Wilds Lodge School in Rutland responds after Ofsted's 'requires improvement to be good' rating

The headteacher of a school for children with emotional, social and mental health difficulties says concerns identified by Ofsted inspectors were being put right.

Wilds Lodge, in Empingham, is a specialist therapeutic school for pupils aged five to 19, offering boarding for up to 70, and is part of the London-based Cavendish Education Group.

After a three-day inspection of social care provision in October, Ofsted rated the residential and day school as ‘requires improvement to be good’.

The independent school was rated ‘outstanding’ in all areas in November 2021, but inspectors said changes made in the last 18 months to address shortfalls had not fully embedded, some of which led to ‘concerns about the safety of children’.

Inspectors said Wilds Lodge was ‘not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people’, but found ‘no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted’.

The report said children were, at times, ‘vulnerable’ because some incidents were not managed in line with school policy.

This included the inappropriate use of restraint and a delay in reporting it as a safeguarding concern, but the report noted a new model of restraint practice was being embedded.

Children also regularly gained access to the residential setting’s roof and managers had struggled to implement a plan to reduce this risk.

Yet the report described the residential provision as ‘a warm and welcoming environment for children’ who ‘made good progress in education’ and had aspirations for the future.

Parents and carers told inspectors how much progress their children had made and were ‘mostly positive’ about the care offered.

They spoke well of the support their children received, but there were some concerns about poor communication and behaviour.

Staff were said to value the children’s ideas and be ambitious for pupils.

Children enjoyed staying at the school, felt able to talk to staff and managers about issues, and were ‘provided with a vast number of opportunities to engage in activities, try new experiences and make wonderful memories’ which helped improve self-esteem, self-confidence and physical health.

Inspectors said increased staff turnover had led to a ‘less experienced staff team’, and said residential provision had gone through a ‘turbulent time’ since their previous inspection.

However, ‘staff have worked hard to form warm and nurturing relationships with children’, meaning ‘the number of incidents, including incidents involving restraint, are low’.

Headteacher Kirsty Lamb said the school accepted the findings, but measures to tackle these concerns had already begun by the time of the inspection.

“As Ofsted concludes, given the timing of their visit, they were unable to see evidence of ‘embedded practice’, which resulted in their grading,” she said.

“Both their recommendations for improvement have already been addressed and action plans are in place, and there is now a governor for boarding in line with the new residential standards.”

Mrs Lamb also welcomed the strengths highlighted in the report and was in ‘no doubt’ all standards and recommendations would be met on their next inspection.

“We continue to strive to provide the very best provision and are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children and young people in our care,” she added.

“We take our responsibilities in this area extremely seriously.

“An inspection provides a window into the school for just a couple of days, yet our staff work incredibly hard all year round, going above and beyond to ensure that the students have the best opportunities and experiences available to them.”