New Skill Centre

Inspection of New Skill Centre Wolsey House, 2-5 The Drift, Nacton Road, Ipswich IP3 9QR

p.1

Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Sixth-form provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

p.1

Overall effectiveness Good

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils receive excellent support at New Skill Centre. Their needs are accurately identified. The school puts in place an extensive range of well-considered ways of meeting pupils’ needs effectively. This includes skilful help with pupils’ mental health. Pupils have very positive relationships with caring and committed staff. Pupils praise the nurturing ethos. Those who have experienced trauma and high levels of anxiety settle and conduct themselves well.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a purposeful place to learn. Pupils thrive in the safe and calm culture. They focus in their lessons and take pride in their learning. At social times, pupils enjoy the calm and friendly environment. This helps them develop their confidence and social skills. Pupils are polite and respectful to peers.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Expectations for achievement are high. Pupils learn a strong curriculum. The personalised programmes of learning motivate post-16 students. Across the school, pupils achieve well.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

There are a wide range of opportunities. Pupils enthuse about lunchtime activities, for example board games, electronics, pool and football. They appreciate how the school has responded to their requests, such as for more extra-curricular choices. Pupils engage meaningfully with charity work. These experiences develop their positive character traits and prepare them successfully for their next steps.

p.2

better?

The curriculum is designed well. It identifies in detail what pupils need to know to succeed. The school ensures pupils learn the foundational knowledge and skills they require. Those in the early stages of reading get support to become confident, fluent readers. The English and mathematics curriculums build up pupils’ learning cohesively over time. For example, pupils show confidence in mathematical reasoning and calculation. This helps them attain accredited qualifications that give them wider options moving forwards.

p.2

better?

Teachers deliver the curriculum skilfully. They have strong subject knowledge. Well- crafted activities help pupils to secure the intended learning. Teachers use questioning adeptly to develop pupils’ understanding. In English, pupils articulate rich insights about literary texts. Teachers expertly build learning on pupils’ interests. For example, in art pupils make high-quality sculptures based on their favourite anime figures. They are proud of what they achieve.

p.2

better?

Overall, pupils gain deep and detailed knowledge. In the sixth form, students’ bespoke programmes build closely on their prior learning. This means that they develop confidence in what they know and apply it in increasingly complex tasks. While this is the case, sometimes pupils develop greater gaps in their learning than they should because of absence. This is because, when pupils return to school after 24 to 26 June 2025 a period of not attending, on occasion these gaps do not get identified. This affects how well some pupils are supported to build up what they know and can do.

p.2

better?

Pupils receive highly effective support for their special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school reviews their needs in a timely and thorough manner. This enables the right support to be put in place. For example, pupils who have sensory and emotional needs, that might prevent them from accessing learning, get precise and well-considered help. When pupils have anxieties about tasks, the school breaks these into smaller, achievable actions. This helps pupils gain a sense of success. As a result, many who have faced previous disruption to their education now re-engage with learning. They make progress through the curriculum.

p.3

better?

The school has a very clear behaviour policy. Staff have been supported to apply this with consistency and empathy. Behaviour incidents are rare. Pupils embody the school’s values, for example partnership and responsibility.

p.3

better?

Attendance is not as secure as it could be. Expectations for attendance are not high enough. This means that levels of attendance for some pupils do not improve quickly. Consequently, they miss out on important learning.

p.3

better?

Pupils benefit from a coherent programme for personal development. They learn important content, such as how to stay safe online. Pupils understand the importance of respecting those from different societies. They benefit from helpful careers guidance. This enables them to make informed choices about their futures. As a result, they move confidently on to education, employment or training.

p.3

better?

Sixth-form students develop the independence they need. The school helps them build life and employability skills, such as for travel and budgeting. They are prepared well for life in the modern world. However, sixth-form students do not experience a suitably coherent relationships and sex education offer. As a result, some students do not develop a sufficient level of understanding about healthy adult relationships.

p.3

better?

