Learning4Life-GY

Inspection of Learning4Life-GY 155–159 Freeman Street, Grimsby DN32 7AP

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Inspection dates: 26 to 28 November 2024

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Sixth-form provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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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?

Pupils are happy at this welcoming school. They describe staff as a ‘safe face’ and the school as a ‘safe place’. Pupils appreciate that the adults who work in the school, know them well. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and nurturing.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn about the positive indicators of physical and mental health. They talk knowledgeably about the benefits of a balanced diet, exercise and the signs which make a healthy relationship.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are clear that everyone is treated fairly and with respect here. They debate and discuss with thought and consideration topics such as sexuality, equality and diversity. Pupils are proud to raise donations for causes that they support and talk excitedly about the events they organise to raise awareness of refugee week in the community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ conduct and their achievement. It encourages pupils to demonstrate positive attitudes based on the school’s core values of ‘ready, respectful, safe’. Pupils celebrate the improvements in their own behaviour since joining the school. Typically, pupils who attend regularly, achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils access employability lessons to prepare them for the world of work. The school proactively engages with local employers to support pupils with their future career aspirations.

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better?

The school has an ambitious curriculum for its pupils. The curriculum design ensures that pupils build their knowledge and skills progressively from their varying starting points. This curriculum responds to the needs of pupils who join the school at different points through the year. The curriculum is highly personalised and designed purposefully to include activities and experiences that meet pupils’ interests and aspirations. This helps to develop positive attitudes to learning from pupils. The school helps pupils to overcome successfully any negative legacy of their previous school experience.

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better?

The school strives to instil a love of learning in its pupils. For example, in history the curriculum immerses pupils in opportunities to learn about their local heritage and what it means to be from Grimsby. Pupils engage wholly in their learning.

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better?

The school completes comprehensive checks on pupils’ knowledge and social and emotional development. This enables the school to identify early any gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding. Adults skilfully weave extra practice into lessons to help pupils to address these gaps. They support pupils to begin to catch up effectively. The school also offers mental health support and counselling as necessary. 26 to 28 November 2024 There is a carefully planned programme for pupils who speak English as an additional language. Adults support pupils to learn to read and write successfully. These pupils show a passion and determination to learn to read quickly and with comprehension. Overall, pupils read texts at an appropriate level based on the length of time spent learning English. However, some of the books are not suitably matched to pupils’ needs or experiences.

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better?

Pupils are given helpful guidance for the next stages in their life. In the sixth form, students access a range of programmes that help them with the world of work and employment. These programmes include supported internships, vocational training and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) qualifications. Pupils enjoy engaging in horticulture at a local allotment or using their decorating skills to paint rooms in the school. This provides pupils with opportunities to be well-prepared for adulthood.

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better?

The school analyses the attendance of individual pupils. It provides alternative arrangements to encourage good attendance, including providing pupils with support from a range of external agencies. Despite this work, some pupils do not attend school often enough. This is impacts on pupils’ achievement and aspects of their wider development.

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better?

Pupils learn about finances and money matters in their independent skills sessions. This programme supports pupils to understand how to pay bills and budget effectively. They understand the concept of equality in a fair society. Pupils learn about other religions and how to treat everyone equally and fairly. However, their understanding of topics such as fundamental British values and protected characteristic is variable. This means that pupils are not as well-prepared for life in modern Britain as they could be.

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better?

Staff enjoy working at the school. They consider themselves to be part of ‘one big family’. The school manages staff workload effectively. Staff are well-supported by the leaders, governors and proprietor body.

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better?

The proprietor body and governors have a strong oversight of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. Leaders and the proprietor body demonstrate good skills and knowledge to ensure that the independent school standards are met consistently. The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Some of the reading materials that staff provide pupils with to promote a love of reading are not chosen carefully enough, particularly for pupils new to the country or new to learning English. This means that pupils do not get the most 26 to 28 November 2024 from the texts on offer. The school should work with staff to better match texts to pupils’ needs and experience so that they get more form their wider reading.  The school’s work to ensure that all pupils have high attendance is not having consistent impact. This means that some pupils have low attendance and miss out on essential learning and their wider personal development. The school should strengthen its work to improve the attendance of pupils with low attendance so that they benefit fully from all that school has to offer.  Some aspects of the school’s personal development programme are less developed than others. Consequently, some pupils’ knowledge and experience of

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

topics such as British values and protected characteristics is variable. The school should strengthen these aspects of the curriculum so that pupils learn more about these important areas of learning.

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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. 26 to 28 November 2024

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School details

Unique reference number 147462 DfE registration number 812/6008

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School details

Inspection number 10342150 Type of school Other Independent School

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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sixth form

Annual fees (day pupils) £14,600 to £32,175

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sixth form

Email address office@learning4life-gy.co.uk

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sixth form

Dates of previous inspection 21 to 23 September 2021 26 to 28 November 2024

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Information about this school

 The school is registered to admit 80 pupils. It caters for pupils with SEND, including those with education, health and care plans. Most pupils have a primary diagnosis of autism, anxiety and SEMH needs.  The school welcomes pupils with English as an additional language. Some pupils are new to the country and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.  There are two proprietors who form the proprietor body. One of the proprietors is also the principal.  The school operates over two sites. The second provision operates at 146 Freeman Street, Grimsby DN32 7AJ.  The school uses an outdoor space at a local centre for physical education.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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 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

 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.  Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the second routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the principal and other leaders from the school.  Inspectors met with the chief executive officer of the proprietor board and a representative of the governors.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects English, mathematics, history and personal, social and health education. For each deep dive, inspectors held

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Information about this inspection

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.  Inspectors also spoke to leaders and looked at samples of work for the ESOL programme. 26 to 28 November 2024  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 culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors completed a premises check at both sites.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and during social times.  The views of staff, pupils, parents and carers were considered from meeting with them and from the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaires. An adult was present when inspectors spoke to some pupils.

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Inspection team

Alison Stephenson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

David Penny Ofsted Inspector 26 to 28 November 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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