Central Education Ltd

Central Education Ltd

Address: Yew Tree Farm, Nash Lane, Scaynes Hill, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 7NJ Unique reference number (URN): 126149

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Safeguarding standards not met

The proprietor has not ensured that the arrangements for safeguarding are effective. This is particularly related to arrangements to safeguard pupils’ health and safety on the school site. For example, fire safety regulations are not followed consistently. Some areas of the school are in poor condition or not being used for their intended purpose. These situations put pupils at risk of harm.

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders make sure that processes for safer recruitment are followed properly. The school’s written safeguarding policy meets statutory guidance and is published on the school’s website. Staff understand their duties and responsibilities in relation to being alert to concerns about pupils. Staff report concerns swiftly and leaders take appropriate action.

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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 Needs attention

Pupils do not achieve as well as they should. This is due to inconsistencies in curriculum design and in the quality of teaching, which lead to variation in pupils’ learning across the curriculum.

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Achievement Needs attention

Some pupils do well academically. Their work illustrates the school’s success in building pupils’ knowledge and skills over time in some subjects, including English and reading. However, weaknesses in curriculum design in other subjects, combined with variations in the quality of teaching, hinder pupils’ learning overall.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils’ readiness for their next steps varies. Significant gaps in pupils’ knowledge persist in some subjects, including mathematics. This means that they are not always able to access the curriculum as well as they should. However, the older pupils complete GCSEs in English and mathematics as well as nationally accredited qualifications in subjects, such as metalwork and woodwork. This supports them in the move to post-16 provision.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

The proprietor has not ensured sufficient oversight of pupils’ attendance. Leaders do not maintain registers in line with statutory guidance. Leaders prioritise pupils’ attendance but have not put systems in place to enable them to monitor trends in absence. This means that they do not have a sufficiently strategic understanding of patterns of absence. Despite this, overall attendance rates have improved steadily since the last inspection, although they are still lower than they should be. The school has achieved some success in improving some individual pupils’ attendance.

p.3

Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

The quality of pupils’ behaviour varies. Most pupils behave calmly and sensibly and many classes are calm and orderly. However, sometimes challenging behaviour is not addressed effectively. This is because staff expectations of behaviour are not consistently high enough. For instance, while breaktimes are generally positive and enjoyable occasions, pupils sometimes engage in rough play that is not addressed fully enough by staff.

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Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Staff build caring relationships with pupils. They recognise when pupils are feeling anxious or upset and are responsive when pupils need help. Staff provide calm and caring support, when pupils struggle to manage their emotions. Leaders take any concerns about bullying seriously and respond appropriately.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders’ strategic oversight has not ensured that the next steps identified at the time of the previous inspection have been addressed fully. The content of the curriculum is clearly identified and logically ordered in some subjects, including English. However, work to identify what should be taught is still in the earliest stages of development in several subjects. Where this is the case, activities are frequently set for pupils in an unstructured way. As a result, learning does not build well enough. Over time, gaps in pupils’ essential knowledge have not been tackled sufficiently well, so that these continue to hamper their progress.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Staff have benefited from professional learning in how to teach important aspects of the curriculum, such as phonics. However, staff training has not yet been delivered in some subjects, including mathematics. Some staff are very knowledgeable about the subjects they teach. They plan activities which capture pupils’ interest and they teach with enthusiasm. However, others do not have the subject knowledge needed to teach the curriculum effectively.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders use long-term targets in pupils’ education, health and care plans effectively to shape pupils’ next steps. Checks are used appropriately to identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics. However, staff do not use this information fully enough to inform teaching. This means that activities are not consistently well matched to what pupils already know and can do.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The school has suitable systems in place to identify pupils’ needs. Leaders use pupils’ education, health and care plans well to identify pupils’ starting points, when they join the school. They combine this information with a range of assessment information to ensure they have a clear view of pupils’ individual needs.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders set appropriate short-term targets to enable them to focus support for individual pupils. However, some staff have not received the training they need to understand pupils’ individual needs and to put appropriate support into practice. This hinders pupils’ learning and progress. Furthermore, the proprietor has not ensured that the content of the curriculum has been clearly identified and sequenced in all subjects. As a result, the curriculum does not take sufficient account of pupils’ needs.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The school does not have an accessibility plan. Leaders and the proprietor have not given sufficient thought to anticipating and removing barriers to learning. As a result, the school premises are not suitably equipped to accommodate pupils, staff and visitors, who require accessible toilet facilities and there are no plans to address this in the future.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders ensure that they understand the contexts and needs of those pupils known to social care. They engage appropriately with external agencies, fulfil their statutory duties and participate fully in statutory processes. This helps the school to identify the additional risks these pupils face effectively.

