situations. They use thorough risk assessments for various school activities to help them to support pupils.  The independent school standards (the standards) in this part that were met at the

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Main inspection findings

Part 5. Premises of and accommodation at schools Paragraph 22 and 25  The school has made improvements to the available space for teaching and learning. There is a new sixth-form area at the rear of the school site. It is accessible via an existing pedestrian pathway and access road. The school ensures this remains gated and locked. Some parts of the access road show cracking and subsidence caused by heavy vehicles accessing building works to the new sixth-form area. The proprietor has plans in place to repair the road.  School buildings are well maintained. Learning areas are bright and have adequate room for small teaching groups. There are additional spaces for adults and pupils to work one- to-one. Internal and external lighting is appropriate.  The school has an appropriate number of toilets in each area of the school. These are clearly identifiable as single-gender toilets or mixed-use facilities with floor-to-ceiling

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Main inspection findings

toilet doors. The school has installed an additional toilet with shower and changing area since the previous inspection.  The school standards in this part that were unmet at the previous inspection are now met.

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Main inspection findings

Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools Paragraph 34(1), 34(1)(a) and 34(1)(b)  At the previous inspection, and subsequent progress monitoring inspection, a small number of standards were unmet. These standards related to the maintenance of the building and the effective implementation of the school’s health and safety policy.  The school has taken swift action to address these unmet standards. It submitted two clear action plans to the Department for Education (DfE), the registration authority for independent schools. The action plans identified how the school would work with external partners to review health and safety policies and implement regular checks on fire safety equipment and implement weekly full-site inspections. The school also stated its intention to ensure that staff receive effective training to understand their health and safety responsibilities.  The school has taken effective action to implement the action plans. Records reviewed

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Main inspection findings

during this progress monitoring inspection highlight that the school makes regular checks on fire extinguishers and resources in the school buildings. Staff receive ongoing health and safety training. They receive information about their health and safety responsibilities. External health and safety partners review provision in the school and make recommendations for further improvements.  The proprietor has appointed a senior leader to manage health and safety in the school. They monitor reported concerns and ensure that the school carries out maintenance work where needed. The method for reporting maintenance or safety issues is effective. All members of staff use an electronic reporting system to alert on-site maintenance personnel to building concerns or maintenance work. Leaders have ensured that all staff fully understand the new reporting system. They have clarified to staff, through training,

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Main inspection findings

that it is the staff member’s responsibility to report any issues or concerns swiftly.  The school standards in this part that were unmet at the previous inspection are now met.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements that were checked during this inspection. This included the standards and requirements that the school was judged to not comply with at the previous inspection. Not all of the standards and associated requirements were checked during this inspection.

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Part 5. Premises of and accommodation at schools

 22 The standards about the premises of and accommodation at the school are those contained in this Part.  25 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that the school premises and the accommodation and facilities provided therein are maintained to a standard such that, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of pupils are ensured.

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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.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the purpose of which 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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School details

Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

School status Independent special school

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £35,000 to £47,000

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School details

Email address admin@demeterhouseschool.com

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School details

Dates of previous standard inspection 27 to 29 June 2023

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Information about this school

 Hestia School is an independent special school. The school is registered to provide full- time education for up to 60 pupils. Currently, there are 38 pupils on roll.  All pupils who attend this school have an education, health and care plan. Many pupils have social, emotional or mental health needs. Some have sensory needs and/or a diagnosis of autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.  Pupils are placed at the school by several different local authorities.  A linked school is known as Hera House and operates from the nearby Appleby site. It caters for pupils aged 5 to 11 years.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was carried out at the request of the registration authority for independent schools. The purpose of the inspection was to monitor the progress the school has made in meeting the independent school standards and other requirements that it was judged to not comply with at its previous inspection.  The school’s previous inspection, at which the school was judged not to comply with the independent school standards, was a standard inspection and took place from 27 to 29 June 2023.  This was the school’s second progress monitoring inspection since the standard inspection in June 2023. The first progress monitoring inspection took place on 6 February 2024.  The DfE required the school to prepare an action plan. This was a statutory requirement.  Ofsted evaluated and accepted the school’s first action plan on 13 November 2023. It also evaluated and accepted the school’s second action plan on 9 May 2024.

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Information about this inspection

 The progress monitoring inspection was conducted without notice.  To check compliance with the independent school standards, the inspectors met with the proprietor, the headteacher and other staff. The inspectors toured the school site and scrutinised school policies and records.  The inspection also considered the school’s safeguarding arrangements, including the single central record of pre-employment checks and whether the school’s safeguarding policy is available to parents. These requirements of the independent school standards continue to be met.

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Inspection team

David Mills, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Richard Jones His Majesty’s Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

Parent View You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/ofsted .

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Inspection team

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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