Melksham House School

Melksham House School is an independent special school for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, all of whom have an education, health and care plan. Inspectors found safeguarding standards met and judged inclusion to be at the expected standard: leaders prioritise inclusion, work closely with families and specialists, and pupils generally feel safe, cared for and positive about the relationships they build with staff. Many pupils arrive with negative prior experiences of education, so this pastoral and inclusive work is a significant strength.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met.
• Inclusion is at the expected standard.
• Leaders prioritise inclusion and have effective systems for supporting pupils with SEND.
• Staff work closely with parents and carers to understand pupils' needs and vulnerabilities.
• Leaders seek expert advice from occupational therapists, educational psychologists and other professionals.
• Most pupils settle quickly into school life.
• Pupils feel safe, well cared for and trust staff.
• Positive relationships help pupils re-engage with education.
• Pupils are typically polite and friendly and make visitors feel welcome.
• Bullying is rare and pupils know discrimination is not tolerated.
• Pupils behave well during social times; older pupils help deliver lunches and younger pupils play well together.
• Staff support pupils thoughtfully to regulate their emotions, and pupils increasingly ask for strategies independently.
• Leaders regularly check attendance and analyse patterns and trends.
• Work to engage secondary-age pupils with emotionally based school avoidance is beginning to show success.
• The school prioritises mental health and helps pupils learn strategies to manage their wellbeing.
• The rights respecting programme and British values teaching help pupils understand rights and protected characteristics.
• The school has built community links and offers wider experiences such as visits to local shops, police community links and work with a therapy dog.
• Some staff feel valued and supported with workload and wellbeing, and most feel part of a team.

Areas for Improvement

• Independent school standards are not met for quality of education and leadership/management.
• The school does not meet some statutory independent school standards about curriculum and teaching.
• Teaching of the academic curriculum is too variable and pupils' work quality varies across subjects.
• Pupils' basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics vary too much, leaving them unprepared for the next stage.
• Staff subject knowledge is not secure in some subjects.
• The curriculum does not consistently meet the needs of individual pupils with SEND.
• Expectations for pupils with SEND are sometimes too low.
• Some pupils are over-reliant on adult support and do not build necessary knowledge.
• Assessment checks are not timely enough, so misconceptions and errors in spelling and punctuation persist.
• Overall attendance remains low for too many pupils and improvement is not quick enough, especially in the primary phase.
• High levels of staffing changes mean some staff are unclear how to support and manage pupils' behaviour effectively.
• High staff turnover has reduced leaders' capacity to make necessary curriculum improvements.
• The proprietor and governors have not acted quickly enough to address weaknesses.
• Governance oversight is not strong enough to ensure independent school standards are consistently met.
• Several staff feel they do not receive appropriate support when needed.
• Staff joining at different points in the year receive less training than September starters.
• Parents and carers have mixed views, with some concerned about high rates of staff changes.
• Personal development and wellbeing work is at an early stage, so impact is uncertain.
• Consistency of mental health support work needs improvement.
• Pupils' knowledge of faiths and cultures in modern Britain is limited and not embedded.
• The careers programme does not yet support pupils to make informed choices or prepare them well for adulthood.
• Wider experiences are not planned coherently and do not build on one another sufficiently.
• Some pupils' attitudes to learning are affected by inconsistent teaching.
• Pupils are not well prepared for their next steps in education, employment or training.

In 2025–26, 0.0% of pupils at Melksham House School 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.

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What is Melksham House School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Melksham House School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Melksham House School last inspected by Ofsted?

Melksham House School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Melksham House School have?

Melksham House School has 59 pupils on roll.

What age range does Melksham House School cover?

Melksham House School for pupils aged 4 to 16.

Where is Melksham House School?

Melksham House School is at 27 Market Place, Melksham, SN12 6ES.