Cambian Beverley School

For use on s162A inspections from April 2008

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Independent Special School

DCSF Registration Number 810/6003 Unique Reference Number 133429 Inspection number 321821 Inspection dates 1–2 July 2008 Reporting inspector Brian Blake HMI

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Independent Special School

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 162A of the Education Act 2002 (as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005). Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated. For use on s162A inspections from April 2008

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Purpose and scope of the inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005, in order to advise the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about the school

Continuum School Farrow House, which is an independent day school for students aged 10-16 with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, is located in Beverley, East Riding. The school, which is part of Continuum Care and Education Limited, originally opened in 2001 but relocated to its current site in September 2006. There are 12 students on roll, although at the time of the inspection only nine were in school because those in Year 11 had left after finishing their Key Stage 4 courses. The school aims to establish a culture that promotes excellence, equality, positive regard and high achievement for all the young people who attend. All the students come from four local authorities, with five in care homes run by the Continuum group. The school was previously inspected in April 2005.

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Evaluation of the school

The Continuum House Farrow School provides a satisfactory and developing quality of education for its students. The majority of students enjoy attending school, and through working in small class groups are developing better attitudes to learning. Staff are very responsive to the varying educational, behavioural, emotional and social needs of students. The curriculum provides a satisfactory balance between vocational and traditional subjects, which is encouraging better attendance and behaviour from the majority of the students. The school has made satisfactory progress since the previous inspection and meets almost all regulations for independent schools.

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Quality of education

The quality of the curriculum is satisfactory overall and improving in the vocational areas. The school’s curriculum policy satisfactorily outlines its approach to the range of National Curriculum subjects taught, and the vocational courses offered to the students. These vocational courses are providing satisfactory opportunities that meet the varying needs of the students, all of whom have learning difficulties and some of which are significant. Although there are policies for all subjects taught, a number were not written specifically for the school and some still contain the name of other Continuum Care schools. Furthermore, the content of these policies is For use on s162A inspections from April 2008 inconsistent to provide clear curricular guidance to teachers. The school’s provision for literacy and numeracy is helping the vast majority of students to satisfactorily develop their skills in these two important areas. The provision of some off-site

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Quality of education

activities enhances the students’ learning and their appreciation of areas of study beyond those that they receive in school. Good links are maintained with Connexions personal advisers to ensure that the students are developing their understanding of the world of work.

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Quality of education

The quality and effectiveness of teaching and assessment are satisfactory, and occasionally good. Relationships between teachers and students are generally very good in lessons. The staff manage and organise the students very effectively, including those times when the behaviour of an individual becomes extremely disruptive, not only to them but also to others in the lesson. Teachers’ planning is of variable quality across the school, with the lesson content varying in its usefulness as an aid to ensuring that the students make progress in line with their capabilities. At its best, teachers plan a range of learning activities that challenge and extend the students’ learning, and which also aids the assessment of their progress in lessons. However, not all lessons are of this quality. Occasionally, there is insufficient information relating to what the teacher wants the students to learn, or what aspects of their behaviour or social skills they need to develop in order to overcome

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Quality of education

some of their learning difficulties. Some teachers plan their lessons in a way that takes insufficient account of the students’ prior learning or their capabilities. On these occasions, the lessons do not challenge the abilities of the students sufficiently well. Assessment processes are most effective in accredited courses where there are specific requirements to assess and record the students’ achievements. However, in non-accredited sessions, the overall quality of assessment for learning ranges from good in some lessons to inadequate in others.

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Quality of education

Although the standards achieved by the students are below or well below those expected for their age, the progress that the vast majority make during their time at the school is at least satisfactory, and good for a small minority in some vocational subjects. These improvements are seen in attendance, behaviour and attitudes to learning.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

The quality and effectiveness of the school’s provision for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of its students is satisfactory overall, with some good features. The students’ moral, social and ethical characteristics are positively encouraged, especially through the end-of-lesson review, which assesses with the students the quality of their work, effort, behaviour and punctuality. All staff encourage the students to consider their personal behaviour and the impact that it has on them and others in the school; this system is well understood by the students. Students know what is expected of them, and the vast majority respond very positively to the consistent and calm approach that staff use to manage their behaviour, or to encourage them to complete a piece of work. At those times where For use on s162A inspections from April 2008 a student exhibits extremely challenging and disruptive behaviour, the staff make

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

every reasonable effort to engage the student in purposeful dialogue that will calm the situation. As a result of this strategy, the students’ behaviour is satisfactory overall, and significantly better than in their previous schools. The students really appreciate the very good adult support provided in all lessons and, as one student said, ‘I get more help now than I ever did at my previous school’. However, the school’s links with the care workers for looked after students is less well developed, and some opportunities are being missed to provide better all-round support for some of these students whose behaviour needs very careful management.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

Students’ spiritual and cultural development is satisfactory overall, and is appropriately supported through the religious education, personal, social and health education, and citizenship curricula. The students have numerous opportunities to enhance their appreciation and understanding of community life, and public institutions and services through their curricular studies of human rights, democracy, crime, local and national government, and elections and voting. These learning experiences are helping the students to gain a better appreciation of themselves, relative to others in the local and national communities. The attendance of the majority of students is at least satisfactory or better, and is certainly significantly much improved when compared to their attendance at mainstream schools. This improved attendance is helping the students to develop their enjoyment of the many different activities provided for them at school. However, the persistent absence of a

