School is oustanding say inspectors

OUTCOMES for pupils at Chaigeley School, Thelwall are “outstanding” in nearly all regards, according to education watchdogs Ofsted.
Residential care is extremely well run, led and managed and puts students at the heart of all that it does.
Trustees and governors are equally supportive and play a “critical friend” role, and pupils judge the quality of care to be the very best and this is validated
by the visible commitment of dedicated and enthusiastic care staff.
Ofsted carried out an inspection at the school in March and have reported an excellent commitment to safeguarding students.
Only three minor areas for improvement were found – relating to enhancement of the 24 hour curriculum, monitoring of hot water temperatures and
securing an independent visitor.
The Ofsted report says: “Despite these shortfalls, the ongoing outstanding features mean the school continues to put students’ welfare at the top of their priorities.
“The overall quality rating is outstanding.”
The school was last inspected in 2009 and Ofsted found that since then headteacher Drew Crawshaw and head of care Mick Gayle have worked effectively to create a school where care staff are equally ambitious to improve.
This is reflected in the depth of work undertaken to address previous shortfalls. For instance, all students now have comprehensive placement plans that are actively reflecting their development.
“These exceptional plans identify pastoral and educational needs, including all aspects of health and safeguarding.”
Another area of improvement is the assessment of bullying, which is now rigorously monitoring the times, places and circumstances where the risk of bullying is greatest. This information is being used to identify potential hot spots in the school day where increased surveillance is required to safeguard students.
Overall, Ofsted says provision is “outstanding.”
Mr Crawshaw said: “While we are justifiably delighted to be recognised as outstanding by Ofsted, this report relates to the residential care aspect of the school and is not a report on the whole school provision.”
Chaigeley School is a non-maintained school that caters for boys between the ages of eight and 16 years who have emotional, social and behavioural difficulties. The school has residential provision for a maximum of 24 students on a weekly, term-time only basis and a small weekend
provision. It is part of the Chaigeley Educational Foundation, a registered charity.