Acorn Park School, Banham, Norfolk rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted after brilliant 18 month transformation

School leaders, staff, pupils and parents at Acorn Park School in Banham, Norfolk – an independent specialist school catering for pupils aged 5-19 with autism and associated conditions, are celebrating rising up the Ofsted rankings and achieving a rating of ‘good’, at the first opportunity after the previous inspections judged the school ‘inadequate’ in February 2020. Acorn Park School is part of Options Autism a specialist provider of education and care services for children, young people and adults with a primary diagnosis of autism.

The new Ofsted report began by applauding Acorn Park, saying, ‘Pupils of all ages feel happy, supported and well cared for’.. ‘Learning in small classes enables pupils to get to know their teachers well,’ alongside ‘personalised plans that enable them to re-engage in learning and enjoy school life’. The pupils themselves explained that at Acorn Park, ‘you can be yourself – school is very inclusive’. 

Head of School, Philippa Whipp, appointed 18 months ago to help drive the change, shared her joy at receiving the report, saying, ‘There is no greater pride than knowing our pupils feel that they can be themselves. We strive to provide a safe and inclusive environment at Acorn Park and having that recognised by this report is testament to the ethos and values we have developed over the last year and a half. 

‘We aim to provide every opportunity to ensure that each young person leaves  the school with the highest level of independence they can achieve, ready to contribute to the world.

‘Everyone here has been resolute about providing the best possible experience of schooling for our pupils and this was celebrated by the inspectors. We are one team – from pupils and parents to staff and Governors – and this is what makes us proud to be Acorn Park.’

The inspectors commended the school’s leaders for making ‘significant improvements to the quality of education, pupils’ behaviour and the school’s relationships with parents’, and also developing ‘an ambitious curriculum for pupils from key stage 1 to key stage 5’. They noted that ‘Leaders have built good relationships with families’ and ‘parents praise the high quality of pastoral care and support that staff provide’ and ‘value the therapeutic support provided’.

They also commented that ‘pupils’ lives are enriched by the curriculum and a wide range of extra activities and special events’, and that they ‘thrive personally and socially through outdoor learning and caring for animals on the school farm.’

The report stated, ‘Pupils receive good pastoral and therapeutic care which helps promote their good behaviour’. They ‘learn to stay safe and gain essential life-skills needed for adulthood’ and ‘communicate and interact with others in the best way they can’.

The sixth form was also applauded for the provision of ‘personalised programmes to meet students’ complex needs’ that enabled them to ‘become more independent’ and ‘suitably prepared for the next stage of education or training, and for living independently’ with ‘effective designed careers teaching’ so ‘students gain workplace and employability skills’.

Also commenting on the report, Peter Marshall, Head of Service, said, ‘I am immensely proud of this inspection report, not just because it celebrates so strongly the many fantastic ways that our school now supports its pupils and their families, but because it rightly celebrates the incredible team effort from our staff, our leaders, and our families over the last 18 months.  

‘The Head of School, Philippa, and her amazing team have worked tirelessly to make the necessary changes and develop our excellent provision. I’m humbled that so many of our families spoke so positively of the school (nearly 60% of all our families responded to the Ofsted questionnaire), they rightly highlighted our excellent clinical and pastoral teams.  

‘This report is a tremendous reflection on all that our community has sought to achieve for this very special school, but more importantly, it celebrates the great work of the people that matter most – our fantastic children and young people.’

For more information please contact Acorn Park School: Tel 01953 888 656 Email: admin@acornparkschool.co.uk or visit http://www.acornpark.org.uk