A SPECIALIST school for children who have experienced trauma has been rated inadequate by the education watchdog after it identified “significant shortcomings”.

Springboard Education, in South Street, Lancing, was given the rating following an inspection in July by Ofsted.

The independent school cares for young people aged between 11 and 18 with social, emotional, behavioural and communication difficulties,

Inspectors said “significant weaknesses” in safeguarding arrangements potentially place pupils at the school at risk of harm and that the school’s leaders have not been held to account “well enough”.

Inspectors criticised the school’s record keeping and said it must maintain oversight over the use of “restrictive physical intervention".

The report stated: “Significant weaknesses in safeguarding arrangements potentially place pupils at risk of harm.

“Leaders need to urgently improve safeguarding by ensuring that record-keeping is accurate and systematic so that leaders have a clear understanding of the chronology of concerns, the actions they have taken and the school’s management of risk.

“They need to apply this level of rigour to their analysis of behaviour and attendance to enable them to ‘join the dots’ about pupils’ wellbeing.

“They maintain oversight of the use of restrictive physical intervention and ensure that records are fit for purpose.”

There were also concerns about the curriculum, with inspectors saying: “Leaders have not ensured that pupils benefit from a strategically planned, coherent curriculum to support their personal development.”

The report also stated: “There are limited opportunities for pupils to study a range of nationally accredited qualifications. This potentially limits future career or education pathways for some pupils. Leaders need to broaden the range of accredited qualifications available to pupils.”

Inspectors said pupils who are not competent readers are not “getting the help and support that they need”.

However, staff were praised for building “positive, respectful relationships” with pupils who often arrive at the school with low self-esteem and a distrust of adults.

“Many pupils join the school having experienced trauma and disrupted education,” said the report.

“When pupils arrive, many have low self-esteem and confidence. Some are initially distrustful of adults.

“Staff care deeply about pupils and build positive, respectful relationships with them,” said the report.

“They ensure that pupils who attend the school regularly are supported well to enable them to feel safe.”