Acorns School

Acorns School

Address: 19b Hibbert Lane, Marple, Stockport, Cheshire, SK6 7NN Unique reference number (URN): 131551

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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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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils have had disjointed, and often negative, experiences of education before they join this school. Leaders place great emphasis on building positive relationships with pupils so that they feel safe and settled. This helps pupils to attend school more regularly, often from very low starting points. Recently, leaders have reviewed their approach to improving pupils' rates of attendance. Careful monitoring of patterns in attendance, while working closely with pupils and their families, enables leaders to take highly bespoke and effective action to reduce any barriers. As a result, over time, most pupils attend school more regularly.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders have recently ensured that staff have the expertise needed to reduce barriers to pupils' wellbeing and to manage their behaviour effectively. Staff take a highly consistent approach to managing pupils' behaviour, which is complemented by tailored support for individual pupils to help them to regulate their own emotions and actions. As a result, there has recently been a reduction in the number of suspensions for unacceptable conduct.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Over time, as pupils feel comfortable in school, their engagement with learning improves. Pupils are usually respectful to staff and they generally get along well with each other. Pupils do not typically worry about bullying. They know that staff will resolve any issues that might arise.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

As part of their vision to prepare pupils to be successful citizens, leaders provide a carefully- considered programme of personal development. When pupils first join the school, they often have negative perceptions of education. Leaders prioritise pupils' wellbeing to ensure that they feel safe and settled in school. Pupils are known and cared for and they particularly value the positive relationships and support that staff provide. The school's pastoral care is a strength.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders weave opportunities to develop pupils' confidence, resilience and social skills into the school day. For example, pupils play games with staff and with each other. This helps them learn to take turns and to develop the resilience to respond appropriately if they lose. In addition, there is an extensive extra-curricular offer, including trips which require pupils to complete problem-solving challenges together or to learn to manage risk safely. Pupils enjoy these opportunities which, over time, help to build their confidence and self-esteem.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders provide a thorough curriculum for personal, social, health and economic education. Staff teach this curriculum as intended, which includes opportunities to revisit important learning. Typically, pupils develop an age-appropriate understanding of topics such as healthy relationships, how to keep themselves safe and democracy. When appropriate, leaders tailor some aspects of the curriculum for individual pupils to ensure that they are well equipped for adult life. For instance, some pupils learn how to cook healthy and nutritious meals.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders encourage pupils to begin to think about their future jobs and careers as soon as they join the school. This helps pupils to understand the value of education. Leaders provide

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Needs attention

personalised guidance and information, linked to pupils' needs and interests. Nevertheless, opportunities for pupils to engage with the world of work are limited. This hinders a few pupils from being as well prepared for the workplace as they could be.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils make uneven progress through the curriculum from their varied starting points. Weaknesses in the quality of teaching hinder how successfully pupils learn in some subjects. That said, leaders' work to ensure that pupils secure a place in education, employment or training when they leave the school has been successful.

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Achievement Needs attention

When they join the school, most pupils have gaps in their knowledge of reading, writing and number. Leaders recognise the importance of identifying and addressing these gaps. However, at times, the support that pupils receive is not sharply focused on the knowledge and skills that they lack. As a result, some gaps in pupils' knowledge persist over time.

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Achievement Needs attention

Some aspects of the curriculum are carefully tailored to pupils' needs. For instance, some pupils complete accreditations linked to independent living or to their next steps in education, employment or training. Pupils typically achieve well in these areas which helps to build their confidence and prepare them for life beyond school.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The quality of teaching is variable. Leaders have an accurate understanding of what needs to improve further and have designed an ongoing programme of professional development to address the identified weaknesses. Nevertheless, although there is a suitable curriculum in place, staff do not currently have the expertise to teach it consistently well.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Staff do not consistently design learning activities that enable pupils to apply and embed their knowledge. In addition, in most subjects, staff do not make effective use of the information that they gather from checks on pupils' understanding. This means that learning activities are often not closely matched to pupils' starting points. Information about pupils' needs is not used consistently well to inform teaching. This hinders how well pupils learn. Even so, in a few subjects, such as mathematics and personal, social, health and economics education, leaders have introduced highly-structured curriculums. In these subjects, teaching is usually more effective because staff have greater clarity about what and how to teach.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Due to disrupted experiences of education, pupils typically have sizable gaps in their knowledge of reading, writing and number when they join the school. Leaders' approach to identifying and addressing those gaps is not as precise as it should be. Furthermore, leaders' work to help pupils who struggle with handwriting is in its infancy.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders have taken suitable action to improve their processes for identifying, assessing and meeting pupils' needs. However, this work is ongoing. Currently, staff do not have the information and expertise that they need to meet pupils' needs consistently well.

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Inclusion Needs attention

All pupils have education, health and care plans. Using these plans as a starting point, leaders gather a range of information about pupils' needs as part of their induction process. In addition, leaders have recently strengthened their approach to identifying any additional or previously unrecognised needs that pupils may have. This includes consultation with external professionals, for example, in relation to any special educational needs and/or disabilities. This process is ongoing for some pupils.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders have begun to develop suitable mechanisms to reduce barriers to pupils' learning or wellbeing. This is beginning to make a difference. For example, the improved wellbeing of some pupils is apparent in their increasing willingness to engage in school. However, this is not consistently the case. Variability remains in the extent to which staff have the information and expertise required to meet some pupils' needs as effectively as they should.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders make thoughtful use of alternative provision to help re-engage some pupils in their education or to allow them to pursue particular interests. Leaders monitor these placements carefully to ensure that they are purposeful.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Recently, the proprietor has made some changes to how the school's 2 sites are led and managed. Leaders on both sites have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and where further improvement is needed. They are rightly proud of the effectiveness of their work to improve pupils' attendance and behaviour and to more successfully re-engage pupils in their education. However, hindered by turbulence in staffing, leaders' actions to improve the school's approach to inclusion and the quality of teaching are at an earlier stage. As such, the school does not meet some of the independent school standards (the standards) relating to the curriculum and teaching.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders' ongoing programme of improvement has pupils firmly at the centre. Leaders have successfully established a nurturing culture in which pupils feel valued and cared for. Staff benefit from a programme of professional development which has ensured that they have the expertise to build highly positive relationships with pupils and to manage their behaviour well. However, leaders' work to ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to teach effectively is ongoing.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Staff are overwhelmingly supportive of the school's journey of improvement. They value opportunities to increase their expertise and appreciate the consideration that leaders give to their workload.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The proprietor has suitable systems in place to evaluate whether the standards are met. It has established opportunities for additional scrutiny, support and challenge by appointing external professionals to the school's governing body. Working closely with school leaders, the proprietor is committed to taking appropriate action to continue to improve the school.

