Local school given 'good' rating by inspectors

A specialist independent school near Newtown has been judged 'good' in an Estyn report.

The Bettws Lifehouse School in Bettws Cedewain has also improved two areas highlighted by inspectors in a previous report.

Leaders at the school said they are delighted after the report said pupils are in a ‘positive and nurturing environment’ and the school meets all the standards inspected.

Government inspectors said staff "place the needs of pupils at the centre of all they do’ and those attending are ‘highly engaged" in learning.

Kay Jones, managing director of the school, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that Estyn have said Bettws meets all the standards required.

“It is fantastic and a real reflection of the work our staff do and the achievements by our wonderful pupils every single day.

“We are particularly pleased to read in their report that the inspectors recognise the importance of the relationships built here - they describe the relationship between pupils and staff as ‘strength of the school’ and said they were ‘trusting’.

Bettws Lifehouse currently has 18 pupils at the Powys site, aged seven to 14 years old, with a range of communication and interaction needs, and social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

Children are referred, through a complex process based on need, to the stable learning environment provided at Bettws from both Welsh and English local authorities.

Once completing their time there, Bettws pupils tend to go to the upper school site in Shrewsbury, England, as part of the wider Lifehouse provision.

Estyn inspectors visited the school in July and released the annual monitoring inspection report this month (SEPT 12) - which said the links between Bettws and the upper school are ‘strong’ with ‘highly effective’ support for the transition.

A previous inspection in July 2023 recognised two areas the school could improve and headteacher Fiona Davies said they had been working hard to make the improvements outlined.

She said: “We have made some changes following the inspection last year such as introducing careers education for the younger years and changes to meet the new requirements of the Independent School Standards (Wales) Regulations 2024.

“It is making a big difference to progress and I was delighted to see the latest report recognise this - it said the initiatives we have introduced have seen progress and provision has been ‘strengthened’.

“Of course, while we are delighted with the latest report, we will never stop putting our pupils first and making improvements to ensure their needs are met and their time here is as effective as possible.”

The sister site, Bettws Lifehouse at Kingsland Grange, Shrewsbury, also had an inspection by Ofsted in July.

This report, also out this month, reflected that of the one in Bettws and concluded that the site was ‘good’ in all standards inspected.

You can read the report here:
https://estyn.gov.wales/all-search/?search=bettws%20lifehouse