As the UK’s leading specialist provider of education, quality and impact are at the heart of what we do.
Every day we improve the lives of our pupils, their families and local communities through a relentless focus on wellbeing and learning. This report is a summary of our impact over the last academic year – read the full report here
Our Vision
We believe that with a great education, every neurodivergent pupil can thrive and make their way in the world.
Our Mission
Every day we improve the lives of our pupils, their families, and local communities through a relentless focus on wellbeing and learning.
Quality and Compliance
Our Quality and Compliance team is at the heart of our quality commitment, driving standards, monitoring performance and putting change into practice. Our schools and homes are inspected by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission, Care Inspectorate Wales, Care Inspectorate Scotland and Estyn, and we’re proud to say that our high number of ‘Outstanding’ ratings is a reflection of our entire team’s hard work.
But while high ratings are an indication of good work throughout our organisation, it’s outcomes that really count. Again, this is a source of pride for us, as we achieve some of the best in our sector with 100% of Acorn schools judged good or outstanding (or equivalent) services.
Safeguarding
Our Safeguarding and Quality Committee oversees, monitors, reviews and reports on the quality of the services we provide, and as part of the Outcomes First Group family, we also adhere to the Group’s Safeguarding Pledge.
Our Safeguarding Pledge
We pledge to:
- Keep pupils and adults safe, and care well for them
- Help pupils and adults to get a good education (to help them achieve and enjoy their education)
- Help pupils and adults to be healthy and enjoy their lives
- Support pupils and adults with their future and next adventure
Our pledge emphasises our minimum expectations for pupils who attend one of our schools.
The pledge is our promise to each and every pupil. We’re focused on making a difference and supporting the delivery of the pledge.
We have a clear approach to improvement based on four questions:
- How can we measure if pupils or adults are better off?
- How can we measure if services are doing well?
- How are we doing on these measures?
- What do we need to do next?
By teaching colleagues across Acorn Education how to observe and stop exploitation of children, as well as what to do in such circumstances, we make sure that everyone associated with us is informed to act effectively in safeguarding the vulnerable young people in our schools. This commitment demonstrates how seriously we take this issue, and that we’re steadfastly committed to working together and tackling child sexual exploitation.
Clinical governance
The Chief Clinical Officer chairs the clinical governance board and works closely with the external advisory board and the team of Head of Clinical Practice and Standards:
- Head of Trauma Informed Practice
- Head of Speech and Language Therapy
- Head of Occupational Therapy
- Head of Psychological Practice
Research and development
We’re proud to work with several universities in providing placements for doctoral and professional students including teaching, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and psychology.
Ongoing research and development work is being carried out across Outcomes First Group with universities. These research projects are overseen by the Group’s advisory board which is Chaired by Professor Barry Carpenter.
Inspections
All Outcomes First Group services are inspected by regulators working on behalf of the UK government. These regulatory arrangements vary across the different nations that make up the UK.
England
- Ofsted inspects our schools
Scotland
- Education Scotland undertakes inspections of schools in Scotland
Wales
- Estyn inspects schools in Wales