GUST Independent School in Ashington does not meet all independent school standards, Ofsted finds

GUST Independent School in Ashington was inspected by Ofsted, the government’s education regulator, to monitor progress towards meeting standards and requirements set for independent schools.

The inspection report noted that standards requiring a written behaviour policy to be effectively implemented were no longer met by the school.

According to the report, school leaders “occasionally send pupils home to ‘cool off’ when a pupil demonstrates particularly challenging behaviour.”

This was not detailed in the school’s behaviour policy.

The report also found that “leaders are not carrying out their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently” as a result of this issue.

But the report found that since the last standard Ofsted inspection in February 2022, when the school was labelled as ‘requires improvement’, students “speak enthusiastically about the changes leaders have made.”

Improvements to the school’s first aid processes and training was also noted in the most recent report.

A spokesperson for the school said: “Following on from the Ofsted progress monitoring inspection our behaviour policy has been updated inline with Ofsted’s advice, amending the use of an absence code.

“All other aspects of our behaviour policy were upheld by Ofsted.

“Any indiscretion will affect the leadership and management rating, as per Ofsted guidelines.”

The inspection into the school’s compliance with independent school standards was conducted without notice in November 2022 with the report published in January 2023.