Jasmine Grove School

Inspection of Jasmine Grove School Oxcroft House, 10 Oxcroft Lane, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S44 6DJ

p.1

Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Does the school meet the independent school standards?

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Every pupil at Jasmine Grove School is exceptionally well known by staff. Staff establish strong relationships with pupils. Pupils trust the adults in school and are confident they will take good care of them. They enjoy having a hot chocolate with their teachers, showing them how the school chicks are growing or playing cricket together at lunchtime. These positive relationships extend to parents and carers. One parent summed up the views of other parents describing the school as, ‘a breath of fresh air.’

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s core purpose is that pupils will feel safe, valued and inspired to learn. There are high expectations for pupils’ academic achievement and social development. Pupils respond well to these expectations. It does not take long after joining the school for pupils to recognise the value of working hard and giving of their best. They are expected to behave well. Increasingly, they learn how to recognise and manage their feelings. The school is calm and orderly.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

As a result of the school’s kind and nurturing learning environment pupils thrive. Many pupils acknowledge how they struggled in their previous schools. They can talk about the ways in which Jasmine Grove has helped them. Pupils are happy to come to school and attend well.

p.2

better?

Since opening, the school has worked at pace to ensure that pupils benefit from a carefully designed curriculum. Pupils study a broad range of subjects with English, mathematics and personal, social and health education (PSHE) at the heart of the curriculum.

p.2

better?

Each pupil is provided with a period of induction after admission to the school. When they are settled and ready to learn, teachers review pupils’ learning and wider needs. For example, teachers check where pupils have gaps in their learning due to the prolonged periods of time when they have not attended school. All pupils have an education, health and care (EHC) plan that identifies their barriers to learning. Staff collate all this information to design a personalised programme to meet pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This enables pupils to progress through the curriculum successfully.

p.2

better?

Staff are skilled practitioners. They use a variety of techniques to engage pupils in their learning. In mathematics, for example, teachers revisit previously taught knowledge to help pupils recall what they have learned. Teachers model new learning and provide pupils with opportunities to practise it. However, in some subjects, teachers do not use these techniques consistently well and pupils do not learn as well as they could in these subjects.

p.2

better?

Reading is prioritised. Many pupils are fluent readers. They are confident to read aloud in front of others. They visit the school library and local library to choose the 17 to 19 June 2025 books they want to read. Across the year groups pupils are introduced to a wide range of texts including fantasy, stories that raise issues and Shakespeare. A small number of pupils who are at an earlier stage of learning to read require phonics lessons. The school has ensured that staff who deliver the phonics programme are sufficiently expert. Pupils receive the precise support they need to improve their reading skills.

p.2

better?

Staff act as positive role models for pupils. On the whole, pupils show respect for the adults in school and their peers. Pupils understand the importance of creating a positive learning environment where everyone can get on with their learning without disruptions or distractions. At social times the school community plays games and chats. The school makes every effort to support pupils to attend well. As a result, most pupils’ attendance has sky-rocketed from their attendance in previous settings.

p.3

better?

The school’s personal development offer is strong. The PSHE curriculum and ‘life skills’ lessons are well designed to prepare pupils for adulthood. Pupils learn how to cook, manage money, keep themselves safe and develop empathy, enabling them to see the world from others’ perspectives. The school supports pupils to understand that their futures are full of possibilities. Pupils learn about the world of work and receive information about future careers. The school takes pupils’ ideas seriously. There is an active school council. Pupils are provided with opportunities to develop their personal interests such as music, sport and construction.

p.3

better?

The school has an ambitious vision that is shared by staff, leaders and the proprietor. In a short period of time, this new school has established a positive and purposeful learning community. Staff are proud to work at Jasmine Grove School. They recognise the difference their work is making to pupils’ lives. Most staff say that leaders consider their workload and well-being.

p.3

better?

The proprietor and governing body have a clear system to quality assure the school’s work. Together they have an accurate understanding of the school’s many strengths and where there is more work to do to improve the school. They fulfil their statutory duties effectively. All the independent school standards (the standards) are met. The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

p.3

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.3

Safeguarding

The school prioritises safeguarding. Leaders ensure that the right action is taken at the right time to keep pupils safe. However, a few records do not provide sufficient detail. In these instances, records do not fully explain the trail of events that have led to the action taken to keep pupils safe. 17 to 19 June 2025

p.3

(Information for the school and proprietor)

 A small number of safeguarding records lack sufficient detail. While the safeguarding decisions leaders make are appropriate, a few records do not evidence the chronology of events that have led to the actions that leaders have taken to secure pupils’ safety and well-being. The school should ensure that records consistently provide a complete order of events that relate to each safeguarding concern.  In some subjects, teachers do not consistently use an approach that has been agreed by the school to help pupils gain the intended knowledge. Sometimes the activity choices and strategies that teachers use do not enable pupils to learn as well as they can. The school should ensure that teachers are supported to use the agreed approaches consistently well across all of the curriculum.

p.4

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.

p.4

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

p.4

School details

Unique reference number 150671 DfE registration number 830/6059

p.5

School details

Inspection number 10374832 Type of school Other Independent Special School

p.5

School details

Proprietor Smoothstone Care and Education Ltd

p.5

School details

Headteacher Anna Hulme (headteacher) Daniel Pallett (executive headteacher) Annual fees (day pupils) £74,684 to £80,000

p.5

School details

Email address anna.hulme@smoothstoneeducation.co.uk 17 to 19 June 2025 anna.hulme@smoot hstoneeducation.c o.uk Information about this school

p.5

School details

 The school is an independent special school operated by Smoothstone Education and Care Limited. The school was registered by the Department for Education in May 2024. This is the school’s first standard inspection.  The school is based at Oxcroft House, 10 Oxcroft Lane, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S44 6DJ.  The school is registered for pupils aged eight to 18 with autism, communication and sensory difficulties, and related challenging behaviours. All pupils have an EHC plan.  The school is registered to admit up to 24 pupils.  At the time of the inspection there were no pupils receiving post-16 education.  The school does not use alternative provision.

p.6

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.

p.6

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.

p.6

Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with the executive headteacher, headteacher, deputy headteacher, staff and pupils. The lead inspector held a remote meeting with the chair of the proprietor board. She also held a meeting with members of the governing body including the chair of governors, a staff governor and the school’s directors of education.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics and PSHE. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors discussed with leaders how they adapt their

p.6

Information about this inspection

curriculum for the needs of the pupils at the school. The lead inspector listened to pupils reading.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and 17 to 19 June 2025 considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including school policies and procedures related to the independent school standards.  Inspectors considered the views of parents through responses to Ofsted Parent View. They also gathered the views of pupils and staff through surveys, as well as discussions conducted throughout the inspection.

p.6

Inspection team

Caroline Poole, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

p.7

Inspection team

Christine Horrocks Ofsted 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.

p.7

Inspection team

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspection team

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspection team

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8