Name and address of school:
Moon Hall School, Pasturewood Road, Holmbury St. Mary, Nr. Dorking, Surrey RH5 6LQ

Tel: 01306-731464
Fax: 01306 731504
Email: enquiries@moonhallschool.co.uk     
Web: www.mooonhallschool.co.uk

Name and qualifications of Head/Principal, with title used:

Name: Pamela Loré

Title (eg Principal): Head Teacher

Qualifications: MA Education, BA Hons. Dev. Psychology, RSA Dip. SpLD., Dip. Inst. Linguists

Awarding body: Open University., Sussex University, RSA, Institute of Linguists     

Mrs Lore is extremely well qualified and is a very capable and knowledgeable Head of Moon Hall .It is entirely appropriate in a school of this size and type that she should also fulfil the role of SENCO.

Name and qualifications of Head of Specialist Provision or Senior SpLD teacher:

Name: As above
Title (eg SENCO): Head Teacher and Senco
Qualifications: As above
Awarding body: As above

Head/Principal’s telephone number if different from above:

Tel: As above

Unit/Senior SpLD teacher’s telephone number:

Tel: As above

Moon Hall is set in the commuter belt for London – but is astonishingly rural given its proximity to the City. Its hilltop position commands spectacular views across the countryside but certainly would have made access difficult during the recent heavy snowfalls! It is a school within a school and is set within the grounds of Belmont Preparatory School.

Foundation: Christian
Ownership: Charitable Company
Governing body: Moon Hall Schools Educational Trust
Status: Independent charity

Moon Hall School was founded in 1985 by Berry Baker, who is also Principal of Moon Hall College near Reigate, to provide an appropriate and understanding education for pupils such as her own dyslexic son.

Recent inspections: OFSTED – 8-11 May 2006

Mrs. Lore is expecting to be visited again by OFSTED within the near future. The last inspection found that Moon Hall “provides a good and well-structured curriculum to meet the individual needs of both full and part-time pupils.” The Inspectorate also commented on the teaching of literacy as being “outstanding as a result of high expectations, careful planning and assessment”. Recommended “next steps” have been taken.
The recent OFSTED Inspection of Boarding at Belmont (where Moon Hall pupils are accommodated) achieved “Outstanding” – a rare accolade.

Numbers, sex and age of pupils: 63 registered pupils; 25 of whom are Belmont-based

Numbers are down quite significantly since the last CReSTeD visit .Whilst a great part of the strength of Moon Hall is its family atmosphere and the depth of knowledge that teachers have of their pupils, it would be good to see the school running at nearer its maximum. Current advertising and business development strategies should perhaps be reviewed.

Aims and philosophy of the whole school: Moon Hall’s aim is to enable dyslexic pupils to acquire basic literacy skills quickly in order to fulfil their potential and to be able to access the curriculum in mainstream schools; the school’s further aim is to re-build self-esteem and instil a sense of self-worth.

It is clear that Moon Hall pupils acquire self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities. Pupils are very polite and well-behaved and staff have a consistent approach to behaviour that ensures high standards. The Phono-Graphix programme used across the board is a good phonics structure which can move on pupils’ literacy skills quickly.

4g.

Description of buildings and grounds: We are a specialist school for dyslexic children with our own purpose-built school-house in the grounds of Belmont Prep School, which is set in 70 acres. The two schools are separate entities – each with a separate Board of Governors. We have a ‘symbiotic’ relationship with Belmont and aim to feed our pupils into Belmont after Year 5, although continuing to teach them English at Moon Hall, and Maths, if required. We share all Belmont’s extensive facilities: sports hall, sports field, theatre, dining hall, playground, swimming pool.

This is a unique system and the fact that pupils can transfer to Belmont – a mainstream school- whilst retaining some specialist lessons at Moon Hall is something that many of the parents contacted appreciated. Such a relationship also overcomes the drawbacks of some specialist schools with regard to games and team sports in particular. Inevitably, however, any sharing of facilities and students can create tensions. It appears that Belmont and Moon Hall work together to overcome these.

