A PRIVATE school has been branded as 'inadequate' by Ofsted following an inspection.

Brighton and Hove Montessori School has been downgraded from good to inadequate after inspectors visited in October.

Ofsted inspector Lucy English visited the small independent school in Stanford Avenue, Brighton, which only has 35 pupils.

Her report highlighted a number of areas, saying that "basic processes, including those relating to safeguarding, and a range of independent school standards have not been maintained."

She says that pupils' experiences are varied, with older pupils being carefully guided to secure their learning across a wide range of subjects.

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Younger pupils enjoy exploring the resources on offer, but they are not supported to develop their knowledge effectively, particularly with reading.

Mrs English acknowledged that staff are kind and children are happy, they feel they are in a caring community and uphold values of respect.

She said: "They are adamant that there is no bullying or mean behaviour because they are taught to be inclusive and considerate.

"They are not aware that some staff have a poor knowledge of safeguarding procedures."

Ms English says a lack of ambition can be seen for reading for younger children, but that it is a strength for the elementary classes.

Safeguarding is a prominent issue for the school, inspectors found staff safeguarding knowledge is poor, the inspectors said.

Some members of staff did not know who the safeguarding lead was and statutory guidance is not followed by leaders in terms of risk assessments for parent volunteers.

In order to improve, the staff and leaders must ensure safeguarding requirements are followed by all and stronger understanding of safeguarding must be developed.

Leadership is said to be muddled and improvements undertaken following the December 2019 inspection have not been maintained or followed up.

She notes that the pandemic is stated as a reason for why certain changes were not made but says they are "ongoing requirements".

Pupils are thought to be conscientious, asking for permission before hugging one another and are able to reflect on their own perspectives.

Mrs English also says leadership confusion must be addressed and made clearer, and staff in Children's House must be given better leadership to ensure they are more ambitious for their pupils.

She said that the proprietor, Ms Daisy Cockburn, who is also headteacher, does not have systems in place to ensure that the independent school standards are met consistently.

She reportedly has not maintained improvements or actioned the plans noted in the December 2019 progress monitoring inspection.

Ms Cockburn needs to establish a process by which she can be assured that all of the standards are met, says Ms English.

Ms English and her colleague Kathryn Moles visited the school in October and the official report has now been released.