Woodside Lodge Outdoor Learning Centre

School material change inspection report

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Woodside Lodge Outdoor Learning Centre 14, Bond Lane, Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, Leicestershire LE12 7AA

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Main inspection findings

Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils Part 6. Provision of information Paragraphs 7 to 7(b), 32(1), 32(1)(c)  All staff know that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. They know the signs to look for that may indicate a concern about pupils’ welfare.  The school is fully aware of the issues that may pose a risk to pupils’ welfare, including those that may be related to pupils’ additional needs.  Comprehensive training enables staff to understand their safeguarding duties. This training includes weekly staff meetings, when leaders reinforce key messages about how best to keep pupils safe.  All staff act as key workers to individual pupils. They meet with their assigned pupils twice a day. These meetings provide staff with insight into these pupils’ welfare and how best to support them.  Staff know to report any concerns about pupils’ welfare to the school’s safeguarding leads. They know to whom they should pass any concerns they may have about the

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Main inspection findings

actions of adults towards pupils.  Staff know how to escalate their concerns outside the school, should they feel that the school’s leaders are not responding to their concerns well enough.  Leaders respond to safeguarding concerns in a timely manner. They ensure that pupils receive the right support at the right time, including by involving external agencies when this is appropriate.  Daily staff meetings, called ‘staff huddles’, provide opportunities for staff to discuss any concerns that they may have about pupils.  Leaders closely monitor attendance. They undertake appropriate action to check on the welfare of those who are absent.  The school promotes close communication with parents and carers, to discuss any concerns about their children’s welfare.  Safeguarding leads meet weekly to discuss safeguarding concerns. This enables them to ensure that they provide each other with the right support to best manage these

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Main inspection findings

concerns.  Pupils feel safe at the school. They have staff to whom they can speak if they have a concern. They are confident that the staff will listen to, and support, them.  Pupils learn how to be safe when online and when out in the community. They learn about the harmful consequences of risky behaviours, including smoking. They learn about consent. As part of their preparation for adulthood, pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe as they learn to become independent.  The school’s safeguarding policy is available on the school’s website. Paragraph 11  The school has a health and safety policy, which offers appropriate guidance. The proprietor ensures that there is a comprehensive programme of health and safety checks that routinely take place.  Staff are able to raise with senior leaders any hazards that they identify across the four school bases. These hazards are promptly resolved.  Half termly meetings provide all staff with the opportunity to review health and safety

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Main inspection findings

risk assessments. Paragraph 12  Fire risk assessments of all four school bases are undertaken annually. The school is quick to remedy any issues that these fire checks may identify.  The school has ensured that all necessary ongoing fire checks regularly take place.  The school holds regular fire drills, so that pupils know how to exit the building safely in the event of a fire. Paragraph 14  The proprietor does not intend to increase the number of teaching staff should the school receive approval for the proposed material change. This is because the additional pupils will be added to the teaching groups that currently exist.  However, the proprietor intends to increase the number of pastoral staff, to ensure that the new pupils receive the pastoral support they require. Paragraph 16 to 16(b)  The school’s risk assessment policy provides appropriate guidance to staff on how to draw up risk assessments.

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Main inspection findings

 The school completes a wide range of risk assessments, including for each school base as well as for educational visits. These risk assessments identify appropriate risks and actions to be taken to mitigate them. Risk assessments are reviewed regularly, including each time an educational visit takes place.  The school is likely to meet the requirements of the independent school standards (the standards) checked in these parts if the school receives approval for the implementation of the material change. Part 4. Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors Paragraphs 18(2) to 18(2)(e), 18(3), 21(1) to 21(3)(b)  All necessary recruitment checks are completed before any new staff start working at the school.  Recruitment checks are recorded on the school’s single central record.  The school does not make use of supply staff. However, in the event that the school should use them, leaders know the checks that must be undertaken in advance of

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Main inspection findings

such staff working with pupils.  The school is likely to meet these standards in this part if the school receives approval for the implementation of the material change.

