Wetherby Pembridge

Wetherby Pembridge

Address: Emberton House, Maclise Road, London, W14 8UX Unique reference number (URN): 151698

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met. Insufficient evidence: Inspectors were unable to gather sufficient evidence to judge whether safeguarding standards are met.

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Achievement Strong standard

As this is a new school with pupils in Years 7 to 9, pupils have not taken any national examinations. Evidence gathered from speaking with pupils about their learning and scrutinising the quality of their work shows that pupils’ achievement across the subjects is high.

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Achievement Strong standard

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, have very well- developed oracy skills. They are articulate and speak with confidence and authority about their learning, showing long-term retention of broad knowledge and a deep understanding across the subjects.

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Achievement Strong standard

The high quality of work sampled also shows that pupils consistently make solid progression through the curriculum across the subjects.

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Achievement Strong standard

Current pupils in Year 9 are very well prepared for the rigours of key stage 4 GCSE learning. They have the knowledge, skills, attitudes and attributes they need to be academically successful and to contribute as positive citizens in Great Britain.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The school has established a very broad and rich curriculum, with a clear vision to ensure pupils gain a high standard and breadth of academic knowledge alongside access to a wide range of skills in performing arts and sports. Leaders have strategically planned an ambitious curriculum through to sixth form across many subjects, should the material change application be agreed. They have also built a teaching team with secure subject knowledge, leadership and expertise. Leaders monitor the curriculum and teaching closely, making changes where needed.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

For the small number of pupils who need additional support with literacy and numeracy, effective provision is in place. This helps pupils develop the skills needed to access the broad curriculum successfully. For pupils with barriers to learning, teachers implement adaptations skilfully and sensitively so that all pupils can access the same curriculum as their classmates.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Teachers keep a close and continuous check on pupils’ learning, providing timely feedback to help them improve. Regular learning checks and recall activities help pupils to retain deep knowledge over time.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Teachers demonstrate highly effective pedagogical skills and set learning activities that are well matched to the subject and pupils’ learning. Questioning, from both teachers and pupils, is immediate and informative, helping to address misconceptions. This is evident across the wide range of subjects.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

School leaders and the proprietor body are highly ambitious and have made remarkable progress since the school opened. They ensure that pupils benefit from a high-quality education alongside a wide range of personal development opportunities. The proprietor body is part of a global network of schools and brings significant expertise. It both supports and quality assures the school’s work, ensuring it has the resources needed for continued success. Robust systems are in place to ensure that the school meets all the independent school standards and statutory requirements consistently.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The purpose-built premises provide ample space to accommodate significant growth, including a post-16 provision. Leaders have deliberately appointed teachers with expertise across Years 7 to 13 and expert subject leadership experience. Suitable schemes of work are in place to deliver an ambitious curriculum up to the end of post-16 education. This demonstrates that the school has the capacity to expand its roll to 475 and age range up to 19-year-olds.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

As the school has developed, leaders have quality assured its work and actively sought the views of staff, pupils and parents and carers to inform improvements. The school also works closely with the local authority and local community, for example, by sharing its theatre and music facilities.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Staff are positive about working at the school and value the open communication and care shown by leaders. Leaders take steps to support staff workload. Professional learning is well established, with weekly sessions led largely by staff's expertise, alongside opportunities to access external training and subject networks.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have worked hard to define the school’s core values and establish a clear, shared culture. While very much has been achieved in a short time, some aspects of the school’s work remain relatively new and are continuing to develop and embed rapidly.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders prioritise personal development and wellbeing as a central part of the school’s vision, based on the values of resilience, ambition, kindness and respect. This is underpinned by a well-planned and highly effective programme for personal, social, health and economic education and relationships and sex education. The curriculum is responsive to the school’s context. For example, pupils learn how to manage risks linked to travelling in an inner-London environment, including understanding county lines and how to keep themselves safe. Leaders also adapt provision in response to need. When concerns arose about some pupils’ language in relationships, for example, targeted lessons on consent and personal boundaries were introduced, followed by a drop-down day focusing on online safety and healthy relationships.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupils explore moral issues through discussion-based scenarios, developing their ability to think critically. Social development is promoted through sports, house events and pupil-led activities. Pupils reflect on identity and beliefs and develop cultural understanding through focused work on diversity, including events such, as Martin Luther King Day and discussions around equality, stereotypes and discrimination. Teaching about different groups in society,

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Expected standard

such as those defined by religion, disability, gender and sexual orientation, is carefully planned and revisited.

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Expected standard

Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They learn about democracy, the rule of law and individual liberty from Year 7 onwards, supported by structured debate and clear expectations for respectful discussion. Pastoral support is effective with tutors and house masters providing consistent guidance, alongside external speakers on issues, such as mental health and sleep. A wide extra-curricular offer, including clubs, such as Junior MasterChef, robotics and jujitsu, further develops pupils’ interests and social skills.