Pastoral care arrangements: Our Pastoral Care Officer is Mrs. Val Sutherland, (Deputy Head). She is also Child Protection Officer and liaises regularly with her opposite number at Belmont. Form Teachers provide pastoral care for full-time pupils. English Teachers (Personal Tutors) provide it for Belmont-based Moon Hall registered pupils. Pastoral issues are discussed at minuted staff meetings. Additionally, each child is given a House to support.
This is a cross-site arrangement and motivates children to earn points for good conduct, sports and academic attainment. There is a House cup awarded annually at Speech Day. Form prizes and progress prizes are awarded, as well as a number of dedicated cups, e.g. citizenship cup.

Mrs Sutherland is an experienced teacher who has a clear vision of the needs of pupils at Moon Hall. The difference between teasing and bullying is made clear through several initiatives and strategies are in place to allocate responsibilities in order to increase self esteem. Pastoral care is a clear strength, and pupils felt that –without exception- their teachers were approachable and supportive .It is very unusual to find such universal appreciation of staff and systems.

Documents required as detailed on the check list. For completion by consultants only.
Consultants – please comment on each of the following:

Prospectus, including staff list: The prospectus – like the school- has a pleasant “family” feel to it.

Special Needs Policy: Clear, informative, accurate.

Fees and compulsory extras for dyslexic pupils: Compared to other specialist schools, Moon Hall’s fees appear to be very reasonable.

Staff Handbook:. Comprehensive, clear, detailed.

Timetable: All lessons at Moon Hall are Specialist lessons and the focus of all teachers is on basic skills. Given that the timetable needs to dovetail with Belmont’s timetable, it is well conceived and effective.

School Development Plan: This is an honest and clear thinking document.

Consultants to comment generally on website content: The website is accurate, informative and easy to use. The school was experiencing some problems in updating information on it – it is perhaps an area that could be further developed as an advertising tool and as a vehicle for information to parents.

Qualifications, awarding body and experience of all learning support staff: English and Topic teachers either have an additional qualification relating to the teaching of children with specific learning difficulties or have had in-house training. Qualifications include: RSA/OCR Diploma; OCR Certificate in SpLD, BDA Diploma, Hornsby Diploma; Phono-Graphix certification. One teacher is currently studying for the OCR Cert. SpLD

Headteacher:
Mrs P. Loré, M.A. Education (O.U.), B.A. (Hons.) Dev. Psychology [University of Sussex], R.S.A. Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties. Qualified Phono-Graphix Trainer, SENCO **

Senior Management:
Mrs V. Sutherland, Dip Ed. [Dundee], Teacher’s Certificate, R.S.A. Dip TEFL, DEPUTY HEAD **
Mrs J. White, B.Ed (Hons) [University of London], Hornsby Diploma in Sp.L.D., CURRICULUM CO-ORDINATOR ** Form Teacher

Teaching Staff:
Mrs. K. Aiken, ACTL, Drama
Mrs N. Barnard Teaching Certificate, B.Ed.(Hons.), HEAD OF SCIENCE
Mrs M. Cole, Teaching Certificate [Maria College of Education, Twickenham], O.C.R. Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties [Hornsby International Dyslexia Centre] A.M.B.D.A. ** HEAD OF SENIOR ENGLISH
Mrs C. Domican, B.A. Hons (European Studies) [Lancaster], OCR Cert. SpLD:- English, ICT, touch-typing (Support Staff coordinator College, Oxford]**
Mrs. B. Holdship, B.Ed. Lady Spencer Churhill College, Oxford) RSA Dip. SpLD (Currently supply teacher)**
Mrs A. Mitchell, Teaching Certificate [Eastbourne], Hornsby Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties, R.S.A. Dip TEFL ** Form Teacher
Mrs M. Newton, Dip. Ed. [Falkirk], Teacher’s Certificate HEAD OF MATHS**
Mrs A. Pinnock, B.Ed (Hons) [West Sussex Institute of Higher Education], PG certificate in SEN [University of Surrey]** currently based at Moon Hall College (senior school) and teaching Music to our pupils
Ms C. Preece, B.Ed. (Hons) [Worcester], Certificate of Professional Practice in SpLD [University of Surrey] ** Form Teacher HEAD OF JUNIOR ENGLISH
Mrs J. Schenk, B.Sc., (Hons) [Birmingham], O.C.R. Certificate in Sp.L.D. **
Mrs. J. Thurtell, ICT and touch-typing
Mrs. P. Wallis, B.Ed(Hons), OCR Cert. SpLD pending*
Mrs. G. Williams, CLANSA Cert., RSA typing, Ph. Gr* touch-typing

