Eden Park Academy

Inspection of The Eden School The Old Vicarage, High Street, Harmondsworth, West Drayton UB7 0AQ

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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 Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Inadequate

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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 are happy at The Eden School. They thrive in this welcoming and friendly environment. This school is ambitious and aspirational for its pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff know pupils well and help them to overcome their barriers to learning. They support pupils to build on and develop their strengths. Staff also work with them to face with confidence any aspects of school life that they find challenging. Pupils have strong relationships with staff and feel cared for and safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know who to go to if they have a concern. They are confident they will be listened to, and any worries that they may have will be taken seriously. Staff are patient and calm with pupils, giving them time to think and express themselves. Consequently, pupils behave well and are ready to learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ academic achievement and social development. Pupils’ positive attitudes to learning and high aspirations reflect this. They are successful in their learning and leave the school well prepared for their future lives.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils make a positive contribution to the life of the school and to the wider community. For example, the school council has proactively developed the outdoor area. Pupils also participate in fundraising activities for charity.

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better?

The school has created a culture where pupils are supported to be ambitious for themselves and achieve well academically. It ensures pupils gain social and emotional skills alongside qualifications to prepare them for the next steps in their education.

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better?

Since the last inspection, the proprietor has strengthened leadership, including how well they check on the quality and impact of the school’s work. The proprietor knows the school well and holds leadership accountable for work to secure any necessary improvements. The school fulfils its statutory duties effectively. All the independent school standards (the standards) are met. The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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better?

The school has put in place an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum. It has been crafted with care. For example, the curriculum connects the school’s values to pupils’ learning in a purposeful manner. Pupils’ individual needs and personal interests are also carefully considered. This means that the curriculum offer is both aspirational and tailored to pupils’ needs.

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better?

From early years onwards, the school’s curriculum emphasises the development of literacy, early communication skills and mathematical knowledge. This ensures pupils secure firm foundations to help them be successful in further learning. 25 to 27 February 2025 Most pupils read fluently. The school has recently introduced a new phonics programme to strengthen this aspect of pupils’ learning. Those at the early stages of reading receive bespoke extra teaching in phonics. Overall, they are well supported to become fluent readers. Occasionally, the school’s checks on pupils’ reading do not identify precisely gaps in pupils’ phonics knowledge. This means that, for a few pupils, the school’s work to ensure pupils catch up quickly is not as effective as it could be.

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better?

As part of its work to strengthen the reading curriculum, the school has started work on creating a culture of reading. For example, it has introduced dedicated reading time and invested in a school library. Work to ensure that pupils read widely and for pleasure remains an ongoing priority.

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better?

The curriculum sets out what pupils should learn and when. Teachers have strong subject knowledge. Teaching skilfully explains and revisits ideas in ways pupils find manageable to understand. For example, in science, teaching sets out explicitly how to use and apply subject content to attempt tasks successfully. This helps pupils to build their confidence and increase their knowledge step by step. Pupils respond well to the individual support that staff provide. Typically, the school’s checks on what pupils know mean that adaptations to teaching help pupils experience success and remember their learning. However, in a minority of subjects, especially for primary- age pupils, teaching the curriculum is not as effective as it could be in helping pupils to develop and retain knowledge. Some adaptations to teaching do not enable pupils to revisit and fully grasp important subject content. This prevents some pupils from

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better?

building their subject-specific knowledge and skills well. In a few instances, this also leads to gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding.

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better?

The school follows up on absences swiftly, including, for example, through home visits. The school works well with external agencies and families to overcome barriers to pupils’ regular attendance. Securing pupils’ well-being underpins the school’s actions and decisions. Over time, pupils’ attendance improves.

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better?

The school has high expectations of pupils’ conduct and behaviour. Disruption to learning is uncommon. Staff act as positive role models. They teach pupils to recognise and communicate their emotions. This helps pupils to manage how they are feeling in a positive manner. Staff resolve issues quickly. This ensures that pupils can concentrate on their learning and succeed.

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better?