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

Nurturing and trusting relationships between pupils and staff underpin pupils' experiences and help them to feel secure and happy in school. These relationships are particularly evident during social times. Whether playing games together, such as 'chase' or chess, or sitting quietly and talking, the warmth and high regard between staff and pupils shines through their interactions. These positive relationships play a vital role in helping pupils who have typically had disrupted, and often negative, experiences of school in the past to re- engage with their education. Over time, pupils attend school more regularly.

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

Pupils have benefited from the actions that leaders have recently taken to improve the school. For example, pupils appreciate that the school is typically a calm and orderly place where any bullying is quickly resolved. Increasingly, leaders ensure that they have a thorough understanding of the barriers that prevent pupils from attending, or engaging in, school. However, pupils do not consistently receive the support or high-quality teaching that they need to learn successfully. In addition, some pupils have notable gaps in their fundamental knowledge of reading, writing or number which are not swiftly addressed and thus persist over time. This hinders their learning.

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

Pupils appreciate the opportunities that leaders provide, both within and alongside the curriculum, to promote their wider development. Activities such as arts and crafts help pupils to develop strategies to look after their mental health and wellbeing. Other experiences, including go-karting, challenge pupils to step outside of their comfort zone and help develop their confidence. These thoughtfully-designed opportunities are tailored to pupils' individual needs and interests and help to build their resilience and self-esteem. When needed, leaders provide additional support to pupils to ensure that they have the skills and confidence needed to navigate adult life successfully. For example, some pupils are taught how to use public transport safely.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that information about pupils' needs, including from external professionals, informs the support that pupils receive and is used consistently well to reduce barriers to pupils' learning. Leaders should ensure that they have a precise understanding of any gaps in pupils' foundational literacy and numeracy knowledge, so that pupils receive sharply focused support to address these gaps. Leaders should continue to develop staff's pedagogical expertise to design learning activities that enable pupils to apply and embed their knowledge, so that they learn and achieve well across the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that staff use assessment information to inform their teaching, so that learning activities are closely matched to pupils' starting points. Leaders should broaden opportunities for pupils to engage with the world of work, so that all pupils are sufficiently well informed about, and prepared for, future employment.

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Next steps

The proprietor should continue to support leaders to drive improvements in the quality of teaching, so that pupils benefit from effective teaching across all classes and subjects and to ensure that all the independent school standards are met.

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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

The inspection was brought forward following an additional inspection in November 2025. This was due to the independent school standards being met at the time of that inspection.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the co-headteachers and other leaders, representatives of the proprietor body, including the chair, and staff during the inspection.

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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 is part of the Keys Stepping Stones Limited group of schools.

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About this inspection

Places at this school are commissioned by the local authority. All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities and all have an education, health and care plan. Most pupils have social, emotional and mental health needs.

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About this inspection

The school currently uses 7 unregistered alternative provisions.

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About this inspection

The school is based on 2 sites. The address of the additional site is Acorns Ashley School, Back Lane, Ashley, Altrincham, Cheshire WA15 0QH.

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About this inspection

Since the last inspection, the proprietor has made changes to how the 2 sites operate, which includes appointing a headteacher on each of the 2 sites.

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About this inspection

The school is registered to take pupils from age 5 to 17. At the time of the inspection, there were no pupils above compulsory school age attending the school.

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About this inspection

The chair of the proprietor body is David Manson.

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About this inspection

The school's email address is admin.acorns@keyseducation.ac.uk

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Independent school standards

Independent school standards are either met or not met for each category. Co-headteachers: Paula Tankard Miranda Rathmell

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Independent school standards

1. Quality of education provided Standards not met

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Independent school standards

The following standards have not been met: Paragraph 2(1)

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Independent school standards

The standard in this paragraph is met if–

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Independent school standards

(a) the proprietor ensures that a written policy on the curriculum, supported by appropriate plans and schemes of work, which provides for the matters specified in sub-paragraph (2) is drawn up and implemented effectively; and

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Independent school standards

The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that the teaching at the school–

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Independent school standards

(a) enables pupils to acquire new knowledge and make good progress according to their ability so that they increase their understanding and develop their skills in the subjects taught; (c) involves well planned lessons and effective teaching methods, activities and management of class time; (d) shows a good understanding of the aptitudes, needs and prior attainments of the pupils, and ensures that these are taken into account in the planning of lessons; (g) demonstrates that a framework is in place to assess pupils' work regularly and thoroughly and use information from that assessment to plan teaching so that pupils can progress;

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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 All standards have been 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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Independent school standards

6. Provision of information Standards met

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Independent school standards

7. Manner in which complaints are handled Standards met

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Independent school standards

8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools Standards not met

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Independent school standards

The following standards have not been met:

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Independent school standards

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–

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Independent school standards

(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently; (b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently; and

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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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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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