Springboard Education

Springboard Education is an independent special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs, many of whom have additional anxiety and have experienced long periods out of formal education. At the time of inspection, all 31 pupils had education, health and care plans, and the school was judged to meet safeguarding standards and all independent school standards. The school is performing strongly overall: attendance and behaviour, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing are all strong, while achievement and curriculum and teaching are at the expected standard. Pupils arrive with typically low starting points and often negative prior experiences of education. Leaders and staff are highly effective in improving attendance, building trusting relationships and creating a calm, purposeful school environment. Pupils behave well, feel safe, make sustained progress over time and leave with relevant English and mathematics qualifications. The school is deeply inclusive, provides high-quality pastoral care and offers a broad personal development programme, including careers education and therapeutic support. The main areas for improvement relate to the precision of curriculum and teaching in a small number of wider curriculum subjects. The sequence of knowledge is not always clearly identified, so pupils cannot always deepen their learning as well as they could, and recall in a small number of subjects is less precise. Leaders are already aware of these priorities and are well placed to address them.

Strengths

• Excellent pupil attendance, supported by careful tracking and swift, effective intervention.
• Strong behaviour and high staff expectations, creating calm and purposeful classrooms.
• Deeply inclusive provision with well-conceived processes to identify and meet pupils' needs.
• High-quality pupil passports and personalised programmes that help staff know pupils very well.
• Strong leadership and governance, with clear school improvement priorities and effective staff development.
• Very positive pupil-staff relationships built on trust, care and mutual respect.
• Broad personal development, including assemblies, trips, PSHE, diversity activities and careers education.
• Safeguarding standards met and all independent school standards met.
• Pupils make sustained progress from typically low starting points and leave with English and mathematics qualifications.
• Parents and carers are very positive about the support the school provides.
• Effective support for pupils known to social care and for pupils with high levels of anxiety.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum sequencing in a small number of wider curriculum subjects is not precise enough.
• In a small number of subjects, pupils' recall is less precise, which can limit how deeply they learn.
• Teaching and curriculum in wider curriculum subjects need to be more precise so pupils deepen their understanding and achieve very well across the curriculum.

In 2025–26, 0.0% of pupils at Springboard Education were on SEN support (nationally 18.4%) and 100.0% 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 Lancing · West Sussex local authority: places and applications

What is Springboard Education's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Springboard Education is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Springboard Education last inspected by Ofsted?

Springboard Education was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Springboard Education have?

Springboard Education has 30 pupils on roll.

What age range does Springboard Education cover?

Springboard Education for pupils aged 5 to 18.

Where is Springboard Education?

Springboard Education is at 55 South Street, Lancing, West Sussex, Lancing, West Sussex, BN15 8AN.