The proprietor ensures there are robust systems for checking the quality of provision. The proprietor and a stable school leadership have improved the school’s provision over time. This reflects a persistent focus on making the school a better place for pupils.

p.3

better?

The school engages thoughtfully and positively with its stakeholders. Parents and carers are complimentary about the support their children receive. Staff are supported well with their well-being and workload. Therefore, they buy fully into the school’s aims and culture.

p.3

better?

The proprietor has ensured that the independent school standards (the standards) have been met consistently. There is close oversight of safeguarding. The school’s website provides the information that it should for parents and local authorities. Strong health and safety and risk assessment processes mean that the school is a 24 to 26 June 2025 safe place for pupils. The proprietor has ensured they fulfil statutory responsibilities, including compliance with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

p.3

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.4

(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The school does not have as high expectations for attendance as it should. This means that some pupils’ attendance does not improve enough, and they miss out on important learning. The school should review its processes for improving attendance and ensure it raises its expectations in this area.  When pupils return from absence, the school, at times, does not check closely enough where they may need support to catch up successfully on missed learning. This means that sometimes pupils do not build up what they know and can do as much as they could. The school should ensure that it checks where pupils need to catch up on missed learning because of absence, so that they do not develop gaps in their knowledge.  In the sixth form, the school does not systematically ensure students benefit from coherent relationships and sex education. As a result, some students do not develop a sufficient level of understanding about healthy adult relationships. The

p.4

(Information for the school and proprietor)

school needs to put in place a well-considered relationships and sex education programme for all sixth-form students.

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. 24 to 26 June 2025

p.4

School details

Unique reference number 146332 DfE registration number 935/6013

p.5

School details

Inspection number 10342138 Type of school Other independent special school

p.5

School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

p.5

form

Proprietor Centre for Care T/A New Skill Centre

p.5

form

Annual fees (day pupils) £11,554 to £23,400

p.5

form

Date of previous inspection 28 to 30 June 2022 24 to 26 June 2025

p.5

Information about this school

 New Skill Centre is an independent special school. It is registered to provide education for pupils with a wide range of SEND. Pupils’ primary need is related to autism. All pupils have an education, health and care plan.  The school is run by Centre for Care T/A New Skill Centre. There is an advisory board that provides support and challenge to the school.  All school placements are funded by Suffolk local authority.  The school does not currently use alternative provision.  The previous standard inspection was on 30 June 2022. The school was judged to be good. All the standards were met. Since then, the school requested a material change, to increase its capacity from 60 to 90 pupils. The Department for Education (DfE) commissioned an additional inspection on 17 July 2024. This was to evaluate whether the standards were likely to be met if the material change was granted. At this, Ofsted deemed the standards were likely to be met. The DfE

p.6

Information about this school

granted the material change in September 2024.  The school operates from one address. This is Wolsey House, 2-5 The Drift, Nacton Road, Ipswich IP3 9QR.

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 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 met with the headteacher, other school leaders, staff, and pupils. As part of evaluating governance, the lead inspector spoke with the chair of the proprietor body and the chair of the advisory board. The lead inspector also spoke by phone with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, art, and personal, social and health education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with the headteacher, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also evaluated the curriculum in some other subjects.

p.6

Information about this inspection

24 to 26 June 2025  As part of evaluating the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: met with leaders, governors, staff and pupils; scrutinised the school’s single central record of recruitment and vetting checks; considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  As part of checking compliance with the standards and evaluating other areas of provision, inspectors scrutinised a range of policies and documents. They checked the safety and appropriateness of the school site.  During inspections, Ofsted seeks views through the online questionnaire for parents, Ofsted Parent View. In this inspection, there were too few responses to consider. Inspectors considered the free-text responses they received from parents. The lead inspector phoned some parents to gauge their views of the school. Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for staff.

p.7

Inspection team

Charlie Fordham, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

p.7

Inspection team

Rob James Ofsted Inspector 24 to 26 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