Edstart Schools Wirral

Inspection of Edstart Schools Wirral 237 Liscard Road, Wallasey, Merseyside CH44 5TH

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Positive, caring relationships form the cornerstone of this school. Most pupils have had negative experiences of schools previously. When they join this school, pupils typically do not appreciate or value education. Yet from the moment they set foot in the building, pupils are warmly welcomed into a nurturing environment. Staff prioritise getting to know pupils well. Over time, pupils come to trust staff. Pupils feel safe, cared for and listened to. They begin to grow in confidence. This enables pupils to engage in, and benefit from, all that the school offers.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn to be respectful towards others and tolerant of difference. Staff model the positive behaviours that they wish to inculcate in pupils, such as being patient and polite. The school has successfully established routines that encourage pupils to attend school, behave well and engage in their learning. The school is a calm and orderly place. Most pupils get on well with each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well served by the school’s determination to help them to become ‘brilliant 16-year-olds’ by the time that they leave. This includes providing a high-quality education. Most pupils are keen to do the school proud. From their starting points, they typically learn well across the curriculum.

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better?

The school’s pastoral care is a strength. Pupils’ needs, including any special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and barriers to learning are swiftly identified. Every pupil has a key worker who frequently reviews their progress, both academically and personally. Carefully tailored interventions are put into place to help pupils to do well. When pupils struggle to behave appropriately, staff teach them to understand and manage their emotions. Over time, most pupils’ attendance and behaviour improves substantially.

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better?

The school places a strong emphasis on ensuring that pupils gain the qualifications that they need to access appropriate next steps in education or employment. To this end, it provides an ambitious curriculum. Staff also ensure that pupils receive information about the different routes that are available to them when they finish school. The careers programme takes pupils’ needs and interests into account. They are supported well to understand the decisions and actions that they should take to achieve their budding aspirations.

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better?

The school has ensured that the curriculum sets out what pupils will learn clearly. Careful thought has been given to ensuring that pupils encounter new information in a logical order. However, the school does not deliver the curriculum in the intended order to a small number of pupils. This hinders these pupils in connecting their learning together and remembering it over time.

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better?

Staff value the guidance that the school provides to develop their subject-specific knowledge and to teach well. The school’s collaborative approach to lesson design 14 to 16 January 2025 helps to reduce staff’s workload. Staff deliver learning activities effectively. They are knowledgeable about pupils’ needs and starting points. Staff use this information to good effect to help pupils, including those with SEND, to learn well.

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better?

The school has a robust approach to identifying gaps in pupils’ knowledge when they arrive. This includes gaps in their reading knowledge. Leaders have recently strengthened their approach to supporting pupils who struggle to read well. This is helping these pupils to develop into accurate and confident readers.

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better?

The school provides a comprehensive programme of personal development and enrichment. This helps to prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain. For instance, pupils’ learning about different faiths is deepened by visits to a range of religious buildings. Pupils are encouraged to be responsible and considerate citizens. For example, some pupils engage in litter picking in the local area.

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better?

The proprietor is fully involved in the life of the school. It has successfully ensured that the independent school standards (‘the standards’) are met. This includes compliance with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. Policies, such as an effective safeguarding policy that meets statutory requirements, are made available to parents and carers. The proprietor is committed to continually improving the quality of education that the school provides. To this end, it has appointed a governing body comprised of individuals with the necessary expertise to provide effective support and challenge to the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 A small number of pupils do not experience the curriculum in a logical order. This makes it more difficult for these pupils to build their knowledge as securely as they could over time. The school should ensure that curriculum content is delivered in the intended order to pupils of all ages so that they learn and remember more as they progress through the curriculum.

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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. 14 to 16 January 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 150427 DfE registration number 344/6020

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School details

Inspection number 10342225 Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Proprietor EdStart Specialist Education Ltd

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School details

Headteacher Dympna Woods (executive headteacher)

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £18,000 to £19,200

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School details

Email address admin@edstartschools.com 14 to 16 January 2025

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Information about this school

 The school was registered by the Department of Education on 29 February 2024. This is the school’s first standard inspection.  The school is located on Liscard Road, Wallasey, Merseyside CH44 5TH.  The school is registered to admit up to 50 pupils.  The school caters for pupils who have been permanently excluded, or are at risk of exclusion, from their mainstream schools. The school also caters for pupils with SEND. Most pupils have social, emotional and mental health needs.  The proprietor has appointed a governing body.  The school uses two unregistered alternative provisions.

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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 evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the chair of the proprietor body, the director of education, the executive headteacher, other leaders and staff.  The lead inspector met with a representative of the local authority. She also spoke with a member of the governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics and physical education. For each deep dive, they discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and samples of pupils’ work in some

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Information about this inspection

other subjects.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including those relating to the standards and 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 14 to 16 January 2025 considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors considered the free-text comments shared through Ofsted Parent View and the responses to the Ofsted survey for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s survey for pupils. However, inspectors spoke with a range of pupils during the inspection.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktime, in lessons and around the school.  The lead inspector made a tour of the school premises to check the suitability of the premises and accommodation against the relevant standards.

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Inspection team

Sally Rix, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Maria McGarry Ofsted Inspector 14 to 16 January 2025 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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