Carmel Christian School

Carmel Christian School Independent school progress report

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DCSF registration number 810/6021 Unique Reference Number (URN) 132774 Inspection number 341930 Inspection dates 22 February 2010 Reporting inspector Jill Bainton

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Published: achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 08456 404040, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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T: 08456 404040 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk No. 090137 Inspection report template – progress monitoring

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Purpose and scope of the visit

This inspection visit was carried out by Ofsted under Section 162A of the Education Act 2002 1 , as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Purpose and scope of the visit

The visit was conducted at the request of the Registration Authority for independent schools in order to monitor the progress the school has made in implementing its action plan following the previous inspection.

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Information about the school

Carmel Christian School is an independent Christian school run by Carmel Ministries International. It provides full-time education for 64 pupils aged two to 17 years, including six children in the pre-school who receive nursery funding. There is one pupil who has a statement of special educational needs. The school was established in September 2000 and moved to its present site in Brislington, Bristol, in 2003. It occupies part of the Carmel Centre, which is used for church purposes. The school uses the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) programme. There is currently a separately registered nursery, ‘Little Eagles’, for children aged two to three years old, which is managed by Carmel Ministries. It was last inspected at the same time as the school in September 2009.

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Context of the visit

The school submitted an action plan following its last inspection. This was evaluated by Ofsted in November 2009 where all but two of the regulations were judged to have been addressed. This monitoring visit is to evaluate the progress the school has made in addressing the action plan and in meeting the outstanding regulations for registration.

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action plan

The school was required to improve some aspects of the curriculum. The schemes of work for the non-ACE subjects, especially for science and design and technology, were not sufficiently developed to extend fully the pupils’ understanding and knowledge and develop their skills. Considerable improvements have been made to the curriculum. The school has produced an overall curriculum plan with detailed schemes of work for all of the non-ACE subjects, including planned practical opportunities for science and design and technology with increased access to better resourced laboratory facilities. There was inadequate planning in place to implement the Early Years Foundation Stage for the Reception-age children. The appropriate

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action plan

1 www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2002/ukpga_20020032_en_14#pt10-ch1-pb4-l1g162 Inspection report template – progress monitoring staff have received additional training and implement the curriculum satisfactorily for all children in this age group.

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action plan

The school had insufficient information to show how it implements pupils’ statements of special educational needs. The school has successfully addressed this issue and has a detailed programme in place to ensure that the education provided fulfils the requirements of each pupil’s statement. The scheme of work to ensure pupils receive appropriate personal, social and health education (PSHE) was inadequate. A suitable scheme of work for PSHE has been devised and is effectively implemented. Some older pupils were given limited experiences to prepare them for the responsibilities for adult life or of the world of work, and there was too little provision for them to receive careers advice or engage in work experience. The school has made contact with the careers advisory service and has put in place opportunities for careers advice and work experience for the senior pupils.

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action plan

There were too few opportunities for pupils to learn about public institutions and services in England. The school has successfully addressed this issue through a planned range of visits outside school, visitors to the school and through the PSHE programme.

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action plan

The provision for pupils’ welfare, health and safety was judged to be inadequate. The safeguarding procedures were inadequate and the policies were out of date. Training for staff was overdue. The school has not yet fully addressed this issue but has updated the safeguarding policy which meets the current guidelines and is published on the school website. The designated member of staff responsible for safeguarding has not yet attended multi-agency training. Also the required training for all other staff remains incomplete although there are plans in place for this to take place in the near future. The school’s behaviour and anti-bullying policies and procedures were out of date. These have been updated and now meet the regulations. Most aspects of the fire safety procedures were adequate but the fire risk assessment policy and staff training needed updating. The school has now an up-to-date fire risk assessment and staff have received the appropriate training in

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action plan

fire safety. The school’s attendance register meets requirements. However the admission register is being compiled and does not meet the regulations.

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action plan

The school had not previously devised an accessibility plan to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 2002. This has now been completed and there is sufficient wheelchair access. The school has made satisfactory progress in addressing most aspects of welfare, health and safety.

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action plan

The school’s systems for making appropriate checks on all staff to ensure they were suitable to work with children were inadequate. The school now checks all staff for their suitability to work with children and holds all the required information on a single central register of staff appointments.

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action plan

The premises and accommodation were found to have a range of inadequate facilities, owing to the nature of the shared area with the Carmel Ministry. The school Inspection report template – progress monitoring is now held in an area of the building which is entirely separate. The outdoor facilities were unsuitable for the children in the Early Years Foundation Stage because of the close vicinity of the playground to a car park. This area has now been fenced off and re-equipped. The toilet facilities for the under-fives were unsuitable and currently do not meet requirements. However, the school has plans to shortly begin work on creating toilets of a suitable size and in a more accessible location. The facilities for pupils who are ill were inadequate. There are plans for these facilities to be relocated in conjunction with the planned development of the washrooms, however, the current provision remains inadequate. The school has

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action plan

made satisfactory progress in addressing most of the issues relating to the premises and has a planned a programme of building work to meet the outstanding regulations.

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action plan

The school previously made most, but not all, of the required information available to parents and prospective parents on request. All the required information is now available on the school website.

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action plan

The school had a complaints procedure, but there were some required aspects missing. The complaints procedure now fully meets the regulations.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

As a result of this inspection visit, the school must take action to meet the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 2 as amended (‘the Regulations’), as follows:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 provide evidence to show that the designated member of staff responsible for safeguarding has received the required training and that all staff are suitably trained (paragraph 3(2)(b))  maintain the admission register fully in accordance with the regulations (paragraph 3(9))  provide suitable washroom facilities for the younger children in an area adjacent area to where they learn (paragraph 5(k))  ensure the facilities for pupils who are ill fully meet requirements (paragraph (5(l)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

2 www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20031910.htm Inspection report template – progress monitoring

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School details

Name of school Carmel Christian DCSF number 810/6021 Unique reference number (URN) 132774 Type of school Christian Status Independent Date school opened 2000 Age range of pupils 4-17 Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll (full-time pupils) Boys: 23 Girls: 35 Total: 58 Number on roll (part-time pupils) Boys: 4 Girls: 2 Total: 6 Number of pupils with a statement of special educational need Boys: 1 Girls: 0 Total: 1

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £ 1,280 Address of school Carmel Christian Centre 817A Bath Road Brislington Bristol BS4 5NL Telephone number 01179 775533 Fax number 01179 775678 Email address school@carmelcentre.org Headteacher David Owens Proprietor Rev. Gerri Di Somma Reporting inspector Jill Bainton Dates of inspection 22 February 2010

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