St Elizabeth's Centre

St Elizabeth's Centre

Address: Perry Green, Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, SG10 6EW Unique reference number (URN): 132015

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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, learners are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

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

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The provider has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The provider has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have developed appropriate and highly effective transition arrangements. They use staff's multi-disciplinary expertise to establish learners' starting points, individual needs, triggers and preferences. They use these skilfully to plan for the acquisition of specialist equipment and bespoke staff training to meet learners’ needs.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have developed a curriculum that is inclusive, tailored and allows a broad range of opportunities for learners. Their effective curriculum planning, learner centred collaboration with multi-disciplinary therapists and well-established routines enable learners to thrive and successfully transition into adulthood.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have established a very effective approach to reviewing the impact of support. Learners’ needs, behaviours, incidents and any dips in achievement are reviewed frequently in meetings with staff. Staff meet together with immediacy following an incident with a learner. Leaders share any learning points, adaptations and action any further staff training where needed. Learners’ support is adjusted and reduced where appropriate, as their independence, confidence and skills develop.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders provide learners with specialist therapeutic workshops taught by the multi- disciplinary team. Learners attend these on a weekly basis to support their progress against their individual planned outcomes. Staff help learners to display positive behaviour, develop fine motor skills and improve communication skills.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders and governors have a precise understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement. They are unwavering in their strategic intent to provide the specialist resources and learning opportunities to enable learners to thrive and succeed.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Governors provide leaders with highly effective support and challenge to continue to improve. They make frequent monitoring visits to speak to staff and learners to understand and validate the information they receive. Leaders have highly effective quality management processes. They have taken swift and effective action to address the recommendations from the previous inspection, such as improving careers advice for learners and ensuring support staff enable learners to develop independent working skills.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders are highly considerate of staff's wellbeing in what they recognise as a challenging job. They are focused on retaining staff, and their wellbeing programme and staff career development are paramount. Staff are highly motivated in their work and proud to work at the college.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have established very good communication with stakeholders, such as residential care teams, parents and the local authority. They make sure that all staff who have contact with the learner work together seamlessly. Leaders ensure a shared multi-disciplinary approach to the review of learners' targets, support and behaviour strategies. Leaders provide staff with individualised and highly responsive training that aligns extremely well with the needs of learners. Managers conduct frequent learning walks and hold supervision meetings with staff. They discuss teaching strategies and training needs, in order for staff to be able to continue to improve their skills.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Leaders have developed a highly inclusive personal development curriculum with clear expectations for learners’ behaviours. They ensure that equality and diversity are celebrated and promoted through the curriculum and across the centre. In neurodiversity celebration week, learners shared in a video recording what neurodiversity means to them. They talked about what the challenges they face and their unique strengths and skills. Learners and their wider support networks feel valued and respected.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Learners attend very well, despite complex medical difficulties. Support staff know their learners extremely well. They skilfully identify and respond to any dysregulation, offering learners dignified ways to manage their behaviour. Such options include time out in the sensory room, timed breaks, walks and sensory activities. Staff support learners extremely effectively to re-engage swiftly and rejoin the lesson.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Leaders ensure that there are a very few incidents of bullying, discrimination or violence. Where conflicts may occur, learners receive intensive support. Staff use social stories, supervision, prompts, risk assessments and learning activities to restore harmonious relationships.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Leaders have rapidly improved learners’ access to high quality, specialist careers advice and education. Careers advisers provide very helpful training for learners on CV writing and interview skills.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners make significant progress in developing their academic, personal and social skills. They successfully progress from learning in the classroom to working in a variety of settings, such as in external workplaces, and participating in community visits. Learners become more active in their home setting. They assist with household tasks, such as loading the dishwasher. Parents report that learners can do things that were not previously possible because of their young person’s behaviour dysregulation. Learners are able to do things that enhance their lives, such as hold conversations more easily, access the community, take holidays and go on plane journeys.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners largely achieve the individual and tailored unit qualifications that they study, including English and mathematics at the appropriate level. Teachers and support staff seamlessly embed English, mathematics and digital skills into lesson activities.

