External Quality Assurance

It is now a legal requirement to have an individual who is completely independent of the organisation to undertake regular inspections on behalf of the provider.

The DfE National Minimum Standards for Residential Special Schools states:

The governing body, trustees, or proprietor of the school appoint a representative who is independent of the leadership and management of the school to visit the residential provision six times, spread evenly, over the course of a school year and complete a written report on the conduct of the school. The representative is vetted in line with the school’s safe recruitment policy, in accordance with the safer recruitment requirements set out in Keeping children safe in education, and has the skills and authority to effectively carry out this role.

Here at Cloughwood Academy we have appointed NYAS’ (National Youth Advocacy Service) to undertake regular visits to our residential provision. Their role is to review the facilities and performance of the staff and talk to the children and young people to ensure they are receiving the best possible care.

Our inspector, Lee Webster, follows a consistent approach which promotes attention to detail. His written reports are insightful and showcase the residential provision's development and progress.

The written reports are shared with the Head of Care and Headteacher and are also read by our governors.

Website: www.nyas.net

We receive termly monitoring visits from a member of our trustee board in addition to the visits from NYAS. The student voice is the main focus of this visit, which is then reported back to our Local Governing Body.