p.4

Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Some important aspects of the school’s work to support pupils’ wider personal development needs improvement. The school’s personal, social and health education programme includes appropriate content, including relationships, sex and health education. However, the content of the curriculum is not consistently delivered as intended. For example, lesson content and activities are generally chosen and delivered by staff in an ad hoc way, rather than as part of a coherent and well-sequenced curriculum. As a result, pupils do not develop a secure understanding of key aspects of the personal development programme and are not as equipped for life in modern Britain as they should be. For instance, while they have some knowledge of what they can do to keep safe, including when online, they are unfamiliar with what fundamental British values are and why they matter.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

The school’s careers programme is in the earliest stages of development. Leaders have identified a careers programme that demonstrates suitable ambition for pupils’ future education, training and employment. This programme includes identified opportunities for links with local businesses and organisations to support pupils’ employability skills. However, this programme is not yet in place.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Most pupils move on to college, training or employment when they leave the school. Pupils have opportunities to attend college open days, but these experiences are not part of a coherent and planned approach. Leaders know that the transition to college can be a particularly challenging time for pupils. They have recently taken steps to strengthen support for pupils during this period.

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Urgent improvement

The school uses a range of activities well to enrich learning and to support pupils’ personal development. Activities such as cooking, fishing and golf are used effectively to extend pupils’ interests and experiences. Some of these activities, such as visits to cafes, building suppliers and garden centres in the local community, help pupils to develop some valuable life skills.

p.5

Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The proprietor has not ensured that the independent school standards are met consistently over time. Systems to check the quality of the school’s provision are not effective. As a result, weaknesses in provision are not identified and addressed effectively. For instance, inspectors identified several failings in the standards linked to school premises during this inspection that had gone unnoticed by both the proprietor and the leadership team. Some of these omissions were rectified during the inspection. However, some areas where standards are not met require a significant amount of work to ensure compliance, including those relating to statutory health and fire safety regulations.

p.5

Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The proprietor and school leaders demonstrate a continued determination to prioritise improvements in the best interests of pupils. However, this commitment has not translated into effective action to ensure pupils’ health, safety and welfare. Furthermore, some of the required areas for improvement identified at the time of the last inspection have not been addressed.

p.5

Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The proprietor has not ensured that the school complies with the Equality Act 2010. The school does not have an accessibility plan.

p.5

Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders provide helpful professional learning to support staff in teaching aspects of the curriculum. However, the school lacks a strategic approach to ensuring that staff have the training they need to deliver the subjects they teach consistently well. Plans for professional learning in some subjects, such as mathematics and physical education, are in the earliest stages of development.

p.5

Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Staff say they feel valued and appreciate the clear sense of teamwork underpinning the school’s work. Leaders maintain positive relationships with parents and carers.

p.5

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

The proprietor has not ensured that the school premises are safe. Arrangements to monitor and check the premises are not sufficient to identify and rectify hazards. This means that pupils, staff and visitors are at risk of harm. Furthermore, the school does not comply with the Equality Act 2010.

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

Often, pupils have had long periods of time outside formal education prior to joining the school. As a result, they have significant gaps in their knowledge and understanding in reading, writing, mathematics and other subjects. Leaders prioritise the importance of establishing trusting relationships between staff and pupils. Staff build warm and caring relationships with pupils, which make a valuable contribution to pupils’ growing self-esteem and their motivation to learn.

p.5

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

Pupils gain a sense of personal progress and development in subjects where the content has been clearly identified and is taught effectively. However, leaders have not identified curriculum content in some subjects and this factor, combined with weaknesses in the quality of teaching, hinders pupils’ learning and achievement.

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

Pupils are positive about their experiences of school. They say that their teachers are patient and explain that this helps them to learn. Pupils say that staff help them to understand their emotions and to manage their behaviour. They are confident about speaking to staff and visitors. Leaders make sure that all pupils have an identified ‘trusted adult’, who they can speak to if they are anxious or upset. This helps pupils to feel secure.

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

Pupils’ behaviour is variable. Staff expectations of behaviour are not always as high as they should be, leading to lack of clarity for pupils about how they should behave. Inconsistencies in teaching and the quality of the curriculum mean that pupils sometimes lose focus during lessons and become unsettled. Lunchtimes are calm and well organised. However, breaktime routines are unclear and rough play among pupils is not always addressed sufficiently. Leaders respond promptly where any concerns about bullying arise, including liaising with parents and carers.