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

The school’s measures to promote the welfare, health and safety of the students, including child protection, are good. All staff are very sensitive to the varying needs of the students, especially in encouraging them to improve those aspects of their emotional and social behaviour that have previously presented significant barriers to their achievement and personal development. The level of personal supervision is very effective both in lessons and in out-of-school activities. The procedures for safeguarding the students are well known and adhered to consistently by all staff, and are based on very thorough risk assessments. The range of policies relating to health and safety, bullying, discipline and first aid meet the needs of the students very well. Staff are clear about the range of sanctions that need to be applied in the event of any anti-social behaviour, and all incidents are recorded in detail and in line

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

The school’s promotion of personal well-being, including curricular work in personal, social, and health education, is good. All reasonable efforts are being made to inform and challenge those students who partake of potential health risks; for example, smoking, alcohol and substance misuse, and other aspects of unhealthy living. There are good opportunities for all students to participate in regular exercise within the curriculum, including a range of sporting activities at a local leisure centre. The safety checks on fire fighting equipment comply fully with requirements. For use on s162A inspections from April 2008 The school is sensibly linking the requirement to fulfil its duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 2002 to the school development plan. However, the identified actions in the current plan are based on carrying out an audit of provision rather than specific details of what actions will be taken over a three year period, which

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

means that the school currently fails to comply with this aspect of the requirements for independent schools.

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Suitability of the proprietor and staff

The school has good procedures for ensuring that all adults who work in the school are suitably checked for their ability to teach the students. The single central register meets all requirements.

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School’s premises and accommodation

The school’s premises and accommodation are satisfactory overall. The school relocated to a unit on an industrial estate in 2006. There is a reasonably-sized multipurpose hall that is used as a social and recreational area, in addition to being a dining room at lunchtimes. There are eight classrooms, all of which are relatively small in size but are generally suitable for the small size of teaching group using them. There are specialist rooms for woodworking and information and communication technology; the latter of which houses five networked computers and one printer. There is a kitchen on site that is used by staff and for the preparation of food for the students. However, this facility does not meet the minimum requirements for the hygienic preparation of food for the students. The school building is in good condition, with a range of suitable wash areas and toilets appropriate to the age range of the students in the school. However, there are two

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School’s premises and accommodation

major limitations to the current building. First, the current use of the headteacher’s office as a first aid room is inadequate in a number of respects, not least in terms of there not being a washbasin and suitable facilities for any student who may need to lie down. Second, there is no outdoor space for the students to play safely. The only area of any size is a car park immediately outside the front entrance into the school, but the proximity to adjacent business units and access roads poses foreseeable safety risks for any type of supervised or free play. The school does make good use of a local sports centre for teaching some aspects of their physical education curriculum.

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Provision of information for parents, carers and others

The provision of information for parents, carers and others is satisfactory overall. The prospectus, which all parents receive, contains a range of useful and relevant information about the school’s ethos, the type of curricula offered at Key Stages 3 and 4, accreditation opportunities, and how the school safeguards and meets the needs of any student with identified learning difficulties and/or disabilities; this latter area also includes those with a statement of special educational need. However, there is a lack of clarity in the prospectus about the range of policies and other For use on s162A inspections from April 2008 information that are required to be made available to the parents, on request to the school. This relates specifically to the policies for the promotion of good behaviour and the sanctions adopted in the event of students misbehaving. Furthermore, there is no reference to the Key Stage 2 curriculum offered, despite the school being

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Provision of information for parents, carers and others

registered to take 10 year-old children. There is also no clear indication that parents, or prospective parents, may request the particulars of academic performance in the preceding school year, including the results of any public examinations.

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Procedures for handling complaints

The school’s procedures for handling complaints are clear and concise and meet all requirements for independent schools.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school meets all of the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 as amended January 2005, with the exception of those listed below.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the premises and accommodation (standard 5) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 provide appropriate facilities for students who are ill, in accordance with the Education (School Premises) regulation 1999 (paragraph 5(l))  ensure that the kitchen, which is used for the preparation of food for the students, meets all health and hygiene requirements (paragraph 5(m))  ensure there are suitable arrangements for providing outside space for the students to play safely (paragraph 5(t)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the provision of information for parents, carers and others (standard 6) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that parents are aware they can request - details of policies relating to the promotion of good behaviour, and sanctions adopted in the event of students misbehaving (paragraph 6(2)(h)) - particulars of academic performance, including the results of any public examinations during the preceding school year (paragraph 6(2)(i)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

In order to comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2002 the school should devise a three-year accessibility plan.

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What the school could do to improve further

For use on s162A inspections from April 2008 While not required by the regulations, the school might wish to consider the following points for development:

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What the school could do to improve further

 update the range of subject policies to ensure greater consistency and relevance to the students at the school  make better use of lesson planning to ensure that students of all abilities are suitably challenged in their work  improve the regularity and use of assessment procedures as an aid to teachers’ planning and students’ progress  implement its recently updated attendance policy and ensure that it follows up on persistent absence in a quick and effective way. For use on s162A inspections from April 2008

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School details

Name of school Continuum School Farrow House DCSF number 810/6003 Unique reference number 133429 Type of school Secondary day special school for students with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties Status Independent Date school opened 2001 Age range of pupils 10-16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll (full-time pupils) Boys: 7 Girls: 5 Total: 12 Number of pupils with a statement of special educational need Boys: 7 Girls: 2 Total: 9 Number of pupils who are looked after Boys: 1 Girls: 5 Total: 6 Annual fees (day pupils) £ 31,824-£36,552 Address of school 20 Priory Road Industrial Estate Beverley East Riding of Yorkshire Hull HU17 0EW Telephone number 01482 307833 Fax number 01482 307380 Email address sarah.pulford@farrowhouse.co.uk Headteacher Ms S Pulford Proprietor Mr Bob Hall Reporting inspector Brian Blake HMI Dates of inspection 1–2 July 2008

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