12-June-2008 Derby Evening Telegraph. Report by Zena Hawley

EDUCATION and care at an independent Derbyshire special school has been praised by Government inspectors.

Alderwasley Hall School, which has 105 pupils aged from nine to 19, is run by the SENAD Group of independent schools.

It is based on three sites in Derbyshire – at Alderwasley, near Belper, at Callow Park College, near Wirksworth, and at Cavendish House, in Matlock. It has pupils who board at the school, as well as youngsters who attend daily. Inspectors from the Office for Standards in Education visited all three sites and their report ranked the school as good for care and education. They praised the teamwork among staff and said they liked the focus on basic skills, clear progress routes and targets and the varied curriculum.

All of the pupils at the school have speech, language and communication needs that are complex and long-term. Many also have autistic spectrum disorders and attend from across the country from 55 different local authorities. Seventy pupils board for 38 weeks of the year, four for 52 weeks and the rest are day pupils.

Pupils are mainly referred to the school by local authorities, with fees ranging from £57,124 to £124,117 per year for boarders and £37,854 for day pupils.
The Ofsted inspectors said pupils' self-confidence and self-esteem increased well, often from low starting points, and the inspectors also liked the welfare, health and safety aspects of the school.

They also said that a skiing trip is a popular feature of the school year, together with surfing and abseiling in Cornwall. Parent Julia Maherali, of London, has had a child attending Alderwasley for three years. She said: “In that time our child has changed from being highly introverted and lacking in confidence into the life and soul of the party. “Consequently, the lives of the whole family have been transformed as well. We cannot thank the staff of Alderwasley enough. This report is well deserved.”
Head teacher Veronica Jenkins said she was pleased that the report had given staff a pat on the back. “Achieving a 'good' grading across both care and education is an indication of the exceptional work all staff have put into working with each child at the school,” she said. “I loved the fact that the inspectors found our curriculum exciting, our care plans outstanding and our therapies to be of high quality.”

According to the Ofsted inspectors, further improvement at the school could be achieved by keeping better records of incidents involving pupil behaviour and providing better opportunities for children to discuss them.