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Next steps

The proprietor must ensure that all the independent school standards are met consistently over time. The proprietor must ensure that the school's health and safety and fire safety policies are fully understood by leaders and staff and implemented consistently. The proprietor should establish procedures and checks to monitor and evaluate the school's work and compliance with the independent school standards effectively. Leaders should ensure that the content of the curriculum is identified clearly and coherently planned in all subjects and that the content taught builds securely on pupils' prior learning. Leaders should continue work to establish procedures to support them in monitoring patterns and trends in pupils' absence so that they can target interventions to support regular attendance more effectively. Leaders should ensure that staff are knowledgeable about pupils' individual needs so that they can adapt the curriculum effectively to overcome barriers to pupils' learning.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that the planned personal, social and health education programme is delivered consistently and as intended, so that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Leaders should ensure that expectations of pupils' behaviour are consistently high and that staff address any misbehaviour promptly.

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Independent school standards

Independent school standards are either met or not met for each category.

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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 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 proprietor, headteacher and school administrator. Inspectors also spoke with staff during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The name of the proprietor is Geoffrey Wyatt.

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About this inspection

The school is based in a 2-storey building located at Yew Tree Farm, Nash Lane, Scaynes Hill, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH17 7NJ. It is situated in a rural area in premises that include a range of workshops and outbuildings, a lawned area and woodland and horticultural areas.

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About this inspection

The school's email address is info@centraleducation.org.uk.

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About this inspection

Inspectors visited lessons, spoke with pupils and looked at curriculum information and examples of pupils' work. They reviewed school documents that allowed inspectors to check compliance with the independent school standards.

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About this inspection

The school is a special school that caters for pupils with education, health and care plans, with their primary need identified as social, emotional and mental health. Many pupils have additional needs associated with autism or dyslexia. Most pupils have been excluded from their previous schools and have been outside formal education for extended periods of time.

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About this inspection

The school does not use any alternative provision.

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About this inspection

The school is registered to admit 41 pupils. At the time of the inspection, 24 pupils were on roll at the school.

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About this inspection

1. Quality of education provided Standards not met The following standards have not been met: Paragraph 2(1)

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About this inspection

The standard in this paragraph is met if–

p.8

About this inspection

(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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About this inspection

(b) the written policy, plans and schemes of work– (i) take into account the ages, aptitudes and needs of all pupils, including those pupils with an EHC plan; and

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About this inspection

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

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About this inspection

(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; (e) demonstrates good knowledge and understanding of the subject matter being taught; (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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About this inspection

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

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About this inspection

3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils Standards not met

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About this inspection

The following standards have not been met: Paragraph 7

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About this inspection

The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that– (a) arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school; and (b) such arrangements have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State. Paragraph 9

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About this inspection

The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor promotes good behaviour amongst pupils by ensuring that–

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About this inspection

(b) the policy is implemented effectively; and

p.9

About this inspection

The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that relevant health and safety laws are complied with by the drawing up and effective implementation of a written health and safety policy.

p.9

About this inspection

The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005[1].

p.9

About this inspection

The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that an admission and attendance register is maintained in accordance with the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.

p.9

About this inspection

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

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About this inspection

(a) the welfare of pupils at the school is safeguarded and promoted by the drawing up and effective implementation of a written risk assessment policy; and (b) appropriate action is taken to reduce risks that are identified.

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About this inspection

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

p.9

About this inspection

5. Premises of and accommodation at schools Standards not met

p.9

About this inspection

The following standards have not been met:

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About this inspection

Paragraph 24(1) The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that suitable accommodation is provided in order to cater for the medical and therapy needs of pupils, including– (a) accommodation for the medical examination and treatment of pupils; (b) accommodation for the short term care of sick and injured pupils, which includes a washing facility and is near to a toilet facility; and

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About this inspection

The accommodation provided under sub-paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) may be used for other purposes (apart from teaching) provided it is always readily available to be used for the purposes set out in sub-paragraphs (1)(a) and (b).

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About this inspection

The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that the school premises and the accommodation and facilities provided therein are maintained to a standard such that, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of pupils are ensured.

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About this inspection

6. Provision of information Standards met

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About this inspection

7. Manner in which complaints are handled Standards met

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About this inspection

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

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About this inspection

The following standards have not been met: Paragraph 34(1)

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About this inspection

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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About this inspection

(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. (c) actively promote the wellbeing of pupils.

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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

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Insufficient evidence

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Insufficient evidence

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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