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Independent ALN specialist schools

Early Insights

Teaching and learning

Schools have worked hard to ensure that they have an enriching curriculum and effective teaching to support pupils’ learning and address any gaps arising from any disruption to their education.

What’s going well

  • Across nearly all schools, staff know their pupils well and use this knowledge well to engage and motivate them in their learning.
  • In nearly all schools, many pupils make strong progress from their individual starting points with their social and communication skills.
  • In most schools, many pupils make sound progress in developing their literacy, numeracy and independence skills.
  • The curriculum in many schools focuses appropriately on the needs, interests and abilities of pupils.
  • Many schools significantly enrich their curriculum by using a wide range of authentic learning opportunities outside the classroom.
  • Many schools use assessment data well to inform planning and ensure progress in learning.
  • Many pupils progress onto education, training or employment when they leave school.

What needs to improve

  • In a few schools, the development of progressive reading skills is limited by a lack of opportunity.
  • In many schools, pupils do not have the opportunities to develop their digital skills progressively across the curriculum.
  • In a few schools, a minority of pupils are over-reliant on staff to direct their learning.
  • In a few schools, there are limited opportunities for pupils to gain appropriate accreditation.
  • In a few schools, learning experiences are not matched well enough to the needs of the pupils.
  • In a few schools, assessment information does not inform future planning or the delivery of appropriate interventions well enough to meet the needs of individual pupils.

Well-being, care support and guidance

Schools have worked effectively to ensure good levels of care, support and guidance to address any issues with pupils’ well-being and prepare them well for their next steps.

What’s going well

  • The high levels of care and support provided ensure that nearly all pupils feel safe in school and most know who to talk to if they have a concern.
  • Most pupils behave well in school and enjoy their learning.
  • Many pupils show improved attendance over time.
  • Support for pupils’ additional learning needs (ALN) is generally appropriate and meets their needs.
  • The majority of schools provide a beneficial range of experiences for pupils to develop their spiritual, moral and social understanding well.
  • Many schools have a secure culture of safeguarding.

What needs to improve

  • In a minority of schools, systems to track the progress of pupils against their individual targets are underdeveloped.
  • The low attendance of a few pupils has a negative impact on their progress, achievement and well-being.
  • In many cases, the impact that therapy or interventions have on pupils’ progress, well-being and attitudes to learning is not evaluated well enough.
  • In a few schools, the provision for careers guidance is underdeveloped.
  • Opportunities for pupils to develop an understanding of equality and diversity is less well developed.

Leading and improving

Leaders have continued to develop provision and adapt as they ensure that they have a strong, well-trained staff team and robust quality assurance to support them in improving the school. However, in the majority of schools, quality assurance processes do not adequately focus on the effectiveness of teaching and its impact on learning.

What’s going well

  • The majority of schools continue to have stable leadership.
  • Leaders in most schools have established a clear vision and communicated this well with their school community.
  • A few schools provide a strong professional learning offer that is linked well to school improvement priorities.
  • The learning environment in most schools promotes learning well.
  • The majority of schools continue to comply with the Independent School Standards.

What needs to improve

  • In the majority of schools, quality assurance processes do not adequately focus on the effectiveness of teaching and its impact on learning.
  • Recent changes to leadership have slowed the pace of progress in a minority of schools.
  • Recruiting and retention challenges hinder leaders’ ability to focus on improvement priorities, affecting the consistency and quality of teaching.
  • Very few schools with linked residential homes provide training for care staff on how to support pupils in education and a minority of schools lack processes to track the impact of professional learning.
  • The proprietors in a minority of schools do not ensure that the school complied with the Independent School Standards.

Overview of recommendations from core inspections

In the 2023-2024 academic year, Estyn inspected 12 independent special schools.

11

Eleven (91.7%) providers were given a recommendation to establish or refine their quality assurance processes and improvement planning, seven of which recommended focusing on pupil progress.

7

Seven providers (58.3%) were given a recommendation to comply fully with Independent School Standards, and one was given a recommendation to ensure that the pupils’ additional learning needs comply with their registration category.

4

Four providers (43.3%) were given a recommendation to strength or develop their curriculum, to either improve provision for careers, spiritual, moral, social and cultural education (SMSC) and personal social education (PSE), support pupils to follow their desired learning pathways, ensure that programmes of study are supported by appropriate schemes of work and assessment to develop pupils’ literacy, numeracy and digital skills progressively, or to provide opportunities for pupils to learn in real life contexts and follow their desired learning pathways.

3

Three providers were recommended to strengthen the management of safeguarding and address shortcomings identified during the inspection.

3

Three providers were given a recommendation to strengthen planning to improve the development of pupils’ skills.

3

Three providers were given a recommendation to refine roles and responsibilities of staff.

2

Two providers were given a recommendation to improve the quality of teaching.

We also evaluated 15 schools compliance with the Independent School Standards as part of monitoring visits.