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Expected standard

Careers education is a growing strength. A well-planned programme begins in Year 7. The curriculum is aligned to national benchmarks and leaders have clear plans to extend this provision into key stage 4 and the sixth form. Pupils benefit from initiatives, such as a forthcoming careers week, a ‘women in work’ day and work with external providers.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders have high expectations for attendance and behaviour. They have clear systems for recording and analysing trends over time so that appropriate timely actions can be taken to drive improvements.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

The school addresses barriers to attendance thoughtfully and effectively, resulting in overall attendance figures that are close to the national average. Notably, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) show sustained improvements in their attendance due to leaders’ effective and supportive actions. Pupils’ punctuality has also improved over the year.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Behaviour across the school is typically positive and underpinned by clear, consistently applied routines. Pupils behave very well in lessons, show confidence in their learning and are keen to gain new knowledge. Staff receive high-quality professional learning to support positive behaviour and apply the school’s behaviour management strategies consistently. The overall school environment is typically purposeful. Bullying, harassment and discrimination are rare and are dealt with appropriately when they occur.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils with SEND receive effective tailored support to help them engage well with learning. The school promotes positive behaviour through restorative approaches and the use of calm spaces. Pupils are able to discuss the strategies they use to manage their emotions. The school’s culture of high expectations, combined with personalised support, enables pupils to develop both academically and socially.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The school is committed to ensuring that all pupils are supported to reach high standards of learning and achieve in all aspects of school life. The school has established effective approaches to identifying and assessing the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), as well as those who face other barriers to learning and/or wellbeing. Leaders provide staff with relevant training to develop their knowledge of how best to meet pupils’ needs. In collaboration with pupils and their parents and carers, leaders also prepare ‘passports’ that outline individuals’ needs and helpful classroom strategies. As a result, teachers make appropriate adaptations across classes and subjects. Typically, pupils with barriers to learning and/or wellbeing experience high-quality teaching, enabling them to make sound progress and acquire secure knowledge. This reflects the school’s commitment to ensuring that every pupil can access

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Inclusion Expected standard

Occasionally, and where necessary, pupils are withdrawn from lessons for short, focused interventions, such as to improve spelling. While leaders generally check how well pupils with SEND are progressing, their checking of the impact of adaptations and interventions is not as timely as it could be. This means that, where support may be less effective, it is not identified and addressed as quickly as possible.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Every morning, as pupils enter the school, senior leaders greet them individually by name with a warm smile and handshake. Pupils reciprocate in kind. All pupils joined this brand- new school in September, many initially apprehensive about this unfamiliar environment. They quickly get to know one another, make new friends and collaborate positively across year groups. Pupils describe a sense of community, where diversity is celebrated and where they feel they belong.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils and staff enjoy positive and respectful relationships. Pupils value the very broad curriculum, taught by skilled and knowledgeable teachers. Staff make effective adaptations so that pupils facing barriers to learning and/or wellbeing receive the support they need to progress as well as their peers. Pupils achieve highly across the subjects. Through the school’s 'three pillars' curriculum, namely academic, performing arts and games, pupils thrive in a holistic way and are well prepared for their next steps.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and are keen to succeed. Most behave sensibly and maturely around the school and at social times. Reported bullying is rare and is dealt with appropriately should it occur. Pupils feel safe and most attend school regularly.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils benefit from many opportunities to take part in wider experiences with high participation. A wide range of activities are available at lunchtime and after school, catering for diverse interests. Pupils make good use of facilities, such as the gym, drama studio, music production room, theatre and vast paying fields. These opportunities help them discover and develop talents, for example learning a musical instrument, performing confidently to an audience or trying new sports, such as fencing. The pupil-led ‘Change Makers’ club enables pupils to contribute to the community through activities, such as charity fundraising. They also support local primary schools in maintaining their gardens and inviting external speakers, such as the head of a local foodbank, to raise awareness of poverty. These experiences prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain and beyond.

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Next steps

Leaders should refine how they check the progress of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities to make sure all those pupils benefit fully from the support and adaptations made for them. Leaders should continue their work to improve attendance so that it exceeds the national average overall.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this standard inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, and checked the school’s compliance with 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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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the headmaster, other senior and middle leaders, the chair and other members of the proprietor body. They also spoke formally and informally with groups of pupils and staff.

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About this inspection

The school’s proposed change to the age range of pupils and the maximum number of pupils:

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About this inspection

The school has applied to the Department for Education (DfE) to make a material change to its registration. They seek to change the age range of pupils, currently 11 to 15 to 11 to 19 and the maximum number of pupils from 200 to 475. At the DfE’s request, inspectors checked whether the school is likely to meet the relevant independent school standards if the DfE decides to approve the change. This part of the inspection was carried out under section 162(4) of the Education Act 2002.

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About this inspection

The outcome of this part of the inspection is: the school is likely to meet the relevant independent school standards if the material change relating to the school provision is implemented.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school does not currently make any use of alternative provision.

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About this inspection

The school is located at Emberton House, Olympia, London W14 8UX. Its sports ground is located at Latymer Upper School Sports Ground, Wood Lane W12 0HJ.

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About this inspection

This was the first standard inspection of this school, which was registered by the DfE on 22 August 2025.

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Independent school standards

Independent school standards are either met or not met for each category. The proprietor body is Wetherby Pembridge Limited.

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Independent school standards

The chair of the proprietor body is Mark Snell.

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Independent school standards

The school's email address is contact@wetherbypembridge.co.uk

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Independent school standards

1. Quality of education provided Standards met

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Independent school standards

2. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils Standards met

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Independent school standards

3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils Standards met

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Independent school standards

4. Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors Standards met

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Independent school standards

5. Premises of and accommodation at schools Standards met

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Our grades explained

6. Provision of information Standards met

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Our grades explained

7. Manner in which complaints are handled Standards met

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Our grades explained

8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools Standards met

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Insufficient evidence

Inspectors were unable to gather reliable enough evidence to grade an evaluation area. This is rare and normally only happens if there are no pupils on roll at the school.

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Insufficient evidence

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Insufficient evidence

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Insufficient evidence

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Insufficient evidence

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Insufficient evidence

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

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