Raise Education and Wellbeing School

Inspection of Raise Education and Wellbeing School 54–56 Holmeswood Road, Great Lever, Bolton BL3 3HS

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Inspection dates: 25 to 27 February 2025

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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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 in this school have faced significant challenges in their lives. In addition, most have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils’ previous experiences of education have been disrupted and often negative. However, their perceptions of education begin to change when they join this school. Staff spend time getting to know pupils. They establish trusting relationships with each other. The warmth of these relationships shines through their interactions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

As pupils start to feel safe and cared for, they begin to attend school more frequently. With help from skilled staff, pupils’ behaviour improves and they begin to re-engage with their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Preparing pupils for their future lives, both academically and personally, is the school’s highest priority. The school is determined that pupils will achieve well and, from their starting points, most do.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Support for pupils’ social, emotional and personal development is carefully threaded through the curriculum. Pupils enjoy the vast array of opportunities that are a vital part of the school’s provision. This includes the school’s wilderness programme and an extensive art and music offer. Pupils are encouraged to pursue their interests through carefully tailored work experience opportunities which help to broaden their horizons.

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better?

When pupils first join the school, staff comprehensively identify any additional needs that they may have. This includes recognising where pupils have unidentified SEND and taking swift action to support them. Staff value the high-quality training that the school provides, which is responsive to the changing needs of the pupil cohort. This training has ensured that staff are highly skilled at meeting pupils’ needs, both academic and behavioural. Pupils spoke particularly appreciatively of the difference that this support makes to their experience of education.

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better?

The school’s pastoral care is highly effective. Well-established, thoughtful routines, such as the ‘RUOK?’ check-in each morning, help to create a calm and orderly environment. Each pupil has a pastoral champion who provides individual support. Well-considered interventions enable most pupils to substantially improve their behaviour and attendance over their time in the school.

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better?

The school’s curriculum is broad and has been designed with pupils’ needs in mind. Learning has been mapped out so that it is clear what pupils should learn, particularly in key stage 4. In the main, staff have secure knowledge of the subjects that they teach. They design suitable learning activities. Staff frequently check how well pupils understand and remember their learning so that any gaps in knowledge can be addressed swiftly. Pupils typically learn well. Most achieve nationally accredited qualifications which support them in taking their next steps in education, 25 to 27 February 2025 employment or training. However, in some subjects, the important knowledge that pupils in key stage 3 should learn has not been identified clearly enough. This hinders how well younger pupils develop secure bodies of knowledge in these subjects.

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better?

The school recognises that reading is a barrier to learning for many of its pupils. As a result, it checks how well pupils can read when they join the school. However, these checks do not precisely identify gaps in pupils’ reading knowledge. This means that, at times, some pupils do not benefit from the most effective support in order to help them to read accurately and fluently.

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better?

A meticulously designed programme of personal development is the foundation of every aspect of school life. This includes the curriculum and the wider opportunities and pastoral care that the school provides. The school carefully identifies and provides the knowledge and experiences that will most benefit each pupil. This is complemented by personalised careers information. This information helps to ensure that pupils are ready and able to make appropriate choices about their next steps in education, employment or training.

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better?

The school’s curriculum for personal, social, health and economic education is exceedingly comprehensive. Pupils learn a wealth of information to prepare them for adult life. For example, they develop an understanding of topics such as finance, nutrition and healthy relationships. There is a strong emphasis on teaching pupils about how to look after their mental health and well-being, as well as how to conduct themselves appropriately in society. Pupils are prepared incredibly well to become safe, healthy and responsible citizens.

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better?

The proprietor has successfully ensured that the independent school standards (the standards) are met. Policies, such as an effective safeguarding policy that meets statutory requirements, are made available to parents and carers. The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. The proprietor recognises the strengths of the school, for example the provision for pupils’ personal development. It is committed to continuing to improve the quality of education that the school provides.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 In a few subjects, the school has not clearly defined the most important knowledge that it wants pupils in key stage 3 to know and remember. This makes it difficult for teachers to help these pupils to build their knowledge as securely as they could. The school should provide clarity around the knowledge that younger 25 to 27 February 2025 pupils need to acquire in each subject so that they are prepared well for the demands of key stage 4.  At times, the school’s systems to assess and support pupils who are weaker readers do not identify the precise deficits in pupils’ reading knowledge. This means that some pupils do not receive the specific reading support that they need to catch up with their peers. The school should ensure that it has appropriate systems in place to identify gaps in pupils’ reading knowledge and closely check the impact of interventions to ensure that pupils promptly get the help that they need to read fluently and accurately.

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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. 25 to 27 February 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 143026 DfE registration number 350/6004

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School details

Inspection number 10342112 Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £31,200 to £115,834

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School details

Website www.raise-educationandwellbeing.co.uk

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School details

Email address office@raisetheyouth.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 2 to 4 November 2021 25 to 27 February 2025

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Information about this school

 The school operates on three sites. The main school site is located at 54–56 Holmeswood Road, Great Lever, Bolton BL3 3HS. The second site is Century House, 49–51 George Street, Farnworth, Bolton BL4 9RJ. The third site is the Skills Centre, Unit 9, Dunskar Business Park, Blackburn Road, Edgerton, Bolton BL7 9PQ.  The school caters for pupils with SEND. Most pupils have social, emotional and mental health needs. Most pupils at the school have an education, health and care plan. The school also caters for pupils who have been permanently excluded, or are at risk of exclusion, from their mainstream schools. Pupils are placed at the school by their local authorities.  The school is registered to admit up to 60 pupils.  The school is registered to take pupils between the ages of 11 and 25. Some pupils stay in the post-16 provision to ease their transition into adulthood. There is no overarching curriculum in the post-16 provision, students follow personalised

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Information about this school

programmes according to their individual needs.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision for pupils.  The proprietor has appointed a governing body. The chair of this governing body is Dr Elaine Bowes.  Since the previous standard inspection, there has been one emergency inspection of the school. This took place on 26 April 2023.

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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 met with the proprietor, other leaders and staff.  The lead inspector spoke with representatives of the local authority. She also met with the chair of the governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics and art and design. For each deep dive, they discussed the curriculum with subject 25 to 27 February 2025 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 documentation and samples of pupils’ work in some other subjects.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including those relating to the

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Information about this inspection

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 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 Ofsted’s surveys for staff and pupils.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktime, in lessons and around the school.  The lead inspector conducted a tour of each of the school sites 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

Phill Walmsley Ofsted Inspector 25 to 27 February 2025 regulates 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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