Learn 4 Life School

Inspection of Learn 4 Life School 64a Rectory Road, Ashton in Makerfield, Wigan, Skelmersdale, Lancashire WN4 0QD

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Inspection dates: 29 April to 1 May 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 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 enjoy coming to this welcoming, friendly school. They are cared for in a safe and nurturing environment. Staff spend time when pupils arrive to understand their individual special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and how best to support pupils with their emotions and behaviour. Pupils value the support that they receive from staff. After a long time out of education for most pupils, they settle well. They begin to attend school more often than they did previously.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour improves over the time that they are at the school. Staff use a variety of support strategies to ensure that pupils remain focused in lessons. It is rare for learning to be disrupted by other pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ achievement. In many subjects, the school has ensured that this vision is realised. Pupils are working towards more formal qualifications such as GCSEs. Alongside this, pupils are gaining knowledge and skills through their vocational placements. Overall, pupils achieve well in the different subjects that they study.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have opportunities outside of lessons to develop their understanding of the world around them and how they can make a positive contribution to their community. For example, they visit and help out at a local foodbank which gives them an understanding of how some people in society are less fortunate than others.

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better?

The proprietor and the school have a shared vision for pupils to receive a high- quality education. Both have ensured that secure systems are in place so that the independent school standards (the standards) are met consistently.

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better?

The school has designed a curriculum that meets pupils’ needs. The curriculum also helps pupils to develop skills to make a positive contribution to society when they leave the school. In many subjects, the school has thought about the knowledge which pupils need to learn. It has considered pupils’ prior learning when designing the curriculum. Teachers deliver the curriculum well. They use regular checks on pupils’ learning to find out what pupils have remembered and where further improvements are needed.

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better?

Pupils’ written work varies across different subjects. Typically, pupils produce high- quality work. They use accurate grammar, punctuation and spelling in their writing. However, from time-to-time, some pupils do not accurately use grammar, punctuation and/or spelling in their writing. When this occurs, their written work does not express its intended meaning as successfully. This impacts the overall quality of their work. 29 April to 1 May 2025 Pupils’ personal social, health and economic (PSHE) education is carefully thought through by the school. It has considered the statutory guidance combined with pupils’ individual needs to ensure that pupils’ learning is as relevant as it needs to be. For example, the school has put considerable work into ensuring that pupils understand what a healthy relationship is, to develop their understanding of mental health and well-being and the fundamental British values. The school supports

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better?

pupils to be aspirational for their future. They are given clear and impartial careers guidance which helps them to understand what steps they need to take in education, training or employment.

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better?

The school considers carefully the information in pupils’ education, health and care (EHC) plans to identify appropriate targets to meet pupils’ additional learning needs. Where needed, the school ensures that those pupils who find learning to read more difficult, receive effective support so that they become confident and fluent readers.

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better?

Overall, pupils’ attitudes in lessons are positive. Positive relationships between staff and pupils exist which create a calm, purposeful atmosphere in school. Pupils receive targeted and successful support to help them to regulate their emotions. However, at times, a few pupils use unacceptable language. Although the school investigates the causes behind this, it does not use the information as effectively as it could to identify any patterns in pupils’ use of unacceptable language. This limits how well it can respond swiftly to these incidents.

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better?

Staff hold the school in high regard. They value the professional development and support that they receive from the school as they feel it helps them to support pupils’ individual needs more effectively. The school considers staff’s workload well and takes steps to ensure that it is manageable.

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better?

The school ensures that it has effective systems in place to meet the standards consistently. It responded promptly to the issues identified at the previous material change inspection. For example, the single central record contains all the required information, and the school’s website now displays the information which is required. The school premises are well maintained. Classrooms have suitable lighting for staff and pupils to work in. Pupils are well supervised throughout the school day with high staff ratios.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 From time-to-time, pupils do not use accurate grammar, punctuation and spelling in their writing. Sometimes, this can impact how well their writing communicates its intended meaning. The school should ensure that it supports pupils more effectively to use accurate grammar, punctuation and spelling in their writing. 29 April to 1 May 2025  The school does not sufficiently analyse incidents which involve pupils’ unacceptable language. This means that the school is not able to fully identify any patterns or trends in how pupils behave. The school should strengthen this aspect of its strategic oversight so that it can identify and address any patterns in pupils’ behaviour.

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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. 29 April to 1 May 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 129571 DfE registration number 342/6089

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School details

Inspection number 10391717 Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £62,400 to £93,405

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School details

Email address jamesmcalpine@careafloat.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 4 to 6 October 2022 29 April to 1 May 2025

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Information about this school

 The school provides full-time education for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. Almost all pupils who attend this school have an EHC plan. Most places at the school are commissioned by local authorities. The school is registered to admit up to 16 pupils.  The school operates from premises located at 64a Rectory Road, Ashton-in- Makerfield, Wigan WN4 0QD.  The school’s previous standard inspection took place from 4 to 6 October 2022. Since then, the proprietor of the school has changed. The Department of Education (DfE) approved this change in proprietorship shortly after the previous inspection.  In March 2025, the school applied for a material change to increase the number of pupils on the school’s roll to 20. At the time of this inspection, the school was unlikely to meet some of the independent school standards.  The school does not make any use of 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 provision.  Inspectors discussed the continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and other senior leaders. The lead inspector met the proprietor.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics and history. 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 looked at pupils’ work from other curriculum subjects and PSHE education.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of the school, staff and pupils; and

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Information about this inspection

considered the extent to which the school has created an open and honest culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first. 29 April to 1 May 2025  The lead inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority SEND team.  School policies and other documents were examined to check compliance with the standards and to provide other inspection evidence. These included: information on pupils’ progress; the school’s evaluation of its own performance; and its development plan. Behaviour and attendance records and information relating to safeguarding were also scrutinised.  As part of their checks on the school’s compliance with the standards, inspectors made a tour of the school premises accompanied by the headteacher and quality improvement lead.

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Inspection team

Stuart Perkins, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Kevin Sexton Ofsted Inspector 29 April to 1 May 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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