Rastrick school celebrates 15th consecutive 'outstanding' rating from Ofsted

This is the 15th consecutive top rating for the William Henry Smith School, is a residential special school, providing care, education, health and therapy for children and young people who face social, emotional and mental health challenges.

The school was praised for its ‘ground breaking’ practices with inspectors noting: “The actions of the school contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people. The school stands out in its provision of flexible weekend support and outreach work to pupils and their families during the holiday periods. This is ground breaking.’’

Inspectors praised leaders on encouraging the staff to be brave.

The report also commented on the programme of care promoted by staff: ‘’The school centres its work on creating a good quality of life and staff capture and describe children’s challenges and triumphs with affection and skill. They are supporting children to learn from positive regard and natural consequences.

"This drives positive change as children learn to be responsible for their choices. Staff share their experiences with the children, this helps them to make exceptional progress as staff often say, ‘We can do this together’ this gives the students the confidence to learn about their past. The approach is an eclectic mix of research-based theories and the school’s own ideology.”

Ofsted inspected the school under three focus areas; Overall experiences and progress of children and young people; How well children and young people are helped and protected; andthe effectiveness of leaders and managers. The school was rated outstanding in all three areas.

Sue Ackroyd, Principal, said: “We are naturally over the moon with Ofsted’s judgement. Our whole community work tirelessly to help improve the quality of life of our children and their families.

“We make a commitment to them and our staff team. Our belief is that everything is possible. We have a wealth and depth of creative and inventive resources and that includes our highly skilled residential, education, health and therapy, and support teams.

“Children start to believe that they can succeed and their health, happiness and safety improves, families begin to get their lives back. Thanks must go to our strong school community, our resourceful and courageous staff team, our children, and our determined and supportive families.”