THE wellbeing of pupils attending a special needs school in Chepstow has been deemed 'unsatisfactory' by Estyn.

Government regulatory body Estyn inspected Mounton House School in May and while it received an overall rating of 'adequate', the inspectorate found the school is in need of significant improvement.

The report, published last Wednesday (15th July), found pupils are not engaging well enough in lessons and arrangements for meeting the needs of a few pupils with specific or moderate learning difficulties are not effective enough.

Although the majority of pupils have improved their attendance levels since joining the school, a few pupils have very low records. The overall attendance of pupils is said to be too low at just under 83 per cent for 2013 to 2014.

There have been no permanent exclusions for the past three years, however, the frequency of fixed term exclusions has increased in that time.

The Estyn report goes on to state that many pupils don't feel safe in school and only around a half feel the school deals well with bullying.

Care, support and guidance at the school is also deemed 'unsatisfactory'. Inspectors found the school to be without a health and safety policy for pupils on off-site visits and that other policies are not comprehensive or sufficiently robust.

The school is also found not to comply with its statutory duty to provide a daily act of collective worship.

The report explains that additional learning needs of pupils are "generally not well met by the school." It says: "The school uses a range of appropriate assessments to identify the support needs of pupils with a specific learning difficulty.

"However, the outcomes of assessments and suggested strategies are not incorporated in pupils' individual education plans. As a result, these pupils are not supported well enough in lessons across the

curriculum."

The report even sites that the use of reasonable force to restrain pupils has more than doubled in the last year.

However, it says the recording of incidents is not always completed fully and says parents are not as aware as they need to be of the physical interventions used on their child.

The school is now required to draw up an action plan showing how it is going to address the recommendations provided in the report. Estyn will monitor the school's progress again in 12 months.

Mounton House caters for 44 pupils and provides day and residential placements for children aged 11 to 16 who have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

The full report can be viewed at http://www.estyn.gov.uk">www.estyn.gov.uk

Mounton House had yet to comment on this story as the Beacon went to print.