** = Phono-Graphix Teaching Certificate (5 day trained)
*= Phono-Graphix Teaching Certificate (1 day trained)

STAFF TEACHING ENGLISH:
Mrs M. Cole
Mrs C. Domican
Mrs P. Loré
Mrs A. Mitchell
Mrs. M. Newton
Mrs. C. Preece
Mrs J. Schenk
Mrs V. Sutherland
Mrs. P. Wallis
Mrs J. White

Staff are appropriately qualified and work well together to support each other. The Phono-Graphix programme is an effective tool.

Class sizes – mainstream: None of our classes exceeds an absolute maximum of 14. Classes are always subdivided into smaller groups for both English and Maths. In Delta M and Delta W pupils are also taught in two groups for Science. The KS3 Y7 pupils are provided with a KS3 curriculum in a small group.

Classes observed ranged from 3 to 7. Attention was almost individual in lessons visited, given that the group of 7 also had a Teacher Assistant. Although it was not possible to visit a Science lesson, where groups are larger, books were scrutinised and the practical and multi-sensory nature of the work done was obvious, as was the pleasure of the teacher in teaching these pupils.

Staff development and in-service training of learning support staff within last 18 months: Staff are encouraged to keep abreast of developments in dyslexia and teaching in general. There is a generous budget, enabling them to partake in InSet, both in school and outside. We frequently collaborate with researchers into aspects of dyslexia which enables cross-fertilization of ideas. Learning support staff partake of in-service training with our teachers where training is delivered in-house: see list of training courses attached.

Teachers have termly in school INSET with some members of staff visiting exhibitions such as BETT or the Rose Review. Much of the in school INSET has been on the use of particular computer packages to aid tracking of progress and all staff undertook Child Protection training in September.
Perhaps the hosting of a conference could be a way to generate interest in Moon Hall as well as providing an opportunity for teachers to invite speakers they would be interested in hearing?

Policy statement with regard to dyslexic pupils: Our policy is to provide for the needs of dyslexic children both academic and social. We seek to boost self-esteem and to develop strengths whilst giving skills, strategies and remediation for weaknesses. Our SEN policy is attached.

These aims were clear in the lessons observed and in the comments of pupils and parents.

Admission policy / selection criteria:
Admissions and Children’s Records Policy and Procedure

Prior to the child’s attendance at the school the parents or carers must complete and sign the:

1. Registration Form
2. Acceptance Form
3. Parent-School Contract Standard Terms and Conditions.
4. Parents’ Questionnaire

This provides school with the following information, and informs the parents of the basic standards of behaviour and the attitude towards teaching and learning that the school expects and demands.

• Name, home address and date of birth of each child
• Starting date
• Name, address and telephone numbers of parents or guardians
• Emergency telephone numbers of parents or guardians
• Special Diets
• Arrangements for collection for younger children or those with special needs that makes collection by an adult essential
• Name, address and telephone number of the child’s doctor
• Illness and inoculation details
• Details of any allergies
• Parental consent on emergency procedures

Parents or guardians will also be asked to provide the school with any further information which they feel will enable us to take that best possible care of their children.

