Westmorland School

Inspection of Westmorland School Weldbank Lane, Chorley, Lancashire PR7 3NQ

p.1

Inspection dates: 11 to 13 February 2025

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 Outstanding

p.1

Overall effectiveness Good

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, and their families, appreciate the great lengths that staff go to for them at Westmorland School. Each pupil is known well as an individual and staff strive to meet and support pupils’ specific needs. Pupils benefit from consistent routines and therapeutic input. They enjoy caring relationships with staff and they feel safe.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand that the school expects the best of them both personally and academically. Staff make effective use of the school’s specialist facilities and resources to overcome any barriers that pupils have to their learning and development. Pupils are supported expertly to develop their levels of independence, communication and social skills. From varied starting points, pupils make good progress and achieve well.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

In the main, the atmosphere around school and in lessons is calm and purposeful. Pupils attend school regularly. They are routinely supported to understand their emotions and to regulate their behaviour. This helps pupils to better prepare for their learning so that they can access the curriculum on offer.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a wide-ranging personal development offer. For example, pupils access swimming lessons and extra-curricular opportunities to support their physical and mental health, such as yoga and boxing classes. They learn about responsibility by becoming pupil ambassadors or looking after the many animals on the school farm.

p.2

better?

In the recent past, the school took decisive action to transform the curriculum that it offers. This is so that it better meets the changing needs and abilities of pupils attending the school. Pupils’ various starting points and special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are suitably assessed. Pupils follow carefully designed specialist curriculum pathways that cater for their specific learning needs, as well as their individual stages of development.

p.2

better?

Some pupils access the curriculum at a pre-formal stage of learning. In this pathway, leaders have meticulously planned the knowledge that they want pupils to know and remember. This helps teachers to identify the steps of learning for each individual pupil so that they make good progress through the curriculum.

p.2

better?

Other pupils access the curriculum at a more formal level. The school ensures that the curriculum is broad and balanced with an appropriate range of subjects that meets pupils’ interests. This includes appropriate vocational subjects in key stages 3 and 4. Teachers are adept at assessing pupils’ learning. They successfully adapt the delivery of the curriculum to meet the wide range of pupils’ needs and abilities. This helps pupils to build well on what they already know and can do. However, some subjects are newly introduced and the knowledge that the school wants pupils to learn is not as clearly identified as it could be. The school is still refining the order in which new knowledge should be taught. This hinders some pupils’ learning. 11 to 13 February 2025 Teachers and other specialist staff have strong knowledge and expertise related to pupils’ SEND. Teachers develop pupils’ numeracy, communication, and speech and

p.2

better?

language skills to great effect. This helps all pupils to engage more fully with their learning and to develop their independence.

p.3

better?

Reading is prioritised throughout the school. There are daily opportunities for pupils to read or be read to. The school is in the process of embedding a phonics programme for all pupils. This begins as soon as pupils are ready to learn to read. However, the support that some pupils receive is not targeted as well as it could be to fill the specific gaps that they have in their reading knowledge. This hampers how swiftly some pupils develop their confidence and fluency when reading.

p.3

better?

Staff know pupils well and they share strong, positive relationships with them. Pupils are well supported to recognise the feelings that may lead to negative behaviours. This includes pupils with complex sensory needs. When pupils struggle to behave appropriately, staff use clear and consistent strategies to provide effective help and support.

p.3

better?

The school’s vision is centred around providing wide-ranging opportunities for pupils to develop themselves personally and socially. The school works closely with external partners, parents and carers to promote pupils’ health and well-being. This enables pupils to gain as much independence as possible. Pupils are well prepared for their next steps in education and their lives beyond school. For example, pupils receive therapeutic support and enhanced lessons in personal, social, health education and life skills. They learn cooking skills and experience outdoor learning. Pupils build their confidence in social interactions. They put this into practice during trips in the local community. They also learn how to keep themselves safe, including online.

p.3

better?

Older pupils receive independent careers information advice and guidance. A newly introduced careers programme is being developed to ensure that pupils can develop their knowledge and experience of work-related opportunities. For example, through work experience and employer visits to the school.

p.3

better?

The proprietor has effective systems in place to ensure that the independent school standards (the standards) are met consistently. It provides relevant training and support for staff to help them deliver the curriculum well. Staff feel that their workload is manageable and that their well-being is considered, even during periods of significant change. The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

p.3

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 11 to 13 February 2025

p.3

(Information for the school and proprietor)

 In some subjects, the school is developing the curriculum. It has not ensured that teachers are clear about exactly what pupils should learn and in what order. This hinders some pupils from building a secure body of subject-specific knowledge over time. The school should complete its curriculum thinking in these subjects so that teachers are clear about what pupils should learn and when.  Some pupils have gaps in their reading knowledge. As a result, they do not access the curriculum as well as they should. The school should ensure that it further strengthens the support that it provides to help pupils read. This is so that support is more targeted and helps pupils to develop fluency and confidence in their reading as quickly as possible.

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. 11 to 13 February 2025

p.4

School details

Unique reference number 132828 DfE registration number 888/6048

p.5

School details

Inspection number 10375131 Type of school Other independent special school

p.5

School details

Website www.witherslackgroup.co.uk/our- locations/our-schools/westmorland-school Email address westmorland@witherslackgroup.co.uk

p.5

School details

Date of previous inspection 8 to 10 March 2022 11 to 13 February 2025

p.5

Information about this school

 The previous standard inspection took place from 8 to 20 March 2022. An additional inspection took place on 12 September 2024.  The school operates from two premises. Pupils aged five to 11 years attend the school’s site at Weldbank Lane, Chorley, Lancashire, PR7 3NQ where it provides education for pupils. Pupils aged 11 to 16 attend Wood Campus, Midge Hall Lane, Leyland, PR26 6TN.  The school caters for pupils with a range of SEND, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism and social, emotional and mental health needs. All pupils have an education, health and care plan.  The school is registered to admit up to 80 pupils. There are currently 68 pupils on the school roll.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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 evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  During the inspection, inspectors met with the headteacher, the regional director of the Witherslack group, other members of the senior leadership team and a range of school staff.  The lead inspector met with representatives of the proprietor body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading and communication, mathematics and personal, social, health and economic education. For each deep dive, inspectors held 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 spoke to school leaders about the curriculum and looked at curriculum plans in a range of other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central register; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

p.6

Information about this inspection

considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first. 11 to 13 February 2025  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text comments.  There were no responses to Ofsted’s online pupil surveys.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online staff surveys. Inspectors spoke with a range of staff to discuss the support that they receive from the school.  Inspectors spoke with some pupils about school life. Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school.  An inspector carried out a tour of the premises.  Inspectors viewed a range of evidence to evaluate the proprietor’s compliance with the standards.

p.6

Inspection team

Amanda Downing, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

p.7

Inspection team

Pippa Jackson Maitland His Majesty's Inspector 11 to 13 February 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.

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