‘Outstanding’ OFSTED rating celebrates exceptional achievements at highflying Meath School
Meath School – a beacon of specialised education and residential care in Surrey – has been awarded an ‘Outstanding’ rating by OFSTED for the third year in a row.
The impressive achievement marks a continued practise of excellence as the school consistently exceeds standards in providing transformative experiences for children with complex speech and language challenges.
Meath School – run by charity Speech and Language UK – currently serves 75 children aged five to 11 years-old and now has outstanding ratings for its residential and non-residential programmes.
The school’s unique integrated approach combines education with speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and a residential programme where up to 15 children can engage in enriching overnight stays, fostering independence and social skills.
The OFSTED report highlighted several key areas of success in its residential programme:
- Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: Children at Meath School are making significant strides in their personal development, achieving greater independence and actively engaging in learning thanks to the dedicated support of highly skilled staff.
- Protection and safety: The school has established a safe environment where children are helped and feel secure.
- Leadership and management: The leadership at Meath School is described as highly aspirational, focusing on continual improvement and maintaining a culture of high aspirations that permeates throughout the staff.
Parents and families have expressed appreciation for the school’s impact, noting remarkable improvements in their children’s lives and the sense of community and belonging that Meath fosters.
The residential programme was praised for its role in helping children develop essential social skills and build lasting friendships.
The effectiveness of the school’s specialised tailored programmes that address each child’s individual health needs and which are overseen by an expert team of therapists, was also commended.
Majella Delaney, Principal of Meath School, said:
“It is thanks to the staff, pupils and parents who make up the Meath School family that Meath can celebrate this exceptional achievement. I am immensely proud of them all. To achieve this high recognition is down to their outstanding hard work, talent and commitment.
“The ‘outstanding’ rating demonstrates how our personalised approach ensures that all children not only meet but exceed their developmental goals.”
Jane Harris, Chief Executive of Speech and Language UK, said:
“Meath School is a template for excellence in specialised education and residential care, proving how high aspirations and dedicated support can transform young lives.
Speech, language and communication skills are the bedrock of learning, social interaction, and emotional well-being. The staff and pupils have set the benchmark required to help those children with complex speech and language challenges and who need specialised support.”
The highest Ofsted ranking is the second cause of celebration for the school in Ottershaw, Chertsey. It was last month awarded Gold by UNICEF UK’s Rights Respecting Schools programme for its exceptional commitment to promoting and embedding children’s rights at all levels of its community.
Notes to Editor:
For more information about Meath School and its programmes, please visit http://www.meathschool.org.uk or contact Peter Simpson, Media and Publicity Manager, Speech and Language UK. Email: peter.simpson@speechandlanguage.org.uk
Phone: 0207 843 2557 Mobile: 07803 051 848
About Meath School
Meath School helps children aged 5 – 11 with complex speech and language challenges build the foundations they need to thrive. We have been rated Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ since 2007. The school is part of Speech and Language UK, whose mission is to give children and young people the skills they need so they are not left behind, waiting to be understood.
About Speech and Language UK
For at least 1.9 million children in the UK, learning to talk and understand words feels like an impossible hurdle. We work to give every child the skills they need to face the future with confidence. We design innovative tools and training for thousands of nursery assistants and teachers to use in their classrooms. We run two special schools for children with complex speech and language challenges, Dawn House in Nottinghamshire and Meath in Surrey. We give families the confidence and skills to help their children. And we put pressure on politicians to prioritise help for speech and language challenges.
We demand a country in which every child with challenges in talking and understanding words has the skills they need to face the future with confidence. Together we can achieve it.