The admission procedure for the School is as follows:

1. On receiving a contact from a person considering placing a child here, the Registrar records the person’s and child’s names, child’s gender and age, address, telephone numbers, other contact information and proposed date of entry. The Registrar determines whether a child has been assessed dyslexic by an independent educational psychologist and arranges a time to visit and/or sends out a prospectus and other information requested.
2. At this point if the child’s parents are convinced the school is appropriate for their child they may wish to complete the registration form, which should be sent out with the Prospectus.
3. The Head Teacher meets parents and shows them around or delegates someone to show them around. A discussion of child’s EP report and background takes place.
4. At this time if the registration form has not been completed and the parents wish the child to be considered for a place it must be completed at the end of the visit. Reports from previous schools, educational psychologists or other relevant experts are to be requested.
5. The child will be invited for an individual or group assessment to be carried out by the Senco to determine the class or group the pupil is suitable for. Most pupils are assessessed individually and spend a day at Moon Hall School; teachers report to the Head regarding suitability of behaviour.
6. Before the decision to admit a child is confirmed by the School the parents/guardians are required to complete the “Acceptance Form” and sign the “Parent-School Contract – Standard Terms and Conditions.”
7. Once a place has been accepted, a Joining Pack will be sent out containing relevant information: e.g. uniform acquisition, parental permission etc.
8. When a child has enrolled, the parents/guardians names should be added to the list to receive information on the school and invitation to events, along with parents already enrolled.
9. It is occasionally necessary, to protect the rights of others to admit a pupil on a trial basis only. This occurs where the school remains uncertain of the pupil’s prospective behaviour.
10. A place will be offered based on availability and in accordance with the Code of Practice for Schools, Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Part 4.

It is evident that records are carefully investigated before admission and thereafter carefully kept. Some tweaking of record keeping could make progress records easier to make sense of, but the information on each pupil is there and there is the sense that the welfare of the child is- quite rightly- the priority.

Give specific examples of the whole school response to dyslexia: As a specialist school for dyslexic children, every aspect of school life is designed around their needs whilst providing appropriate help and challenge. In particular we aim to deliver the KS2 National Curriculum whilst concentrating on basic skills to remediate literacy and numeracy difficulties. We ensure that teaching is structured, cumulative and explicit with built-in opportunities for overlearning. Non-dyslexic pupils in Belmont (with whom we have a unique relationship) are given understanding via cross-site Assemblies and staff input. Belmont staff who teach our part-time pupils are provided with in-service training and support by the Moon Hall Senco and specialist teachers.

There is a clearly holistic approach to education at Moon Hall. Teachers are aiming to enable their pupils in all sorts of ways, and although increased access to the curriculum through improved literacy and numeracy is a major target it is not the only one.
Any partnership brings with it tensions as well as benefits. The benefits from sharing expertise as well as facilities with Belmont are self evident, and teachers here work together to establish links rather than allowing divisions.

How is the week organised? School week: Monday-Friday 0820-1630
Length of lessons: 35 minutes periods, often taught as doubles or more.

At the time of the visit, teachers were putting in “catch-up” lessons to attempt to recover time lost by snow closure. A demonstration of commitment!
Lesson times are appropriate and well – organised.

Implementation of National Curriculum considerations: Our Schemes of Work follow the National Curriculum guidelines, excluding French. Our curriculum is adapted to our pupils’ special needs, and prepares for Belmont programmes of study – giving access to the Common Entrance course where this is appropriate. In general, we are focused on giving pupils the basic literacy and numeracy skills necessary to successfully access the whole of the curriculum when they go into Secondary or Senior schools whilst ensuring they have sufficient background in other NC subjects taught.

As has already been noted – this is the primary aim of the school.

Details of arrangements for dyslexic pupils, including prep / homework:
All pupils are dyslexic and all our arrangements are tailored to dyslexics. In January 2006 we incorporated homework into the school day. It is a supervised class period and has proved popular with both parents and teachers and beneficial to all concerned enabling teachers to judge whether and where further reinforcement is required.

