Our 2026 Ofsted Report: Setting a New National Benchmark

Many pupils have faced significant challenges in education before joining the school. Here, they are exceptionally well supported to develop, grow and thrive.

Pupils achieve well due to the unwavering commitment of leaders. Nothing is considered a barrier, but rather just a challenge to overcome. Behavioural barriers are addressed at each stage to help unlock pupils' learning and communication.

Pupils develop their communication, social understanding, emotional regulation and independence extremely well. Progress in reading, early mathematics and vocabulary development is evident in pupils’ ability to recall prior learning, attempt tasks independently and engage purposefully with adults.

Pupils work systematically through their individualised programme. They achieve and flourish as they do so. Pupils are increasingly well prepared for their next steps, developing independence, communication and improved tolerance for sensory and learning demands. They learn the skills needed to be able to take part in wider society. This supports pupils as individuals, but the approach also supports their families.

The school has very high expectations around attendance. Leaders are clear that for their work to have maximum impact, pupils must be in school every day. Leaders' support and rigour in understanding each pupil's 'story' ensures they have the information they need to remove any barriers that impact attendance, for example support with dressing in school rather than at home to avoid lateness. As a result, pupils have very high attendance.

Leaders focus astutely on teaching positive behaviour and removing barriers linked to pupils' special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders have established a culture where pupils learn to be highly resilient and proud while interacting and communicating effectively. Staff know exactly how to support pupils to manage their feelings and emotions.

Play and learning activities are used effectively to develop pupils’ social skills. As a result, the learning environment is calm and orderly. When pupils have moments when they find it difficult to follow behaviour expectations, staff respond skilfully, enabling pupils to calm down, relax, get back on track and re-engage with their learning.

Leaders have a deep understanding of pupils' starting points and individual needs. This has shaped the school's distinct curriculum so that learning is very well designed. Any adaptations needed are precise and swift. They are focused on removing barriers and embedding learning to help pupils to thrive.

The academic curriculum includes communication, early reading, vocabulary and number fluency. For example, leaders have made astute adaptions to their delivery of phonics teaching to deliberately teach speech sounds to also enable their nonverbal pupils to begin to communicate verbally.

Staff check pupils' understanding repeatedly across each activity, every day. They address gaps in knowledge and misconceptions sensitively and deliberately. This very precise assessment ensures that all learning is embedded and understood before pupils move on to new concepts. Staff also take the time to make sure all learning is transferred and understood across a range of contexts.

All pupils who attend Blooming Tree have special educational needs and/or disabilities as part of their education, health and care plans (EHCP). Many are nonverbal or preverbal. Leaders support pupils to think about their significant barriers as 'bumps' in the road to be overcome. Leaders leave no stone unturned in successfully supporting all pupils to do this and ensure they thrive and flourish.

Training is delivered by expert leaders who provide coaching and modelling to ensure the consistency of the one-to-one teaching. Detailed daily behaviour and learning responses are recorded and analysed for every pupil to ensure all decisions are informed by patterns over time. This informs the content, adaptations and next steps for pupils' individual programmes.

Inclusion reaches beyond the school day. The school's work further supports families with strategies, modelling and help to access key services as and when needed.

The proprietor and those responsible for leadership provide a highly effective school. Oversight is rigorous and robust and decisions are focused solely on what is best for pupils and the impact on their overall development. Staff share this commitment and ethos.

Leaders are experts in their field. They train staff extremely well and model their expectations clearly. Professional learning for staff is viewed as helpful and responsive. As a result, there are well-embedded systems and high levels of staff confidence across all roles.

Workload and wellbeing considerations are visible in staff structures, training and shared responsibility. Staff describe a culture of support where help is always available and workload is manageable. They have pride in the school’s strengths, its safety for pupils and its impact on pupils' learning.

The personal development offer is bespoke and part of pupils' individual offer. There is no 'one size fits all', but rather a highly strategic and impactful suite of therapies and learning sequences. Communication, self-regulation, independence and resilience are developed well through well-organised routines and reward systems.

Therapies linked to pupils' education, health and care plans are embedded into each pupil's offer. The personal development offer reaches beyond the school to provide support for families and to ensure that pupils receive consistently effective support when at home.

The school offers coaching and modelling for parents and carers through home visits, toilet training, and therapies so pupils can 'tolerate' a haircut or take medication. This holistic, developmental approach makes a transformational difference to both pupils' and their families' lives.

Pupils are happy and feel safe at Blooming Tree Pre Prep School. They attend exceptionally well, enjoy learning, and learn to demonstrate pride in their achievements. All pupils flourish here, thriving socially, emotionally and academically.

Across the school, pupils experience a calm, predictable and highly structured environment where their needs are understood exceptionally well. On arrival each day, pupils are met warmly by familiar adults and supported into class through consistent routines that promote safety and belonging.

Each pupil is supported by a one-to-one teacher who delivers their individual and highly-tailored learning programme. During lessons, pupils develop communication skills, social confidence and independence. Staff respond immediately and sensitively to all communication, enabling pupils to express their needs, show their learning and share their preferences.