A specialist independent school for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is celebrating a highly impressive first full Ofsted inspection.
Life Skills Hub Central – which accepts students from Hull, East Yorkshire, North and North East Lincolnshire – has been rated Good in all areas, including Quality of Education, Behaviour and Attitudes, Personal Development and Leadership and Management.
It’s overall rating of Good is the highest the school could have achieved in its first inspection, after only opening its Life Skills Hub Central campus on Endike Lane, north Hull, in 2024. Schools cannot be rated Outstanding unless they can prove consistency over a longer period of time.
Inspectors said of Life Skills Hub: “The respectful and inclusive culture of this school fosters pupils’ personal development and academic success. Pupils feel safe and valued”.
They also noted that: “Pupils thrive and often their lives are transformed at this school”.
The findings highlight the school’s strong commitment to helping young people re-engage with learning through a carefully designed curriculum, therapeutic support and a nurturing environment.
The inspection, which took place from September 23-25, praised the school’s work to transform the lives of pupils who have faced challenges in mainstream education.
Inspectors said: “Most pupils have found their previous experiences of education difficult… Here, pupils are nurtured to re-engage with the broad and interesting curriculum that the school offers… enabling them to quickly flourish.”
They also highlighted parental feedback such as: “For much of his life, my child found school attendance a challenge. Since joining Life Skills Hub Central, he attends well and is taking leaps in his confidence.”
The report praises the school’s “expert therapeutic interventions” and “highly trained staff” who are “adept at noticing when pupils experience distress and respond skilfully to pupils’ needs”.
Inspectors found that pupils show “great respect to their peers and staff” and display “maturity and kindness throughout school”.
They also commented that pupils’ individual education, health and care (ECH) plans are “responded to well” and that the school’s curriculum “is bespoke to their needs”.
The inspection team commended the leadership and vision of Life Skills Hub, noting the senior staff have “established a vision for pupils to understand their own needs and behaviours and learn how to live successfully in modern Britain”.
Inspectors also praised the school’s approach to helping pupils build independence and prepare for life beyond school.
The report confirms the school “meets all the independent school standards in full” and that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective”.
Luke Cardwell, Director of Life Skills Hub, said: “I’m delighted with this outcome. The report really represents the hard work of the team, as well as our ethos and values. We place student wellbeing at the centre of everything we do.
“I’m confident we can now build on this towards achieving Outstanding. We’re already proactively planning towards that, because no-one here is complacent.”
Headteacher Sue Clarke said: “The key quote for me is that ‘pupils thrive and often their lives are transformed at this school’ – that sums us up, and it’s everything we want to be.
“The staff are described in the report as experts, and that’s just wonderful. Now we can expand in the knowledge we’re heading in the right direction.”
Life Skills Hub provides bespoke educational and therapeutic support for pupils aged 10-16 who have social, emotional and mental health needs or speech, language and communication needs.
Every pupil has an EHC plan and receives personalised teaching and therapy designed to help them thrive both academically and personally.
Along with at its Life Skills Hub Central campus, learning takes place at the University of Hull Sports Ground, Animal Therapy at Welton Waters and at Forest Skills, the school’s outdoor learning site at Hope Allotment, Hull.
Life Skills Hub also delivers extensive outreach support across the region.
The school’s holistic approach helps young people build confidence, resilience and practical life skills to support their next steps in education, employment or training.
Katy Langfield, Inclusion Lead, said: “We had a vision when we launched to reach those children with the biggest barriers to learning – and we’ve achieved that. It makes us all very proud.”
To read the full Ofsted report, visit www.lifeskillshub.co.uk/ofsted-inspection-reporthttps://www.lifeskillshub.co.uk/ofsted-inspection-report