Hestia School

Inspection of Hestia School Bigby Street, Brigg, North Lincolnshire, DN20 8EF

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Inspection dates: 11 to 13 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 Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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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?

Care and strong relationships are the bedrock of this school’s work. The staff know pupils and families extremely well, and pupils respect them. At Hestia, a problem shared is not only a problem halved but also a problem solved. All pupils have a key worker who helps them overcome the issues they face.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school equips pupils with the confidence to be successful in their studies. Staff have high ambitions for all pupils, both academically and socially. The school provides pastoral care and a diverse curriculum, which helps pupils succeed in their education. The pupils leave school with a portfolio of valuable experiences and qualifications, which prepare them to handle their next steps in life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has clear routines and behaviour expectations, which help create a calm and focused learning environment. Staff and pupils handle behaviour effectively, and pupils also learn how to manage their feelings.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has links with the local community, which helps pupils gain valuable work placements and develop skills for success at work. These include communicating effectively and working well in teams.

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What is it like to attend this school?

During social times, pupils interact positively with each other. They manage their tuck shops and access clubs such as ICT and sporting activities in the multi-use games area.

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better?

The school offers a flexible curriculum designed to meet the needs of the pupils, which it does. The pupils study a wide range of subjects. This includes mathematics, English, hair and beauty, and various vocational courses. Pupils earn recognised qualifications. These range from unit accreditation to BTEC National Diploma and GCSE. The pupils receive feedback following discrete assessments and talks. However, teachers are still developing ways to check pupils’ understanding in lessons.

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better?

Pupils learn the skills and ability to discuss topics in lessons. For example, in history lessons, pupils confidently discuss hyperinflation due to conflict. The pupils show a degree of respect for each other when they share their views. In lessons, staff support the pupils to experience success. This proportionate support enables pupils to grapple with ideas determinedly. In BTEC sports lessons, pupils assess each other’s fitness. They use what they have already learned well.

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better?

The school has a resource centre that provides a hub for reading. Pupils access a range of books from different genres. Pupils who struggle with reading get tailored support. This helps them read more fluently and accurately over time. Teachers flag reading opportunities along with subject-specific vocabulary in the different 11 to 13 February 2025 curriculum areas. However, reading opportunities across all subject areas are not fully embedded.

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better?

The behaviour of pupils in school is strong. Staff support pupils over time to improve their behaviour and attitudes to learning. Pupils enhance their learning habits, attendance and respect for education over time. The staff give pupils expert help when their behaviour falls short of the school’s standards. This has helped reduce the number of pupils making poor choices that disrupt their own learning and that of others.

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better?

The school prioritises pupils’ personal development appropriately. Pupils and staff appreciate the time dedicated to self-reflection and one-on-one support. This helps shape pupils’ support plans. It also helps the school tackle barriers to learning. Pupils feel empowered and supported by staff. One pupil reflected the views of many when they told the inspectors, ‘Staff here really care. They do not do the job for money. They do the job because they care.’ This level of concern and attention to pupils’ needs permeates the school.

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better?

Pupils really value different faiths and enjoy celebrating festivals from various countries during the school year. The school has included fundamental British values in lessons, assemblies and daily interactions pupils have with staff. This has helped ensure that pupils treat each other politely and respectfully.

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better?

Opportunities to gain experience and develop are not only for pupils. This applies to staff, too. Leaders assist staff in their personal and professional development. This support helps everyone be at their best.

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better?

The proprietor ensures that the school is well led. It conducts regular checks on the school’s effectiveness and takes action to address any relative weaknesses when they arise. The buildings are in good order. The school meets the independent school standards in full and complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Opportunities for pupils to read widely across different curriculum areas are limited. This means some pupils do not benefit fully from subject-specific reading to support deeper subject understanding. This means some pupils’ subject knowledge is shallow. The school should continue to support staff in delivering and embedding its reading strategy across the curriculum.  Strategies for checking pupils’ understanding during lessons are not fully embedded. At times, pupils have some gaps in learning, which affects how well they learn new content. The school should ensure that assessment strategies are 11 to 13 February 2025 fully embedded so teachers identify and fill any gaps in pupils’ knowledge before moving on to new learning.

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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. 11 to 13 February 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 135247 DfE registration number 813/6005

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School details

Inspection number 10374855 Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

School category Independent special school

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £35,000 to £47,000

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School details

Email address hestiainfo@demeterhouse.com

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 to 29 June 2023 11 to 13 February 2025

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Information about this school

 The school’s address is Bigby Street, Brigg, North Lincolnshire, DN20 8EF.  Hestia School is an independent special school registered to provide full-time education for up to 60 pupils. Currently, 46 pupils are on roll.  All pupils who attend this school have an education, health and care plan. Many pupils have social, emotional or mental health needs. Some have sensory needs and/or autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.  Pupils are placed at the school by several different local authorities.  A few students attend the school’s sixth-form provision.  A linked school, known as Hera House, operates from the nearby Appleby site. It caters for pupils aged five to 14 years.  The school’s most recent standard inspection was in June 2023, when it was judged to require improvement. Since then, Ofsted has carried out additional inspections in February 2024 and October 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 judgement 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 2014.

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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.  Inspectors spoke to a representative of the proprietor, the headteacher and leaders in the school.  Inspectors reviewed various documentation, including those relating to the independent school standards and the curriculum.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, including considering early reading, mathematics, science and vocational subjects, including hair and beauty. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other subjects. 11 to 13 February 2025  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single

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Information about this inspection

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 Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text comments. They also considered the responses from the Ofsted survey for staff.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktime and lunchtime, in lessons and around the school.

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Inspection team

Richard Jones, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Suzette Garland-Grimes Ofsted 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.

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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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