It is always useful for staff to be able to see how well pupils can work independently and to be on hand if help is needed.

Lesson preparation and delivery: All Medium Term Plans are monitored and approved by the respective Heads of Department. The Senior Management Team has access to these as they are kept on the school’s computer network.

Lessons observed were all carefully planned and showed a common approach. All celebrated strengths and most were practical and multi-sensory. All were building on previous knowledge and celebrating success.
Classrooms were well equipped and were pleasant places to learn. Displays were lively and key words /tricky words were displayed .Good manners and behaviour were encouraged.

Use of IEP’s: We teach matched groups and are therefore able to provide group IEPs which have additional individual targets where appropriate. IEPs are reviewed bi-annually and are synchronised with standardised reading and spelling test results. (Two examples attached). We find many parents set store by IEPs.

Moon Hall’s use of small group IEPs is sensible and practical. Such mapping makes it possible for teachers to put information to use in their lesson planning and organisation.

Records and record keeping:
In addition to the usual data-base recording contact details for parents, we also have a link enabling us to track placement and progress against standardised tests for English and maths. He can also record details of the pupils cognitive profile on this purpose-written data-base.
Since 2009 we have also used Classroom Monitor to track pupil progress against national curriculum objectives in all subjects. Classroom Monitor contains a mark-book and will prepare an annual report to parents, including graphs showing individual or group progress.
We have further introduced since our last Inspection, RAA (Record of Attainment and Achievement) files for each child. These contain samples of work in all subjects. (Two a term). They are levelled against the NC objective which was the focus of the work. These files give us ready evidence of progress in all subjects.
We re-assess reading and spelling every six months using standardised tests; results are sent to parents and new IEPs prepared in the light of progress. (Reading and spelling tests from the WIAT-T II are used, together with the Access Reading test.). Standardised test results for English and Maths are reported to parents bi-annually.
End of year examination results in English are also reported to parents. We use the QCA Optional tests for this purpose, enabling us to track progress in reading comprehension and writing. The Maths Department also tracks pupil progress using standardised tests (NFER/QCA) and the Amended Key Objectives. Standardised test results are reported to parents.

. Tracking of pupils is effective. The use of an improvement ratio makes progress clear to see. The Access Reading test is a valuable tool, testing as it does inference as well as literal comprehension. The School Development Plan points out that, “The quality of teaching is not always immediately reflected in the quality of learning due to the specific learning difficulties of pupils” a sizeable proportion of whom have multiple difficulties. There is no quick fix for these pupils, and the majority of teachers and parents are aware of this. An education such as that offered by Moon Hall is a long-term investment.

Examinations / test results (where applicable):

A-Level (GCE) and VCE

GCSE 

Key Stage 3

Key Stage 2

Note: Key Stage 2 & 3: A/D = percentage absent or disapplied

Any other information: Pupils who have to be disapplied are those who have come late to Moon Hall, having arrived with reading SS in the bottom 5% of the population in Year 5 or 6. There is usually insufficient time for them to have reached Level 3 standard, although some pupils falling into this category have been successful and are included in the statistics for science and or maths. One such pupil reached Level 4 in all subjects.

Details of special examination arrangements requested and made for dyslexic pupils: The school follows the QCA guidelines each year concerning the end of KS2 examinations. This year eight pupils met the stipulated requirements and were granted extra time. One pupil used a lap-top; one had an amanuensis and two had a transcription supplied for them. All dyslexic pupils are given 25% extra time in end of year school examinations and for Common Entrance examinations (with the approval of senior schools). They may also use laptops or have their work transcribed.

Consultant’s comments: The school applies for all the appropriate access arrangements for dyslexic students. 

General resources for teaching dyslexic pupils: Our greatest resource is staff expertise and experience and the facility to be able to teach in small matched groups – matched according to remedial needs. An additional facility of huge benefit is the presence of Belmont whose facilities our pupils are able to share. These include the gym, sports hall and games fields as well as access to after school clubs, whole school productions and joint assemblies and outings.

