Doncaster school was closed over fire safety order failings, broken toilets and electrical concerns

A privately run school in Doncaster was served with a notice to improve by the Government for failing to meet regulatory standards.

North Bridge Enterprise College was issued with the notice in April after Ofsted found independent school standards were not being met in relation to welfare, health and safety of pupils, school premises and the quality of leadership and management.

But a subsequent Ofsted inspection published this month has revealed that standards are now being met in all these.

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A spokesperson for the College said: “We took the feedback seriously and a consultant Ofsted inspector was commissioned to help formulate an action plan to ensure that the improvements the college had already made were sustained.

“We are extremely pleased that the regulator has acknowledged the hard work undertaken and found the college to be fully complaint with all its requirements.”

The college, owned by Bettercare Keys Limited, is located in an adapted industrial unit and has 47 pupils who have either been permanently excluded from mainstream schools or are at risk of permanent exclusion.

The majority of pupils have had significant disruption to their learning due to social, emotional or mental health difficulties.

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Ofsted’s latest report into the school says evidence gathered on the first day of its March 2015 inspection resulted in the inspection changing from a full independent school inspection to an emergency inspection.

The proprietor closed the school to staff, pupils and visitors at the end of the first day. This was two days before the Easter holidays. It re-opened to pupils after the Easter holidays.

The closure was due to leaders’ failure to ensure all independent school standards were met, said Ofsted.

The inspection of March 2015 found the school premises and accommodation were not maintained to a suitable standard to ensure the health, safety and welfare of pupils.

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Significant damage was found to pupils’ toilet areas, and there was a lack of suitable facilities generally.

There were also concerns about some exposed electrical wires, and a lack of lighting, or broken lighting, in key areas of the school building. It also found the school had not complied with the South Yorkshire Fire Service’s fire safety order.

The DfE issued the school with a statutory notice in respect of these failings on April 21. The school submitted an action plan, which was judged to require improvement.

The inspector held discussions with senior leaders of the school and the company, and a group of staff.

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She carried out a tour of the premises with a staff member and observed pupils in their daily routines. The inspector reviewed a range of documents, including records of checks on the suitability of staff to work with pupils.