School report
Inspection of Vranch House School
Pinhoe Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 8AD
Inspection dates:
1 to 3 July 2025

What is it like to attend this school?

Vranch House is an inspiring place to learn, where pupils thrive. Pupils achieve
physical, social and academic milestones that surpass even their parents’ and carers’
expectations. The school works innovatively with many external agencies to provide
pupils with the very best medical and technological support. This helps pupils realise
their full academic potential. The partnership between the educational and therapy
offer is seamless. This means pupils learn to walk, communicate in their own way,
learn and make exceptional progress from their starting points.
Because pupils’ needs are so well met, their behaviour is impeccable and they feel
safe. Staff anticipate pupils’ needs and provide support when they need it. Pupils are
tolerant and respectful when staff provide medical support. They enjoy showing off
their learning to visitors. Pupils are a delight to interact with.
Pupils cherish the many opportunities they get to discover new talents and interests.
They are empowered to have a voice by contributing to the ‘Vranch House
magazine’. Pupils decided to write ‘We have disabilities, but they don’t define us’,
which encapsulates the vision and ambition of this school. They see the tangible
impact of their actions. For example, pupils work with local department stores to
myth-bust on disabilities and increase disabled access.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has created an exceptionally well designed and thoughtful curriculum,
called the ‘Vranch Individual Education and Wellbeing’ (VIEW) curriculum. This is
bespoke to each child. All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities
and an education, health and care (EHC) plan. Pupils’ school-specific plans contain
measurable and timely targets. The curriculum is successfully adapted to meet their
needs. The school has carefully considered the most important knowledge each
pupil needs to learn, both academically and therapeutically, for their next stage. As a
result, pupils make great strides. For example, pupils learn to make sounds,
progressing to signing, symbols and then their specialist devices to communicate.
Children in early years learn to recognise numbers and how to add these together.
Older pupils engage in a range of qualifications, often pursuing their interests, for
example in video games. The outcomes pupils achieve are impressive, with most
achieving these qualifications.

The school keeps up to date with the latest research and methods to support its
pupils. Staff are experts in the pupils they serve and the support they provide.
Teachers across the school use strategies to help pupils to learn tremendously well.
For example, they clearly articulate new vocabulary and repeat this so that pupils
can hear it several times. They offer carefully considered choices for pupils in all
areas of learning, so that pupils can use their devices to interact with learning. This
means all pupils can be fully involved.

‘Communication and cognition’ are at the heart of the VIEW curriculum. Pupils learn
to read and interact with stories in line with their bespoke curricula. The specific
sounds and letters pupils need to learn are deliberately and progressively planned
and sequenced. The school is highly ambitious, with some pupils reading chapter
books, listening to audio books and some entering creative writing competitions with
their work being published in magazines. Pupils exclaim with delight when it is time
to read or interact with a book. Pupils who learn phonics read books that match the
sounds they are confident in. This further consolidates pupils’ passion for reading.

Pupils’ behaviour is remarkable. They intrinsically know how to behave because staff
have taught them explicitly what is expected from the moment they arrive at the
school. Consequently, an aura of calmness pervades the school. Attentive staff are
particularly attuned to when pupils are in pain, offering alternative suggestions.
Pupils’ pastoral needs are superbly met so that they can focus on their learning.
Consequently, pupils have extremely high engagement in their learning, often with
sustained concentration. The school skilfully uses music as a tool to bring pupils
together. For example, pupils joyfully sing their whole school song with the powerful
lyrics ‘I’ll put my trust in you, that’s what friends do.’ This helps pupils understand
positive and healthy relationships. The school is tenacious in its approach to tackling
non-attendance. Consequently, pupils’ attendance is excellent.

The praiseworthy wider offer beyond the academic is supporting pupils to be
immensely well prepared for life beyond Vranch House. Pupils are empowered to
contribute to society and be active citizens. They write reviews about local
accessible places so that members of the public can benefit. The school places no
limits on pupils. For example, where possible, they engage in appropriately adapted
work experience. Pupils learn about other cultures through expression. For example,
they created beautiful Japanese cherry blossom artwork. Leaders have been
innovative in the way that they have installed traffic lights in the playground so that
pupils can repeatedly practise crossing the road safely. This has meant pupils have
learned this essential life skill. This is exemplary and worthy of being shared. The
school works tirelessly to forge meaningful partnerships with agencies and other
schools to ensure a seamless transition for pupils.

The proprietor understands their statutory duties well and has recruited an aweinspiring
staff team. Leaders are rigorously held to account for the quality of
education. This ensures the school consistently meets the independent school
standards, including schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.
Those responsible for governance know the school’s strengths and areas they
continue to refine. Inspirational leadership at all levels has guided this school to
success. They continually strive for more, seeing the curriculum as ever evolving.
They lead the school with integrity and modesty, seeking out new ideas at every
opportunity. Parents, the local authority and the virtual school are overwhelmingly
positive about the school. Staff work together in harmony to transform the lives of
the pupils of Vranch House.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

How can I feed back my views?

You can use Ofsted Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school,
or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted
Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as
part of their inspection.

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a
school.

School details

​

• Unique reference number 113571

• DfE registration number 878/6007

• Local authority Devon

• Inspection number 10391708

• Type of school Other Independent Special School

• School category Independent School

• Age range of pupils 2 to 19

• Gender of pupils Mixed

• Number of pupils on the school roll 59

• Number of part-time pupils 5

• Proprietor Vranch House Ltd

• Chair Julia Tolman-May

• CEO Kate Moss

• Headteacher Kayleigh Price

• Susanna Mitchell (Head of therapies)

• Annual fees (day pupils) £29,953 to £40,727

• Telephone number 01392 468333

• Website www.vranchhouse.org

• Email address mail@vranchhouse.org

Information about this school

◼ Ofsted conducted a standard inspection of the school in November 2022, and theschool was judged to be outstanding. The school met all the standards at this inspection.
◼ The current headteacher took up post in April 2023. A head of therapies was alsoappointed in April 2023. Both leaders are overseen by a chief executive officer (CEO).
◼ Vranch House School is an independent school for pupils aged 2 to 19. Pupils arereferred to the school by their local authority.
◼ All pupils have an EHC plan. All pupils have severe communication difficultiesalongside complex medical needs.
◼ The school provides a range of therapies, including physiotherapy, occupationaltherapy, hydrotherapy, hippotherapy, speech and language therapy and musictherapy.
◼ The school offers therapeutic outpatient care across the local authority.
◼ The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education
and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection is to advise the Secretary of State
for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an
independent school.
The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set
out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations
2014.

◼ Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’seducation provision.
◼ Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.
◼ Inspectors met with the headteacher and members of the leadership team including the CEO.
◼ The lead inspector held discussions with governors and the proprietor, including the chair.
◼ Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, physical development and personal, social and health education. For each deep dive, inspectorsdiscussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.
◼The lead inspector listened to pupils read to a familiar adult.
◼To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.
◼Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school, including at social times.
◼Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses. Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for school staff. Inspectors also met with staff throughout the inspection to gather their views. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.

Inspection team

Lakmini Harkus, lead inspector             His Majesty’s Inspector
Tracy Hannon                                        Ofsted Inspector