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Main inspection findings

Part 5. Premises of and accommodation at schools Paragraphs 23(1) to 23(1)(c), 28(1) to 28(2)(b)  There are appropriate toilets for the sole use of pupils. The hot water in these facilities do not pose a scalding risk.  There are showers at two of the three school bases for secondary-age pupils. At the third school base, pupils undertake physical education (PE) at a local sports centre, where showers are available.  Drinking water, which is marked as such, is available to pupils at all times. Paragraphs 24(1) to 24(1)(b), 24(2)  There are appropriate medical rooms for the short-term care of pupils across the four school bases. These facilities have a sink and are located near to a toilet. Paragraphs 25 to 27(b)  The school bases are maintained to an acceptable standard.  There is appropriate lighting, both internal and external.  The acoustics on all four school bases are appropriate. Paragraph 29(1) to 29(1)(b)

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Main inspection findings

 Each school base has outdoor space for pupils to play and undertake PE.  The school is likely to meet the standards in this part if the school receives approval for the implementation of the material change.

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Main inspection findings

Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools Paragraph 34(1) to 34(1)(c)  The proprietor has ensured that the school consistently meets those standards checked on this inspection.  The proprietor has employed additional leaders, who are responsible for checking the school’s compliance with the standards, including those that were checked on this inspection. These leaders, alongside the school leaders, have the necessary knowledge to ensure that the school consistently meets the standards.  The school is likely to meet the standards in this part if the school receives approval for the implementation of the material change.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school is likely to meet the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements that are relevant to the material change.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 162(4) of the Education Act 2002, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s likely compliance with the independent school standards relevant to the material change that the school has applied to make.

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School details

Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £48,000 to £71,000

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School details

Email address woodsidemail@woodsidelodgeolc.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous standard inspection 14 to 16 May 2024

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recommendation

Age range of pupils 5 to 19 5 to 19 Not applicable

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recommendation

Number of pupils on the school roll 45 55 Not applicable

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School’s current position School’s proposal

Number of full-time pupils of compulsory school age 45 55 Number of part-time pupils 0 0

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School’s current position School’s proposal

Number of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities 45 55

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School’s current position School’s proposal

Of which, number of pupils with an education, health and care plan 45 55

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School’s current position School’s proposal

Of which, number of pupils paid for by a local authority with an education, health and care plan 45 55

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School’s current position School’s proposal

Number of full-time equivalent teaching staff 29 29

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School’s current position School’s proposal

Number of staff in the welfare provision N/A N/A

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Information about this school

 Woodside Lodge Outdoor Learning Centre is an independent day school.  The school is situated on two sites with four separate bases. There are two bases on each site.  Vale Farmhouse and The Forge are bases located at Upper Vale Farm, Charley Road, Charley, Loughborough, LE12 9YB. They provide education for secondary-age pupils.  The Oaks, which is located at 14, Bond Lane, Mountsorrel, Leicestershire LE12 7AA provides education for secondary-age pupils.  Stonehurst Lodge, which provides education to primary-age pupils, is located at 149 Loughborough Road, Mountsorrel LE12 7AR.  There are currently 45 pupils on roll.  The school caters for pupils with autism. All pupils have an education, health and care plan. Leicester City, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire County Councils currently have pupils placed at the school.  Pupils who are above the compulsory school age receive a curriculum that is

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Information about this school

appropriate to their stage of education, including preparing them for adulthood.  The school does not currently use the services of any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) to check the school’s likely compliance with the independent school standards relevant to the proposed change to increase to 55 the maximum number of pupils that the school is permitted to have on roll.  This was the school’s first material change inspection for this proposed change.  The DfE commissioned the inspector to inspect the suitability of the school’s provision in relation to: policies and procedures relating to safeguarding, health and safety, fire safety and risk assessment; supervision of pupils; recruitment of staff; the suitability of the premises and accommodation and the quality of leadership and management.  The inspector met with the executive headteacher, the headteacher, other leaders and the proprietor.  The inspector met with some pupils.  The inspector undertook a tour of the school’s four bases.  The inspector considered school documentation in relation to safeguarding, health and

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Information about this inspection

safety, fire safety and risk assessment. He looked at the school’s single central record and considered the school’s procedures for undertaking checks on new staff.

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Inspection team

Simon Hollingsworth, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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