Educare Small School

Overview

This small independent school provides a “nurturing environment” where pupils are “happy” and helped to become “confident and respectful.” Leaders maintain “high expectations” for academic achievement, with the curriculum largely meeting pupils’ individual needs and supporting strong overall progress.

Strengths

• Pupils receive “very bespoke care” for special educational needs and/or disabilities, enabling them to access and succeed in the full curriculum.
• The early reading curriculum is “successful,” with teachers effectively identifying and addressing gaps in knowledge to help pupils catch up.
• Staff possess “strong subject knowledge” and use assessments well to monitor progress and provide appropriate extra help.
• Pupils are encouraged to make “positive contributions” to the community, including through volunteering and visits to local sites.
• Trustees are “challenging and supportive,” helping to ensure the school continues to provide a “good standard of education.”

Areas to improve

• The school should strengthen professional development so staff can “consistently teach and implement the school behaviour systems” to prevent interruptions to learning.
• The school should review how aspects of the curriculum, including PSHE, are planned to help pupils develop “suitably deep and detailed knowledge” of fundamental British values.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”