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Achievement Expected standard

Learners are generally well prepared for their next steps, which include voluntary work, supported internships and greater independence within supported living or adult services. They mostly progress to destinations that meet their goals and aspirations.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have developed a curriculum that is well sequenced, tailored, inclusive and innovative. Leaders' planning is thorough and holistic, building on learners' starting points. Learners study themed cycles of learning that align to the preparing for adulthood outcomes of employment, independent living, community inclusion and health. Teachers assess learners’ skills development at the end of each cycle to identify progress effectively. Leaders analyse any dips in progress to inform adaptations to the curriculum and the support provided.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders ensure that the curriculum is highly accessible to all learners. Staff plan lessons that are well structured to include time for learners to practise new skills. They then assess learners and fill any gaps in knowledge that they identify. Most teachers and support staff have the expertise to teach and assess learners with complex needs. In a few cases, teachers are still developing their skills. Leaders are providing training and support in these instances.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff have access to a wide range of appropriate resources to meet the varied needs of learners. These include digital interactive boards, symbol software, tablet computers linking to QR code activities and sensory areas in each classroom.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teachers use a variety of communication and verbal strategies fluently to ensure that learners' bespoke needs are met. They work closely with a team of specialists, such as occupational, speech and language therapists. The specialist team provides teachers with tailored communication and behavioural teaching and learning strategies to optimise learner participation and understanding. Teachers provide learners and their wider support networks with helpful feedback on their work. They make sure that feedback is clear about what progress learners are making and the next steps.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Learners benefit from a highly inclusive, welcoming, supportive and holistic culture. Staff pay close attention to any changes in their behaviours, incidents and achievements to review their support and make any further adjustments. Learners develop the skills they need to become self-aware, confident and independent. They are able to visit work settings, access the work placements and community settings.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Learners understand how to be healthy, stay safe online and develop positive relationships. Learners work with multi-agency teams to establish suitable boundaries around touch, personal space and sexuality. Learners benefit greatly from learning about and practising tolerance, gaining awareness of vulnerable communities and celebrating multi-faith festivals. Learners use highly effective interactive quizzes about matching fundamental British values to their definitions. They make suggestions as to how they would welcome people fleeing from persecution and war. They use creative art and cookery projects to celebrate festivals, such as Diwali, Eid, Hannukah and Holi.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Leaders have developed a rich and meaningful enrichment offer that provides learners with valuable social and community experiences. Learners actively participate in cultural events, such as hosting a Pride event. They take part in talent contests, cricket coaching, farm visits and national learner voice councils. Learners visit local libraries and museums as well as work settings. They visited an airline to consider the accessibility for passengers with disabilities. They participate in work placements, such as Canal Ability where they help maintain canal boats and help visitors with disabilities to access canal boat holidays.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Learners develop their sense of personal and social responsibility and contribute to their wider communities. They joined a local environmental group working with a water company to collect data on insect counts. Learners entered this data into a national database.

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Next steps

Leaders should further develop the external work placement opportunities to enable more learners to progress into voluntary or paid employment. Leaders should strengthen professional learning for new teachers to ensure consistently high-quality teaching across all courses and subjects.

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Team inspectors:

Debbie Griffin, Ofsted Inspector Josie Grainger, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 16 June 2026

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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 governors, leaders, managers, teachers, support staff, learners, parents and local authority stakeholders during the inspection.

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About this inspection

St Elizabeth’s Centre is located near Bishop’s Stortford in Hertfordshire. It provides education programmes for young people who have severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties and/or disabilities. All learners have an education, health and care plan and are supported by an on-site multi-disciplinary team. These include specialist nurses, occupational, speech and language therapists and physiotherapists who provide constant physical and medical support for the young people in their care.

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About this inspection

St Elizabeth’s Centre has 40 learners in total, 20 learners are aged 16 to 19 and study in the sixth form provision and 20 are aged 19 to 25 and study in the college provision. Some learners live onsite in either supported living settings or children’s homes.

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About this inspection

Director of adult learning: Teresa Glynn

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Exceptional

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

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Strong standard

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

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Expected standard

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

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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

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