The school provides a well-structured personal, social, health and economic curriculum. Pupils learn about healthy relationships, staying safe online and their mental health and well-being. The curriculum also helps to broaden pupils’ understanding of respect and tolerance. For example, pupils learn about the importance of equality for people, irrespective of their differences.

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better?

Pupils are motivated by the school’s reward systems. They also value the range of extra-curricular activities, including sports, art and music. The school provides pupils 25 to 27 February 2025 with relevant careers education and advice about pathways available to them. These help to prepare pupils well for their next stage of education, employment or training.

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better?

Staff are proud to work at The Eden School. They feel their well-being and workload are considered carefully. Staff also value the programme of ongoing training to develop their practice and expertise.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 A few aspects of the school’s revised approach to early reading are, at present, not delivered in line with the school’s expectations. For a small number of pupils, extra support for reading is not matched as closely as it could be to their needs. The school should strengthen how these aspects of the reading curriculum are taught and ensure that support for pupils’ reading fully matches its ambition.  In the primary phase, teaching adaptations in some subjects are not focused sharply on ensuring pupils build a secure understanding of subject content. This reduces the effectiveness of the school’s work in ensuring pupils progress well through the curriculum. The school should strengthen its expertise in teaching the curriculum, ensuring that pupils develop and deepen their knowledge consistently well across subjects.

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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

Annual fees (day pupils) £2,550 to £7,500

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School details

Date of previous inspection 31 January to 2 February 2023 25 to 27 February 2025

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Information about this school

 The Eden School is an independent Seventh-Day Adventist school.  The school has provision for children in the early years, including two-year-olds.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school’s previous standard inspection was in January 2023. The school’s most recent inspection was a progress monitoring inspection in September 2024  There have been changes to the leadership of the school since the previous standard inspection. The current headteacher took up post in September 2024.

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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

Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The lead inspector spoke with the proprietor and governors, including the chair of governors. Inspectors also spoke with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and other school leaders and staff.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including those relating to the standards and the curriculum.  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.  Inspectors considered the responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. They also considered the responses from the Ofsted surveys for staff and for pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktime, at lunchtime, in lessons and around the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, science and art and design. They met leaders and teachers and visited a sample of lessons. Inspectors spoke with pupils about their learning in these subjects. They also considered the curriculum across some other subject areas and looked at 25 to 27 February 2025 examples of pupils’ work.  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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The school’s progress in meeting previously failed standards

During the inspection, we checked whether the school now meets the independent school standards that it was judged to have failed at its previous progress monitoring inspection on 19 September 2024.  The outcome of this part of the inspection is: the school now meets the previously failed standards .  At the time of the previous progress monitoring inspection, the proprietor had not ensured that all leaders fully understood the requirements of the standards. Leaders and governors continued to demonstrate a lack of urgency and rigour in ensuring compliance with all the standards. Checks were not regular or thorough enough, for example in ensuring that policies and other key documents are updated, accessible and accurate. The requirements of part 8 of the standards were not all met.  During this inspection, the proprietor and school leaders demonstrated that they have a sufficiently detailed understanding of the requirements of the standards.

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The school’s progress in meeting previously failed standards

As a result, they now ensure that the requirements of these standards are met in full.

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The school now meets the following standards

 34(1) The standard about the quality of leadership and management is met if the proprietor ensures that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school– - 34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently; and – - 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently

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Information about the progress monitoring inspection

 The progress monitoring inspection was commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) to comment on whether the school is now meeting the leadership requirements that were not met at the time of the school previous progress monitoring inspection.  The preceding progress monitoring inspection at which the school was judged to not comply with the standards took place on 19 September 2024. The previous standard inspection was from 31 January to 2 February 2023.  This was the school’s third consecutive progress monitoring inspection. The proceeding progress monitoring inspections took place on 7 March 2024 and 19 September 2024.  Following the previous standard inspection, the DfE required the school to prepare a statutory action plan. The action plan was evaluated by Ofsted on 10 December 2024. The DfE rejected the school’s action plan. 25 to 27 February 2025  This progress monitoring inspection was conducted with notice at the same time

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Inspection team

Phil Garnham, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Annabel Davies His Majesty’s Inspector 25 to 27 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.

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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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