Knaresborough’s Forest School ‘requires improvement’, Ofsted has said following a recent visit.
The special school, which has 136 pupils aged three to 16, was assessed by government inspectors following a two-day visit in February.
The report, published last week, rates the school ‘good’ for personal development and behaviour and attitudes. But it was graded ‘requires improvement’ for leadership and management and for overall effectiveness.
This was the school’s first Ofsted inspection since it joined the Wellspring Academy Trust in April 2020. It was rated ‘outstanding’ in all areas in its final assessment under local authority control in 2015.
Inspectors this time praised the “caring, nurturing and welcoming environment”, adding “pupils are taught how to stay safe and look after themselves” and “opportunities are provided for pupils to explore their interests such as catering, photography and the environment”.
They said pupils enjoy attending and many parents, carers and students would recommend the school to others. Bullying is rare and “there is mutual respect between pupils and staff in and out of lessons”.
But they added “some lessons are notably more productive and successful than others” and “leaders have more to do to ensure all pupils benefit from purposeful learning opportunities”.
Major recent changes
The report highlights the school has undergone major changes lately. Besides joining a multi-academy trust, it appointed headteacher Shona Crichton in December last year and 40% of teaching and support staff are relatively new. It says:
“There is a positive and optimistic culture throughout school. Staff are enjoying the stability in place, following several changes to the leadership of the school since the previous inspection.
“As a result of these changes, lots of new initiatives are currently being implemented. Some of these projects need time to become embedded and fully successful.”
The report says “the resources and materials that pupils access in lessons are not consistently ambitious” and consequently “some of pupils’ experiences in lessons contribute less well to their learning of the school’s curriculum”.
The Stray Ferret asked the school if it wished to comment but did not receive a response.
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Eight staff at Harrogate special needs school face Christmas redundancies
A special needs school in Harrogate is set to make eight members of staff redundant this Christmas after budget cuts.
The cuts have prompted fears that Springwell Harrogate, which was previously known as The Grove Academy, will offer a “dramatically reduced service” for pupils with emotional, behavioural and social difficulties.
The school, on Grove Road, became part of Wellspring Academy Trust in spring after previously being run by North Yorkshire County Council and Delta Academies Trust.
Demand for the additional support provided by the school is rising but the reduction in the budget, which it is believed has been halved, has prompted concerns from campaigners and councillors.
Alex Boyce, spokesperson for Save the Grove, which was set up two years ago amid fears the school might close, said it was a “tremendous relief” the school would stay open but added:
“From January it will only be able to offer a dramatically reduced service. Highly skilled staff with decades of experience will be lost and the curriculum will have to narrow.
“The crisis will have a significant knock-on effect for local mainstream schools. With insufficient funding to manage the complex needs of some students and a dire lack of alternative schools, like the Grove, their hands are tied.
“Many similar services across the county, which rely on funding from the special needs budget have suffered a similar fate.”
John Warren, outgoing headteacher of Springwell Harrogate, said:
“The whole system is buckling through years of chronic underfunding.
“The pandemic has shown the stark truth of just how many desperate families are out there needing help.
“I fear that some specialist provisions may fail in the next year or so because they are no longer financially viable, despite a time of national need for more community resources to support struggling children.”
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Philip Broadbank, a Liberal Democrat who represents Harrogate Starbeck on North Yorkshire County Council, said:
” I could not support the closure and restructuring of the Grove Academy and have concerns about the viability of the new Springwell Academy.
“My main concerns are the staffing levels as they are now considerably reduced.
Wellspring Academy Trust said in a statement that changes to funding occurred when the school was under the management of the previous trust. It added:
“There have been no reductions in funding since Springwell Harrogate became part of the Wellspring community. Any legacy budgeting challenges have been overcome and the school is now on a firm financial footing.
“We are all focused on the future, and determined to deliver the exceptional levels of education our pupils in Harrogate deserve.”
If you or your child have attended schools such as Springwell Harrogate and you would be happy to talk about your experiences. Please get in touch with us via email on contact@thestrayferret.co.uk