Heather Bridge School

Inspection of Heather Bridge School Pine Tree Lodge, Princetown Road, Dousland, Yelverton, Devon PL20 6NN

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Inspection dates: 10 to 12 December 2024

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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 Not previously inspected

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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 at Heather Bridge School have often had previous fragmented educational experiences or been out of school for periods of time. The school prioritises re- engaging pupils with education. The strong focus on relationships, that the school has adopted, results in pupils who feel safe and well cared for. Pupils trust the adults they work with. Consequently, they respond with increasing positivity and success to the school’s strong culture of high expectations of their behaviour and respect for each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff demonstrate care, expertise and belief in pupils. This results in pupils growing in confidence and becoming more self-aware. Pupils form aspirations for their future pathways. These are supported well by the school’s ambition for them to be successful when they leave.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn a curriculum which is designed to become more demanding, the longer the pupils are at the school. Pupils benefit from the increasingly successful balance that the school strikes with meeting their social and emotional needs so that they are ready to learn. Learning is designed to merge pupils’ strengths and interests with their education, health and care (EHC) plan outcomes. This sustains the focus on learning, which the school has re-kindled.

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better?

Pupils arrive with varying gaps in their knowledge across subjects and at different starting points in their education. The proprietor body has given a great deal of thought to the structure of the curriculum. The school adapts this to make it bespoke to its context. The foundations for this are provided by the ‘enterprise learning project’ way of working. These uniquely designed termly projects are supported effectively by ‘industry experts’. This supports staff’s own subject knowledge. They use this to support pupils towards achieving high-quality end points, referred to as ‘beautiful work’. These combine a vast set of skills such as collaborative learning, resilience and linking new knowledge with prior learning. The school continues to expand its ambition for pupils through the recent development of the ‘Horizon space’. This supports the more established ‘Explore space’. ‘Horizon’ provides a more explicit, academic pathway for pupils towards ambitious outcomes

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better?

All pupils at this school have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school ensures that staff understand the needs that pupils may have and how to support them effectively. Carefully planned induction for pupils helps the school to understand pupils’ starting points. However, the effectiveness of this is stronger in meeting pupils’ social and emotional needs than it is for pupil’s academic needs. Teaching is not consistently adapted precisely enough so that pupils learn as well as they could. Sometimes, subject matter is not presented as clearly as it could be and activity choices are not fully thought through. This can create additional barriers to 10 to 12 December 2024 pupils’ learning because their time and efforts spent learning are not used to best effect.

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better?

Reading has been a focus of the school since opening and as its pupil numbers increase. It places emphasis and priority on pupils being able to read well, with fluency, expression and understanding. Carefully chosen texts are used to support reading for pleasure and the English curriculum. Visits to the local library are a regular part of school life. Pupils are happy to share book choices and talk about books that they have read. Although not currently needed, there is a curriculum in place for pupils at the earlier stages of learning to read, or pupils with very specific gaps.

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better?

However, the school’s approach to teaching early writing is not fully effective. This is because the curriculum does not sequence, or identify clearly enough, what pupils need to learn. As a result, some pupils do not have enough opportunities to develop their writing, including their handwriting. This hinders the quality of pupils’ writing and their ability to apply their skills across the curriculum.

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better?

Pupils learn to know themselves as individuals. They grow in understanding of what they find easy and what is hard. This supports them well for life beyond school. Pupils are supported successfully to show greater independence in recognising when they need a break to regulate their feelings. The school has set up areas to ensure that pupils have the space to do this. Adults help pupils get back to learning as quickly as possible.

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better?

The school has clear and successful approach to attendance. It has developed targeted support for pupils and close working with parents and carers. This has resulted in increased attendance for pupils who have previously been reluctant or too anxious to be in school regularly.

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better?

Staff are proud to work here. The proprietor body has prioritised staff’s professional development. Consequently, staff feel empowered and valued. They have a growing skill set which is used, with increasing success as the school grows and establishes itself. This impacts positively on individual pupils’ bespoke education offer. Careful monitoring by the proprietor body ensures that it provides the right level of challenge and support so that the school meets the independent school standards consistently. It also ensures that 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)

10 to 12 December 2024  Teaching is not consistently adapted well enough to meet pupils’ academic learning needs. It does not fully support its academic offer to be as strong as the offer to meet pupils’ social and emotional needs. Consequently, pupils do not achieve as well as they could in some aspects of the curriculum. The proprietor body should ensure that the school has the knowledge and expertise needed to adapt learning to meet pupils’ academic needs more effectively.  Sometimes, new content is not introduced clearly enough, and activities are not well matched to the intended learning. This hinders pupils’ learning and can occasionally create additional difficulties for pupils. The proprietor body should support the school to strengthen its monitoring and review of curriculum implementation so that it matches more closely with how it intends pupils to learn.  The school’s approach to teaching some aspects of writing is not fully effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

This means that pupils’ handwriting and transcription skills are not as developed as they could be. The proprietor body should support the school with an approach to writing which ensures that pupils get the appropriate skills they need to write with increasingly fluency, accuracy and confidence.

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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. 10 to 12 December 2024

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School details

Unique reference number 149595 DfE registration number 878/6089

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School details

Inspection number 10342195 Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Email address admin@heatherbridgeschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected 10 to 12 December 2024

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Information about this school

 Heather Bridge School was registered by the Department of Education on 3 October 2023. This was the school’s first standard inspection.  The school is located on one site at Pine Tree Lodge, Princetown Road, Dousland, Yelverton, Devon PL20 6NN  The proprietor, Spaghetti Bridge Ltd, runs eight other schools.  The school caters for pupils with SEND. Most pupils have autism and social, emotional and mental health needs.  The school does not currently have pupils younger than Year 7 on its roll.  All pupils have an EHC plan. Most pupils are placed and funded by Devon, Plymouth and Cornwall local authorities.  The school uses two unregistered alternative provisions.  The school does not currently have any pupils on roll in its sixth form.

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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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher and members of the leadership team.  An inspector held discussions with the chair of the proprietor board of Spaghetti Bridge Ltd and the regional operations lead.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in English, personal, social and health education, mathematics and science. In each subject, inspectors met with senior and curriculum leaders, talked to pupils, visited lessons, spoke to teachers and looked at examples of pupils’ work.  Members of school staff were present to support during some pupil conversations.  Inspectors met with staff to consider their views.  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

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Information about this inspection

culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first. 10 to 12 December 2024  Inspectors considered the views of parents who responded to the confidential questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Leanne Thirlby, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Tracy Hannon Ofsted Inspector 10 to 12 December 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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