Life Skills Manor

Inspection of Life Skills Manor Baypoint Club, Ramsgate Road, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9QL

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

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

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils talk very positively about their school and the nurturing haven it provides. Aspirations for their success are high. Staff understand their needs. As a result, pupils achieve extremely well in all aspects of their education. Importantly, they also develop and consolidate the key life skills they will need when they eventually leave the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Though a relatively new school, pupils who have been here longer are quick to share how it has improved since they joined. They feel that it has always been a happy place and know that expectations of their behaviour and their engagement in learning are high, though ‘fair’. Because of this, relationships are positive and poor behaviour does not disrupt learning, even when pupils’ anxieties are running high.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Younger pupils who joined at the start of this academic year talk about a friendly, welcoming environment. Those who attended a short residential trip during the inspection feel that the experience has already helped build their self-esteem. Pupils are also pleased with the progress they make in classrooms. They are equally positive about experiences such as trekking across the local countryside as part of their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition.

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better?

This is a school where exceptionality is everyday practice. Staff are dedicated experts, though modest in the way they present their successes to visitors. They work hard because they enjoy being here. Despite their understated approach, staff are unapologetically ambitious for all pupils, no matter what their backgrounds or barriers to learning. Because of this, pupils flourish and are well prepared for their next steps on leaving the school.

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better?

Leaders at all levels know the school well. Those in positions of governance are knowledgeable. They understand how the school operates and are heavily involved in ensuring that pupils are provided with the very best quality of care and education possible. Their experience and expertise play a significant role in supporting the proprietor to ensure that the independent school standards and other statutory requirements continue to be met over time. This includes schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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better?

Pupils new to the school settle quickly because routines are well established and because staff make boundaries clear. Classroom visits reveal a lot of trust between pupils and staff. Older pupils in particular are deeply loyal to their teachers. Many pupils have been out of education for long periods of time before they join the school. Staff know it takes time, kindness and patience to build pupils’ confidence and self-esteem. They know that relationships need to be nurtured before pupils can thrive. Staff invest considerable time getting to understand pupils’ vulnerabilities, as well as the key gaps in their learning. Consequently, teachers are skilled at designing and adapting tasks that accelerate pupils’ progress through the curriculum. 4 to 6 March 2025 The school’s curriculum is very bespoke. It has appropriate breadth. As well as developing life skills, it has the academic rigour for pupils to gain the qualifications

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better?

they need for their next steps. Pupils enjoy learning about the world around them. Their GSCE artwork showcases their talents. Individualised learning is also part of everyday life here. This includes animal care, equine studies and a range of therapeutic learning that supports pupils with complex needs extremely well.

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better?

The school’s personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme is of high quality. A personalised package of relationships and sex education is adapted to meet individual needs. Tailored careers education and guidance make a strong contribution to pupils’ personal development. A range of external visitors engage and motivate pupils about the possibilities open to them. The school is also pro- active in facilitating a wide range of meaningful work experience opportunities. Because of this, pupils are well informed about their options on leaving the school.

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better?

Pupils have a sophisticated understanding of equality and diversity. Their discussions about aspects of equality, such as equal pay for men and women are well informed by what they have learned before. This was clear to see in a debate linked to football, where boys and girls talked confidently about potential discrimination linked to the law around protected characteristics. Pupils also have an appropriate grasp of what difference means, for example linked to neurodiversity or different lifestyles.

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better?

Staff are skilled at identifying pupils’ changing needs as they move through the school. A range of specialist staff are also available when pupils’ needs change over time. The school has an effective programme to support pupils who join the school who struggle to read. This impacts positively on pupils’ confidence in accessing the wider curriculum, as well as successfully supporting their journey to become fluent readers.

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better?

Parents and carers are very positive about Life Skills Manor and the impact it has on their children’s lives. All who replied to Ofsted Parent View would recommend the school. Their comments in free-text messages pay testament to the high-quality provision in this excellent school. This includes aspects of overall well-being, such as the welfare, health and safety of pupils, as well as the quality of education they enjoy.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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. 4 to 6 March 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 148860 DfE registration number 886/6168

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School details

Inspection number 10342191 Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Email address paul@lifeskillsmanor.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 5 to 7 July 2022 4 to 6 March 2025

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Information about this school

 Life Skills Manor provides education for pupils who have autism spectrum conditions. All pupils who attend the school have an education, health and care plan. The school operates from one site at Baypoint Club, Ramsgate Road, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9QL.  The school has a clear focus on developing pupils’ life skills. The life skills curriculum sits alongside traditional curriculum content.  Although registered for pupils aged 10 to 18, at the time of the inspection the school only had pupils in Year 7 through to Year 11.  The school was subject to a material change inspection in December 2022.  The school does not currently use 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

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held a wide range of meetings with leaders at all levels, as well as teaching and support staff. The lead inspector met with the chair of the governing body and two other governors. He also met with the chair of the proprietor body.  The lead inspector spoke on the telephone to an officer from the local authority that places pupils at the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, PSHE and life skills. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also discussed the

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Information about this inspection

curriculum in some other subjects with leaders.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of parents, 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. 4 to 6 March 2025  Inspectors talked to pupils throughout the inspection to gain their views about the school. The lead inspector also talked formally to two representative groups of pupils on day three of the inspection.  Inspectors considered the views of parents submitted through Ofsted Parent View. The views of staff were also considered through Ofsted’s staff survey.

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pupils

The school has applied to the Department for Education (DfE) to make a ‘material change’ to its registration. At the DfE’s request, we checked whether the school is likely to meet the relevant independent school standards if the DfE decides to approve the change. This part of the inspection was carried out under section 162(4) of the Education Act 2002.

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pupils

 The outcome of this part of the inspection is: the school is likely to meet the

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relevant independent school standards if the material change relating

to the school provision is implemented.  The school is currently registered for up to 50 pupils in the age range 10 to 18. Though the current registration allows for pupils in Years 12 and 13, the school does not provide a traditional sixth-form curriculum, instead, using this flexibility to provide additional time for pupils (often out of education for extended periods of time prior to joining) to catch up on time lost in education prior to joining the school.  The proprietor wishes to extend the maximum number of pupil places to up to 56 pupils. This will enable the numbers in current cohorts of pupils to remain stable across year groups while allowing a small number of current pupils to stay for an additional year to gain the qualifications they need for their next steps in education or employment.  The school’s current accommodation has the capacity and resources to accommodate the material change should the proprietor’s application be

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relevant independent school standards if the material change relating

approved. The proprietor has sensible plans to expand the workforce should the application be approved and also dependent on the individual needs of the pupils concerned.  The proprietor has taken into account the impact the additional numbers of pupils would have on pupils currently attending the school.

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Information about the material change inspection

 This part of the inspection was commissioned by the DfE in response to the proprietor’s request to increase the maximum number of pupils from 50 to 56.  This is the first time the school has applied for this particular material change.  Inspectors gathered evidence to assess the likelihood of the school continuing to meet the independent school standards through a range of inspection activities as part of the standard inspection. 4 to 6 March 2025

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Inspection team

Clive Close, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jo Brinkley His Majesty’s Inspector 4 to 6 March 2025 and inspects 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 looked-after children, 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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