Progress Schools - Thrapston

Inspection of Progress Schools - Thrapston Cedar Drive, Thrapston, Northampton NN14 4LZ

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Inadequate Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils do not benefit from a good quality of education. The school has not ensured that staff have the skills and knowledge that they need to teach the curriculum consistently well. The proprietor has not identified and addressed areas of weakness at the school well enough.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have varied experiences of the school. They are not supported as well as they should be to manage their behaviour and to feel calm and settled. The school has not provided pupils with the help that they need to use respectful language and to engage positively with staff and their peers. Despite this, some pupils do report that they feel that they have benefitted during their time at the school. Pupils say that they have a trusted adult to whom they could turn with any worries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff are ambitious about what pupils can achieve. Some pupils make progress through the curriculum from their starting points. This is particularly the case in relation to pupils’ study of English and mathematics and most pupils achieve GCSE qualifications in these subjects. Pupils are not as successful in building their knowledge across the rest of the curriculum.

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better?

Pupils do not consistently receive the help that they need to be successful. Sometimes, the teaching is not matched well to what pupils already know and can do. This means that pupils can become confused and do not complete work set. On other occasions, the work is not demanding enough for pupils. They do not benefit from consistently high expectations about the work that they should complete.

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better?

Sometimes, teaching does not check understanding as well as it could. These occasions are, at times, connected to the fact that classrooms are not as calm and purposeful as they could be. Consequently, pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

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better?

The curriculum is well designed. It is ambitious and sets out clearly what pupils should learn and when. Teachers’ subject knowledge is secure and they share explanations of important knowledge clearly. In some subjects, pupils complete more demanding work. In mathematics, for example, staff help pupils to apply their learning about averages and explain how to solve problems using different methods.

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better?

The school identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities successfully. Staff receive information and strategies designed to help them to support pupils to feel comfortable and engage with their learning. However, the school has not ensured that staff use these strategies consistently well. At times, pupils struggle to concentrate and gain the knowledge that the curriculum intends.

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better?

The proprietor has not ensured that staff share information well, including about any improvement in pupils’ reading. The school has ensured that pupils read a range of 15 to 17 July 2025 ambitious texts, which help them to develop their understanding of important issues, such as those related to identity.

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better?

The proprietor has not ensured that staff feel supported in helping pupils to behave well. Some staff report requesting help and not receiving any. There are occasions when the lack of clarity about the school’s behaviour processes, results in staff unintentionally contradicting and undermining one another. Pupils leave classrooms even when asked to remain. They do not necessarily complete the work that is provided for them. Some pupils feel that the best way to be noticed is to raise their voices and make demands. Staff do not respond consistently when this occurs.

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better?

The school has not ensured that pupils understand how to use good manners and how to communicate in formal settings. Pupils regularly use inappropriate language. This means that pupils are not as well equipped to act responsibly as they should be. The proprietor has not fostered a meaningful culture of respect for pupils and staff to enjoy. The school works hard to identify and remove barriers to pupils’ attendance. Many pupils have had poor attendance in their previous schools and now attend school more frequently.

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better?

The school has not ensured that pupils are as well prepared for life in modern Britain as they should be. Pupils do not have the understanding that they should of fundamental British values or about the differences between people and the importance of respecting those differences.

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better?

Pupils have some opportunities to develop their talents and interests. They learn about music, cooking and crochet, for example. Pupils receive helpful advice about careers and next steps from a range of sources. This includes information about apprenticeships, colleges and other routes. Pupils are successful in securing relevant placements and qualification pathways when they leave the school. The school’s enrichment programme enables pupils to experience different cultures, faiths and beliefs. However, the school has not given enough thought to which aspects of the personal development offer pupils access and when.

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better?

There has been a period of staffing turbulence at the school. Pupils have not been able to build relationships with staff as well as they might have been due to the changes in adults working in the school. The school has appointed a full staff body in advance of the next academic year. Recent changes to leadership arrangements are beginning to have a positive effect. However, these changes are too recent to have had a positive impact on the quality of education that pupils receive.

