The Robert Ogden School

Inspection of The Robert Ogden School Clayton Lane, Thurnscoe, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S63 0BG

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Inspection dates: 23 to 25 September 2025

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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

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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?

Pupils feel safe and well supported at The Robert Ogden School. They value the support they receive to progress well. The school’s caring approach reassures pupils, and they are happy to attend here. Pupils appreciate the positive impact that the school makes on their education and personal development.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The proprietor and school have a strong ambition for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to achieve well. They have high expectations for all pupils to be successful. These resonate through the school, from the youngest pupils to those in post-16 provision.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff know pupils well. They recognise each pupil as an individual with unique qualities. Pupils and staff form strong and purposeful relationships. This helps pupils to settle in lessons and focus on learning. Pupils engage with each other positively in lessons and during social times. As a result, the school is typically calm and orderly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ personal development is a cornerstone of the school’s educational offer. The school ensures that each pupil benefits from well-thought-out personal development opportunities inside and outside the classroom. These include artistic and sporting experiences, and those that develop independence, such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme.

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better?

Pupils learn an ambitious and rich curriculum that is adapted to meet pupils’ individual education, health and care (EHC) plan targets. The curriculum has six broad areas that include academic and creative learning, underpinned by preparation for adulthood. The curriculum is further organised into pathways of learning to meet pupils’ individual needs. Each pathway is well designed and thoughtfully sequenced to ensure pupils progress well. This arrangement ensures that pupils learn a curriculum that is appropriate to their age, stage of development and SEND.

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better?

Staff use their subject knowledge well to deliver new learning carefully. They introduce new concepts steadily and, where needed, revisit prior learning to embed pupils’ knowledge and skills. They patiently check pupils’ understanding. The school has correctly identified that in some curriculum areas, including post-16, these checks do not consistently identify how pupils can improve their work and support them to progress through the curriculum. In addition, staff do not consistently use their checks to adjust their future teaching to help pupils really secure their knowledge.

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better?

The school supports pupils to gain the knowledge and skills they need to become confident and fluent readers quickly. Pupils who need support with reading are identified promptly. They receive targeted phonics and reading support. Skilled staff deliver this expertly to build pupils’ ability to read well. 23 to 25 September 2025 The school has developed effective systems to promote and sustain pupils’ positive attendance. Leaders analyse attendance data sharply to spot any causes for concern. They work effectively with pupils and their families to support regular attendance. The impact of this work means most pupils attend school well. Most pupils behave well in school and the environment is typically settled. Staff are swift and responsive to pupils’ needs, should they lose focus. Staff use agreed support strategies to re-engage pupils, such as movement breaks and temporary learning outside the classroom. These strategies are implemented successfully. Most pupils

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better?

settle back to classroom learning after receiving patient and sensitive support.

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better?

Personal development is prioritised. It is effectively woven through pupils’ curriculum pathways. Pupils experience a range of opportunities to enrich their learning, develop social skills and strengthen their independence. It includes an enrichment programme that enables pupils of all ages to mix in shared experiences, such as gardening, board games and sensory activities.

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better?

Pupils receive age-appropriate relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education. This is delivered as part of the well-developed personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum in dedicated lessons. RSE is adapted to meet pupils’ stage of development and covers all content that is required by statutory guidance. It is thoughtfully tailored to meet pupils’ needs to ensure they can care for themselves and keep safe.

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better?

The school’s personal development programme contributes positively to pupils’ understanding of the wider world and prepares them well for their future. However, some knowledge is not consistently understood by a few pupils. For example, while pupils can describe the importance of diversity and recognise that differences should be celebrated, a small number of pupils do not have a well-developed understanding of different faiths and cultures.

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better?

Post-16 students learn a curriculum that leads to appropriate qualifications based upon their academic ability and SEND. It is effectively delivered and further builds upon the school’s curriculum pathways. It has a sharp focus on developing skills and strengthening knowledge to prepare students for next steps in education, employment or training. The school has intensified its work to prepare students for adulthood. For example, where appropriate, students learn a careers curriculum that includes CV development, interview skills and employment skills. This prepares them for employment or further education well. Most students go on to positive destinations when they leave the school.

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better?

Staff feel valued and supported. They appreciate leaders’ accessibility and the work leaders do to support staff workload and well-being. The school invests in staff development to further strengthen their practice. This includes staff at an early stage of their career. Staff receive ongoing professional development opportunities. These help them strengthen their expertise in identifying any barriers to learning that pupils face. It hones staff’s skills in designing teaching that is tailored to pupils’ individual ages and stages of development. 23 to 25 September 2025 The proprietor and governors have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas needing development. They regularly check the quality of the school’s work. This active engagement and close scrutiny accurately inform the school’s strategic plans. Through this work, the proprietor demonstrates the skills and knowledge necessary to ensure that the independent school standards (the

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better?

standards) continue to be met consistently. This includes fulfilling the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 In some curriculum areas, the school does not use assessment to identify how pupils can improve their work consistently well or effectively inform curriculum delivery. This means some pupils do not progress as well as they could through the planned curriculum. The school should ensure that assessment is used consistently well to support pupils and inform curriculum delivery, so that all pupils achieve highly across subjects.  A few pupils do not have a consistent and well-developed understanding of different faiths and cultures that they may encounter. This means that for a small number of pupils, their understanding of different faiths and cultures could be strengthened. The school should ensure all pupils develop a stronger and more consistent understanding of different faiths and cultures, to better prepare them for life in modern Britain.

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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. 23 to 25 September 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 106965 DfE registration number 370/6004

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School details

Inspection number 10391704 Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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form

Annual fees (day pupils) £77,748 to £103,011

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form

Dates of previous inspection 10 to 12 May 2022 23 to 25 September 2025

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Information about this school

 Since the last standard inspection of the school, an additional inspection took place in November 2022. It found all of the independent school standards that were checked were met.  All pupils have a primary SEND need of autism. All pupils who attend the school have an EHC plan.  The school receives referrals for pupils through consultations with several local authorities. Some pupils have not attended school for some time prior to being admitted to the school.  The school is registered to admit 165 pupils. There were 151 pupils on roll at the time of this inspection.  The school does not use any registered or unregistered alternative provision.  The school operates from premises located at Clayton Lane, Thurnscoe, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S63 0BG.

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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 met with the principal, the deputy principal with responsibility for SEND, curriculum leaders, teachers and support staff.  The lead inspector met with members of the proprietor body and a representative of the board of trustees, who chairs the school’s governance group.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, English, mathematics and PSHE. 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 documents and spoke to leaders about some

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Information about this inspection

other subjects and therapies to support pupils’ education. 23 to 25 September 2025  An inspector listened to pupils from different year groups reading to a familiar adult.  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.  Inspectors had a tour of the school site and scrutinised a wide range of documentary evidence to check the statutory requirements of the standards.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text comments.  Inspectors spoke to a range of staff and pupils during the inspection to consider their views of the school.

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Inspection team

David Mills, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Chris Pearce His Majesty’s Inspector 23 to 25 September 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

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

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