ISI Inspection Report November 2024
The ISI findings were overwhelmingly positive across a number of areas and were very complimentary about staff and pupils alike. Falkner House passed three key standards with flying colours: the quality of education; training and recreation, pupils’ physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing; and pupils’ social and economic education and contribution to society.
Amongst other things, the ISI team noted:
– The tailored, bespoke, broad and ambitious curriculum.
– The engaging lessons and personalised feedback.
– Teachers deepen the knowledge and skills of high attaining children who are effectively challenged.
– The positive relationships between staff and pupils are evident across the school.
– Pupils are polite and confident and know how to take steps to look after their physical and mental health.
– Teachers plan engaging and purposeful tasks and use good-quality resources effectively to support and enrich pupils’ learning.
However, due to updated statutory guidance in Keeping children safe in education, it is no longer considered appropriate for a proprietor of a school to act as the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). As principal and the most senior member of staff, Mrs Griggs had been acting as the DSL for a number of years. Mrs Griggs is a member of the LLP which is the proprietor of the school. When reviewing the updated guidelines, we did not see the relevant change, nor was it flagged by the independent regulatory experts (including former ISI inspectors) who review our policies on a regular basis. We were therefore automatically found not to meet the standard for safeguarding. As a result, we were deemed also not to meet the standard for leadership and management (the two standards are inextricably linked).
This saddens us greatly, because safeguarding is and always has been at the heart of everything we do. Indeed, no concerns were raised regarding the safety or well-being of children in our care and ISI commented that “effective safeguarding arrangements are in place”. Falkner House has ingrained practices reflecting a proactive and vigilant safeguarding culture, and we have always taken steps to ensure that the safeguarding team has at least one member who is independent of the proprietors on each site, and they are carefully chosen for their seniority and experience. Staff are aware of who they can approach or report to if they have a concern about another person, including the proprietors.
As soon as we were made aware of the necessary changes, we appointed Mrs Woodward (the previous Deputy DSL who is not a member of the LLP) as the DSL. Falkner House has thus been fully compliant with the latest guidance since 19th November 2024 but the consequences of this error have of course overshadowed what would have otherwise been a glowing report. Unfortunately it is standard ISI practice for the report to be expressed in the present tense, which does not reflect the fact that the changes had all been implemented by the end of the inspection. We are delighted that Falkner House will be reinspected shortly, when we will be able to prove our full compliance with the regulations.
We are very pleased that the inspectors recognised the extremely high standard of teaching and learning at Falkner House and we are delighted that this was reflected in the report. We remain absolutely committed to providing your children with a wonderful education and providing a safe and caring environment within which they can flourish.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.
Anita Griggs, Eleanor Dixon and Flavia Rogers