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better?

The proprietor has not made sure that the school meets the requirements of the independent school standards consistently. The school has not ensured that staff develop the expertise and knowledge needed to fulfil their roles effectively. Staff who have arrived at the school more recently are more positive about the guidance they received when they first took up their roles. The school meets the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

15 to 17 July 2025 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The school has not ensured that there are high expectations of the work that pupils will complete or that this work is matched well to pupils’ starting points. This means that pupils can find work too easy or too difficult and they have gaps in their understanding, particularly in subjects, such as science. The school should ensure that pupils are provided consistently with work that is appropriate given their existing understanding and that expectations of the work that pupils should complete are clear.  The proprietor has not ensured that staff feel well supported when helping pupils to behave well. As a result, there are inconsistencies in how staff apply the behaviour policies that the school has in place. This makes it difficult for pupils to make good choices about how they behave. The school should ensure that staff feel supported and clearly understand the school’s approach to managing pupils’

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

behaviour.  The proprietor has not been able to establish a culture in which pupils use respectful language and demonstrate the value of good manners. This means that pupils are not as well prepared for life beyond school as they should be. The school should ensure that the school’s culture consistently promotes the importance of good manners and the use of appropriate language.  The school has not ensured that pupils develop their understanding of fundamental British values, protected characteristics and how to develop their talents and interests. As a result, pupils are not as well prepared for life in modern Britain as they should be. The school should ensure that pupils have the knowledge, understanding and experiences that they need to engage successfully with life in modern Britain.  The proprietor has not ensured that staff have the information and guidance that they need to fulfil their roles effectively. As a result, pupils’ experiences of school

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

are not as valuable and positive as they should be. For example, in relation to the behaviour they experience and the quality of education that they receive. The school should ensure that staff have sufficient information and guidance to be able to provide pupils with a high-quality experience of education.

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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. 15 to 17 July 2025 The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school. 15 to 17 July 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 147697 DfE registration number 940/6011

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School details

Inspection number 10391794 Type of school Other Independent School

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £14,500 to £32,500

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School details

Email address thrapstonPS@progress-schools.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 28 to 30 November 2023 15 to 17 July 2025

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Information about this school

 Progress Schools - Thrapston is registered to provide full-time education for up to 60 pupils aged 11 to 16 years. There are currently 40 pupils on roll.  The school offers education to pupils with behavioural, social, emotional and mental health needs. Many of these pupils have been excluded from their previous provision.  The school uses two unregistered and one registered alternative providers.  Since the school’s most recent standard inspection in November 2023, there have been significant changes in staffing, including in the leadership team.

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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 has failed to meet the independent school standards. These are the requirements of 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 met with members of the proprietor body and members of the school’s governing body, including the chair. They met with senior leaders, including the leaders responsible for behaviour and attendance, the special educational needs coordinator and the designated safeguarding lead.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: mathematics, science and personal, social and health education. 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 visited lessons, spoke with pupils and reviewed documentation

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Information about this inspection

and samples of pupils’ work in relation to a number of other subjects.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents. These included policies related to curriculum, health and safety and complaints.  Inspectors toured the premises to review the suitability of the site.  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. 15 to 17 July 2025  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View and Ofsted’s surveys for school staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Matthew Fearns-Davies, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Chris Stevens Ofsted Inspector 15 to 17 July 2025

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

 3 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that the teaching at the school- – 3(h) utilises effective strategies for managing behaviour and encouraging pupils to act responsibly;

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

 9 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor promotes good behaviour amongst pupils by ensuring that- – 9(b) the policy is implemented effectively;

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

 34(1) The standard about the quality of leadership and management is met if the proprietor ensures that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school- – 34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently; – 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently; 15 to 17 July 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

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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