We are delighted that with the advent of an awareness of the importance of phonics, more texts are now published focused on reinforcement of phonics teaching. We have sets of bright new phonics texts from several publishers. We are particularly pleased to have stories which are appropriate for our older learners.
Whilst we do have software for dyslexics and teach all our pupils to touch-type, we use it as a supplement to specialist lessons, rather than relying on it.

Rooms are well-equipped and appointed. Teaching materials are up –to –date and used appropriately. It was noticeable that those pupils who need footrests or wedges or cushions were provided with them and using them.

ICT: We have a networked Computer Room with one multimedia PC for every child in a teaching group. A CD Server allows each pupil to access site-licensed CD ROMs. There is a good range of software to support both topic, maths and English, and voice activated software is available for the use of very dyspraxic pupils. There is also a text reading facility for pupils to check their own composition. Access to the Internet is by Broadband and all computers have protected access to the Internet.

Promethean or Alpha Smart Inter-active white boards are installed in the computer room and all the main teaching rooms. Digital cameras are available for the use of pupils as required by the NC for ICT which we follow. In addition, pupils are taught a high standard of word processing by learning to touch-touch from an early age. They sit OCR text processing examinations in Year 8; these exams are designed for 16-year-olds. Many gain distinctions in a range of typing examinations.

Laptops:
We encourage the use of laptops once the pupil has attained a level of proficiency with word processing and has a typing speed of approx. 15wpm.
We have a number of Dana ‘notebooks’ which are used for typing practice and we are seeking to acquire additional ‘notebook’ type machines for classroom use to replace and supplement the Danas. There are six school-owned lap-tops for pupil use.

School policy: We have not sought Approved status in the past although we are considering registration with CCRAG (Children’s Cross Regional Arrangements Group). We accept Statemented children if we are able to meet their needs.

Schools should provide with the documentation a list of the names of all known dyslexic pupils in the school. From this the consultant will select 12 names and schools will be asked to contact the parents (CReSTeD will provide an explanatory letter) for their permission to give their phone numbers to the consultant. The consultant will then contact 6 of these parents to discuss their feelings about the school.

Seven set of parents were contacted. All commented on how happy their children were and most were grateful for the progress their children had made, although two parents were disappointed by the lack of progress made in reading tests. As has been noted previously, it is not always possible to move reading scores on as quickly as everyone would wish – indeed that lack of progress is often a measure of the severity of a child’s dyslexia.

Five parents were delighted by progress, “A boy who had been left out has been enabled to access learning”. One parent was particularly appreciative of the opportunity to transfer to Belmont, whilst maintaining links with Moon Hall, “ He needed to be pushed and Belmont provided that challenge – we were part of the decision and know that there is no miracle cure. What they’ve done is get him into a position where he is achieving – great! He’s been enabled to come on in a way that no other school could have achieved. A better school I couldn’t imagine”.

Another parent said that she felt it was “the best thing we could have done for her. She was struggling hugely at her other school – but there was no pressure to move her.” She –like most of the parents contacted, mentioned the warm and loving atmosphere of the school and considered herself “lucky to be within driving difficulty of a school like that” and told me that before she had actually sent her daughter to the school one of the teachers from Moon Hall had given up an hour of her time on Saturday mornings to introduce her child to the Phono-Graphix programme, and it had made an almost immediate difference to her reading ability.
There is a great deal of appreciation evident for the dedication of teachers at the school, as well as for the links with Belmont and the opportunities provided by those links. Mrs Lore is particularly appreciated for her knowledge, common sense and dedication.

Head’s / Principal’s signature confirming accuracy of school’s information (pre-visit)

Pamela Lore

Date: 6 October, 2009

Head’s / Principal’s signature confirming agreement to consultant’s comments (post-visit):

Pamela Lore