Sandelford Special School

Overview

This sustaining improvement inspection was significantly limited by industrial action, as teachers refused to cooperate with the process. Consequently, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) could not fully evaluate teaching quality or self-evaluation, stating it is “unable to assure parents/carers... of the quality of education being provided.” The school is designated a “high priority for future inspection with no further notice.”

Strengths

• Pupils report they “enjoy the wide range of learning and extra-curricular opportunities” including ICT, PE, and maths.
• Students particularly value opportunities to develop “life-skills through in-school and external work-experience programmes.”
• Pupils leaving school feel “very well-prepared” for their next steps, including Further Education College.
• Students have “very good opportunities to develop their leadership capabilities” through school and eco-councils.
• Pupils are proud of how their fundraising activities “contribute to worthy charities.”

Areas to improve

• The report does not list specific areas for improvement, as the inspection was unable to fully evaluate lines of inquiry or the quality of learning and teaching due to staff non-cooperation.

Safeguarding

The report states that safeguarding arrangements “reflect broadly the guidance from the Department of Education” and pupils feel safe, though the ETI was “unable to evaluate fully the outworking of the arrangements” due to the industrial action.