Supreme Start Ltd, Oldham

What it's like to be a pupil at Supreme Start Ltd

Pupils are not safe at this school. Staff do not have the expertise to support pupils or to manage pupils' behaviours or conflicts effectively. As a result, incidents of challenging behaviour frequently escalate. In turn, this leads to an overreliance and overuse of restrictive physical interventions, which places pupils under further duress. Although pupils seldom experience bullying, they often find school a stressful and confusing place to be. Many pupils find classrooms are too congested, which causes them to feel overstimulated or distressed. This creates an environment for pupils that is both unstable and unpredictable. It means some families feel their children are better off not going to school, which then negatively impacts pupils' attendance and wellbeing. Pupils do not learn as well as they should. For a long time, the curriculum has been organised poorly, which has left pupils with significant gaps in their knowledge. For many, school has been a place where they have struggled rather than thrived. Pupils are not making the progress that they are capable of, and this is leaving them poorly prepared for their future. Barriers to learning for pupils, all of whom have significant special educational needs and/or disabilities, are not reduced effectively. Teaching is not personalised sufficiently to pupils' individual needs and starting points. This has further stunted their personal and academic progress. Recently, there have been some small signs of improvement. Pupils have started to enjoy new experiences that were not available to them before. They value the recent opportunities to visit the local library and have outdoor physical education in the nearby park. These outings, along with new swimming lessons, are high points in their week. However, these experiences are very new. For most of their time at the school, pupils have missed out on the rich and varied education that they deserve.

What Ofsted says the school should do next

• • The proprietor must secure a robust culture of safeguarding. This culture must ensure appropriate vigilance to the risks faced by vulnerable pupils, be underpinned by consistently effective practice and include rigorous oversight by leaders. • Leaders must provide staff with the specific guidance and training required to support pupils' emotional and behavioural needs effectively. This includes eradicating the overuse and overreliance on restrictive physical interventions. • Leaders must ensure that the learning environment is conducive to pupils' sensory and physical needs, so that pupils feel secure and can access their education effectively. • Leaders must establish and maintain high expectations for pupils' attendance. This includes developing robust attendance systems and procedures to monitor and tackle absenteeism, and to record attendance accurately. • Leaders must ensure that the curriculum is developed fully and tailored sufficiently to meet the complex needs of the pupils it serves. • Leaders must provide a coherent and well-sequenced personal development programme that is designed to meet the specific needs of pupils and prepare them well for the future. • Leaders must implement robust assessment approaches that identify and help to close gaps in pupils' knowledge, so that they can achieve well from their individual starting points. • Leaders must ensure that all staff have the necessary skills and expertise to deliver high-quality learning and academic support for pupils with complex needs. • The proprietor must acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain ongoing and consistent compliance with all of the independent school standards (ISS). It should take immediate action to address the unmet ISS.

This school is undergoing significant challenges. While interim leaders have recently started to identify issues and introduce improvements, the school currently does not provide an effective or safe learning environment. Parents should be aware that major changes are needed across safeguarding, teaching quality, and pupil support before this school can deliver a good standard of education.

Safeguarding standards are not met - leaders have failed to ensure an open and positive safeguarding culture, with inadequate lone-working practices, weak record-keeping of concerns, and failure to make timely referrals to other agencies.

Visit from firefighters with fire engine, trips to multi-sensory activity centre, visits to working farm

Bus Stops