Independent school rated as 'inadequate' by Ofsted inspectors is to shut down

Progress Schools has confirmed that the Lilford Centre in Tyldesley will shut at the end of the current academic year.

The school is based at the former Shakerley Primary School site on Lancaster Avenue and charges nearly £23,000 a year for children to attend.

It has 11 pupils aged nine to 16 with special educational needs and/or disabilities, who have previously experienced periods of disrupted learning. Most pupils have social, emotional or mental health difficulties.

The school has been criticised by education inspectors following several visits, with Ofsted’s most recent report, published in February, stating it did not meet independent school standards.

Charlotte Barton, managing director of Progress Schools, said: “We are currently supporting students and their families as they work with Wigan Council on a suitable placement for September 2024.

"Progress Schools and Wigan Council have mutually agreed to cease the commissioned agreement of the current school provision, allowing Progress Schools to focus on other school projects.”

The Lilford Centre was rated as “inadequate” in a full inspection by Ofsted in 2022, when it was slammed over concerns about pupils’ safety and staff delivering “poor lessons outside their expertise”.

The school submitted an action plan in December 2022, but it was rejected by the Department of Education (DfE) because it did not provide "sufficient assurance that the proprietor body would resolve the issues identified”.

A progress monitoring inspection at the school in April 2023 revealed the proprietors had not acted quickly enough to address the weaknesses identified in the curriculum.

A further action plan submitted in July 2023 was also rejected by the DfE.

At the latest monitoring inspection, the inspector found that curriculum development “remains incomplete in a number of subjects”.

The report states: “The school has failed to ensure that the curriculum provides staff with enough information about the most appropriate ways to teach lessons.

"Pupils whose attendance is poor receive little or no support to ensure that they learn the curriculum while at home.

"Pupils at the early stage of reading do not receive the support that they need to ensure their progress through the reading curriculum.”