The Amicus School

The Amicus School is an independent special school for pupils with complex social, emotional and mental health needs, all of whom have education, health and care plans. This was its first progress monitoring inspection, following a standard inspection in February 2026 where the school was judged to require improvement and was found not to meet the independent school standards relating to the quality of leadership and management. The purpose of this inspection was to monitor progress against those unmet standards, and also to consider additional standards following concerns raised with the Department for Education about pupil safety and welfare. The school continues to be judged as not meeting the leadership and management standard (Part 8).

Strengths

• Safeguarding arrangements are effective in practice, with staff acting swiftly on concerns and working well with external agencies.
• Positive relationships between staff and pupils are evident throughout the school, and pupils trust staff and feel safe.
• Behaviour is well managed, with a written policy implemented effectively and very few bullying incidents.
• Risk assessments are thorough, reviewed regularly, and effectively implemented, including positive handling plans that focus on de-escalation.
• Procedures for recording and reporting use of force, seclusion and restraint incidents are followed properly and shared with parents and social workers as required.
• The proprietor has acted decisively to improve knowledge and expertise about the independent school standards, including commissioning advice and revising policies.
• The single central record of pre-employment checks meets requirements.

Areas for Improvement

• The leadership and management standard (Part 8) remains unmet.
• Governance oversight is not yet effective; the new governance and assurance board has not begun its work and its terms of reference initially lacked focus on the independent school standards.
• The safeguarding policy is confusing due to multiple additions that have not been fully considered as a whole, creating potential risk if staff followed the written policy alone.
• The revised action plan assumes actions are complete and successful when in place, without clear arrangements to check their impact.
• Leaders lack deliberately designed ways of working based on knowledge and understanding of the standards and what they want to achieve.
• Some staff are not fully confident in discussing all elements of the physical intervention process.
• The proprietor's practice of making changes during the inspection, while showing commitment, is not an effective or sustainable way to ensure standards are met consistently.

In 2025–26, 6.2% of pupils at The Amicus School were on SEN support (nationally 18.4%) and 93.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 7.9%).

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded independent school schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Arundel · West Sussex local authority: places and applications

What is The Amicus School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Amicus School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was The Amicus School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Amicus School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does The Amicus School have?

The Amicus School has 32 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Amicus School cover?

The Amicus School for pupils aged 5 to 16.

Where is The Amicus School?

The Amicus School is at The Coach House, Arundel Road, Fontwell, Arundel, West Sussex, BN18 0SX.