IncludEd Learning

Inspection of IncludEd Learning 8 Alexandra Road South, Whalley Range, Manchester M16 8ER

p.1

Inspection dates: 10 to 12 December 2024

p.1

Overall effectiveness Good

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

p.1

Overall effectiveness Good

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

IncludEd Learning school has been expertly set up to support pupils to reintegrate back into education. All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff guide pupils well to make positive changes to their lives. Pupils appreciate the patience and care with which staff support them. Most pupils are calm and positive about coming to school.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils are supported well to manage their emotions and behaviour. Well- embedded routines help pupils to improve their behaviour choices. Consequently, pupils increasingly engage with their learning.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

In the main, the school maintains high expectations of pupils’ achievement. Staff ensure that pupils receive a broad curriculum that meets their interests and needs. Most pupils achieve well from their starting points.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment activities. For instance, pupils take part in cookery classes, photography projects and gardening in the local park. Such opportunities, build pupils’ interest in learning and develops their social skills. Additionally, the school promotes pupils’ wider development through play, art and speech therapy. This helps pupils to build their resilience and enhance their communication skills.

p.2

better?

The school has a strong understanding of the unique backgrounds and starting points with which pupils arrive. This helps the school to shape the curriculum so that pupils are supported to participate positively in school life. The school has collaborated with subject experts to craft a well-organised curriculum. In most subjects, staff typically have a clear understanding of what they want pupils to learn.

p.2

better?

In most subjects, the curriculum is delivered well. Some teachers use their strong subject knowledge to develop pupils’ vocabulary and to clarify instructions. Furthermore, most staff routinely review and check how well pupils are learning the subject content. Classroom activities are carefully tailored to meet pupils’ needs. Staff offer additional support to pupils who have difficulty in accessing the curriculum. This helps some pupils to revisit and apply their learning. Nonetheless, on occasion, learning activities do not help pupils to retain key knowledge as well as they should. At times, this leads to some pupils not knowing more and remembering more over time.

p.2

better?

The school promotes reading well and ensures that pupils read widely and often. Some pupils who struggle to read are given additional support to help them to read competently. However, the school does not effectively check that its reading programme is having the intended impact. At times, this means that some pupils 10 to 12 December 2024 have unaddressed gaps in their reading knowledge. As a result, some pupils do not develop fluency and confidence in reading as well as they should.

p.2

better?

All pupils have behaviour and emotional difficulties. For a minority of pupils, this can occasionally lead to dysregulation and resistance to learning. Even so, staff maintain a secure relationship with pupils. They motivate pupils to take part in learning activities and wider school opportunities. Most pupils are responsive to staff and are keen to live up to the high expectations that the school has for their behaviour. Staff work relentlessly to improve attendance of some pupils. Despite improvements in attendance rates, some pupils continue to miss school on a regular basis. This impacts on how well they keep up with the curriculum

p.3

better?

The school has a comprehensive personal, social, health and economic education curriculum. Staff use individual pupil targets to ensure that pupils learn what they need to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy. Some pupils host coffee mornings for the elderly and read to nursery children as part of the school’s ‘teen to tots’ programme. This helps pupils to improve their outlook of education and raises their aspirations.

p.3

better?

The school ensures that pupils receive accurate and impartial careers guidance. For instance, the school arranges for pupils to work on a farm or visit healthcare services. This facilitates pupils to pursue their selected career choices. However, the school is reshaping its careers programme so that it better caters for pupils who stay in school beyond Year 10. Currently, some pupils have not benefited from broader experiences and opportunities to learn about different career routes. As such, some pupils are not as prepared as well as they could be for adulthood.

p.3

better?

The school considers staff’s workload and well-being when making decisions. For instance, the school sources external specialists to help enhance the quality of education. This results in staff feeling well-supported and motivated.

p.3

better?

The school uses an advisory panel to help govern and oversee the quality of provision for pupils’ learning. The challenge provided by the advisory panel supports the school to remain reflective about its practices. The proprietor has appointed leaders with the required expertise to ensure that the independent school standards (‘the standards’) are met consistently well. For example, there are rigorous processes to ensure that the school building is maintained well and is conducive to a positive learning environment. The proprietor ensures that the school meets the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

p.3

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 10 to 12 December 2024

p.3

(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Sometimes, learning activities do not effectively support pupils to secure the important subject content that they are taught. This means that some pupils do not build on their knowledge as securely as they could. The school should ensure that staff have the knowledge and expertise to select learning activities that help pupils to know and remember more.  The school does not keep a sufficient oversight of how well pupils who struggle to read are being supported. This means that gaps in some pupils’ reading knowledge are not addressed as well as they should be. The school should monitor the impact of its support for these pupils to ensure that the work has the intended impact.  A small number of pupils continue to miss school frequently. These pupils miss essential learning, which impacts on their education and wider development. The school should further develop its work to remove any barriers to regular

p.4

(Information for the school and proprietor)

attendance so that these pupils benefit from the education and experiences that it offers.  The careers programme is in the early stages of being improved to cater for pupils who remain in the school beyond Year 10. As a result, some pupils are not as prepared as they could be for their next stage in education, employment and/or training. The school should ensure that pupils across the school are guided and receive the experiences that they need to better prepare themselves for adulthood.

p.4

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.

p.4

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

p.4

School details

Unique reference number 141207 DfE registration number 352/6009

p.5

School details

Inspection number 10342095 Type of school Other independent special school

p.5

School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £22,800 to £45,000

p.5

School details

Email address noreen@includedlearning.co.uk

p.5

School details

Dates of previous inspection 14 to 16 January 2020 10 to 12 December 2024

p.5

Information about this school

 The school is located at 8 Alexandra Road South, Whalley Range, Manchester M16 8ER.  The previous standard inspection was 14 to 16 January 2020.  The headteacher is also the proprietor.  The school caters for pupils with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties.  Most pupils who attend this school have an education, health and care plan.  The school is registered to admit up to 16 pupils.  At the time of inspection there were no Year 7 pupils.  The school is registered as a mixed school, but at the time of inspection there were no male pupils.  The school makes use of one provider of alternative provision for a small number of pupils.

p.6

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.

p.6

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.

p.6

Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  The inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken this into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the proprietor, who is also the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, other school leaders and staff. Inspectors also spoke to the chair of governors.  Inspectors spoke with the leaders responsible for personal development, behaviour and attendance, careers, SEND and reading.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including those relating to the standards and the curriculum.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktime, lunchtime, in lessons and around the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: mathematics, art and design and English. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to

p.6

Information about this inspection

10 to 12 December 2024 teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. They also considered the curriculum across other subject areas and looked at examples of pupils’ work in these subjects.  The lead inspector made a tour of the school premises to check the suitability of the premises and accommodation against the relevant standards.  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.  There were no responses to Ofsted’s Parent View. However, an inspector spoke to some parents to discuss their views of the school.  The inspectors spoke with pupils about school life. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.

p.7

Information about this inspection

 The inspectors spoke with staff to discuss leaders’ support for their workload and well-being. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.

p.7

Inspection team

Amina Modan, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

p.7

Inspection team

Haroon Asghar 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.

p.7

Inspection team

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspection team

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspection team

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

p.8