Scarborough school rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted ... again!

Springhead School has been rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted following an inspection at the SEND institution in June.

The school, which is located at Barry’s Lane, Scarborough, received high praise from the education inspection team which also rated it as ‘outstanding’ at its previous full inspection in 2014.

Pupils have a “wide range of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) when they join the school” and its leaders have created “a space for all pupils to find their voice, be heard, and be safe.”, according to the inspection report.

The report states that the behaviour of pupils is “exemplary” and that they are happy at the school and they “delight in sharing in their successes”.

Communication was praised for sitting at the heart of the school community and the curriculum, with children learning communication methods as soon as they start the nursery year.

According to the report, leaders at Springhead School have designed a curriculum that allows staff to deliver “bespoke learning to individual pupils” and that skills such as communication and physical and social development “are thread through academic subjects such as science and art”.

It also noted that “a significant improvement in attendance” had been achieved as a result of school dogs that have been a “crucial support tool for pupils to understand cause and effect and to experience positive social responses”.

The Ofsted inspectors said that students in the sixth form were prepared “thoroughly” for independent living with a level of jeopardy built in to help students understand the consequences of their actions.

This included granting students a weekly allowance to spend in their café, where prices are set so that “they must save for the desirable items” and if a student spends all their allowance in one day “they will have to manage the consequences”.

The age of pupils ranges from 2 – 19 with 96 pupils currently on the school roll.

Ofsted has four categories for rating schools ranging from outstanding to inadequate.