Radlett Lodge School

Inspection of Radlett Lodge School Harper Lane, Radlett, Hertfordshire WD7 9HW

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding 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?

Radlett Lodge is a small school with a big heart. Staff care deeply about their pupils, fostering a culture where safety and well-being are the highest priorities. High- quality interactions between staff and pupils help create a nurturing environment where pupils feel comfortable and secure. At the same time, staff maintain high expectations for learning. Pupils rise to meet these challenges with enthusiasm and determination. As a result, they learn well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Whether pushing friends on the swings, or helping to apply suncream in the hot weather, pupils are active in supporting one another. Pupils behave extremely well in school. Staff are adept at spotting the signs of distress or dysregulation a pupil may show. They move quickly to support pupils with their emotions. This high-quality work from staff has led to a significant reduction in instances of dysregulated behaviour in pupils over the past few years.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ voices are heard loud and clear. Those with limited or no speech use their chosen communication tools to share their ideas well. This is evident in the work of the student council. Whether arranging the recent ‘splash day’, choosing new playground equipment or preparing the school’s upcoming fiftieth birthday party, pupils play an integral part in making choices about their school.

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better?

The school has designed a curriculum that effectively sets out the important knowledge and skills pupils need to learn. The school uses the information on pupils’ education, health and care plans (EHC plan) wisely to ensure the curriculum provision closely matches their needs. Teachers benefit from regular and high- quality training and support to ensure their skills are kept up to date. They explain ideas clearly to pupils in a way they can understand.

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better?

The school’s assessment of what pupils know and can do when they join the school, is rigorous and precise. Whether an explorer or adventurer on the semi-formal pathway, or a discoverer or challenger on the more formal pathway, pupils encounter a curriculum that helps them learn well. This means pupils start to access the right curriculum for them from the start of their time in school. At times, though, in lessons, teachers do not routinely check how well pupils have fully understood. This means that sometimes pupils can be asked to attempt activities that may be too easy or too hard for them, consequently, tasks pupils complete are sometimes not matched to their ability.

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better?

When it is right for pupils, they begin to learn to read. Staff are expert in teaching phonics, following the school’s chosen programme. Pupils have plenty of opportunity to practice reading books that are closely matched to the phonics they are learning. Pupils who have limited or no speech are skilfully guided to use their individual communication tools or devices to show what they know. As a result, over time, 17 to 19 June 2025 pupils gain confidence to increasingly develop their reading fluency and communication skills.

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better?

The academic curriculum is extremely well complemented by the trans-disciplinary team, which provides specific interventions. This means pupils received well- considered therapeutic provision to sit alongside their academic curriculum. Parents and carers, too, receive the guidance they need to help them navigate their way through their children’s time in school. The regular parent network meetings provide useful and much appreciated guidance on topics such as toileting, communication and sensory processing. This holistic approach ensures that pupils receive the broad range of support they need to lead successful and meaningful lives.

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better?

The highly positive relationships between pupils and staff play a significant part in the way pupils behave. Behaviour in and around the school is exceptional. In lessons, pupils take part and join in with enthusiasm, showing increasing levels of self-motivation. Some pupils need additional help in managing their emotions and levels of distress. Where this is the case, they receive exceptionally high-quality support from staff. Attendance is high. The school keeps a close eye on any pupil who starts to miss too much school. Leaders take swift action to bring about improvement in attendance if needed.

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better?

Pupils learn about the world around them because the personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum is carefully considered and well taught. Pupils learn about healthy eating. They go on to grow an array of vegetables in the allotment to either eat themselves or sell in the community. Older pupils are well-guided to develop skills they will need in the future, such as shopping and cooking. Work experience is used to help pupils apply what they learn in school into the real world. Places such as cafes, books shops and animation studios help pupils as they ready themselves for their next steps in life.

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better?

The proprietor and the school, work in harmony. The proprietor has a clear and accurate view of the school. The well-established monitoring and support processes ensure the right balance of challenge and support to school leaders. The strong oversight ensures that the school meets all the independent school standards consistently. The proprietor ensures that the school complies with the Equality Act 2010.

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better?

Staff are well supported by senior leaders. Their workload and well-being are carefully considered. Staff take great pride in working at Radlett Lodge.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

17 to 19 June 2025  At times, teaching does not check precisely what pupils have understood. This means that activities are sometimes not well adapted to support pupils with different levels of prior knowledge and understanding. When this is the case, some pupils do not routinely learn as well as they could. The school should make sure staff have the knowledge and skills they need to consistently adapt the curriculum effectively for pupils’ varying levels of understanding.

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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. 17 to 19 June 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 117646 DfE registration number 919/6215

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School details

Inspection number 10374841 Type of school Other Independent Special School

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School details

Proprietor The National Autistic Society

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £77,592 to £104,210

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School details

Website www.autism.org.uk/services/nas- schools/radlett-lodge.aspx Email address Radlett.Lodge@nas.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8 to 10 November 2022 17 to 19 June 2025

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Information about this school

 Radlett Lodge School is an independent day school for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. All pupils have an autism diagnosis, and all pupils have an EHC plan.  Although the school is registered to have students in the sixth form, at the time of the inspection there were few students on roll in this phase. As such, the inspectors did not to give a grade and report on the provision to avoid identifying individual students.  The school’s own trans-disciplinary team is made up of an educational psychologist, an occupational therapist, two speech and language therapists and the positive behaviour support team.  Nine local authorities fund pupils’ placements at the school.  The school does not make 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 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 carried out deep dives in these subjects: English (including communication and early reading), mathematics, PSHE and ‘My World’ (including history, geography and science). 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.  Inspectors met with the principal, assistant principal, special educational needs lead manager and a range of staff. They met with representative of the proprietor board and held telephone calls with two representatives of the local authority.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors toured the premises to review the suitability of school buildings. Inspectors reviewed a wide range of documents to check compliance with the independent school standards. 17 to 19 June 2025  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.  The inspection team considered the views of parents through responses to Ofsted Parent View. Inspectors gathered the views of staff through surveys, as well as interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Nathan Lowe, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Lynne Williams His Majesty's Inspector 17 to 19 June 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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