Pupils 'not safe' at Royton school, DfE warns, as Ofsted safeguarding concerns trigger closure

A Royton school has closed following serious safeguarding concerns, with the Department for Education (DfE) warning families that children are “not safe at the school”.

Supreme Start, based in Royton, voluntarily suspended operations last week. The closure followed intervention by Ofsted, Rochdale Council and the DfE. It has left 12 children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), many with severe learning difficulties, without a school place or formal investigation process since they were sent home earlier this week.

Parents who spoke with Roch Valley Radio anonymously said they were “deeply disappointed” by the lack of communication from the school and disruption to care.

“We’ve had no answers,” one parent said. “It’s distressing for our children and for us as families. These kids deserve stability.”

Another added: “We are grateful Rochdale Council has stepped in to try and find new school places and kept us up to date each day. It’s been a lifeline in a very difficult situation.”

In a formal letter issued to families, the Department for Education stated:

As you will be aware, an inspection was carried out of Supreme Start Ltd ("the School"), between 27-29 January 2026 by inspectors from Ofsted. We have received advice from Ofsted relating to that inspection.

The letter continues by saying;

As a result of that advice, it appears to us (amongst other things) that pupils are not safe at the School. Ofsted have reported that there is a risk of harm to children because there is not a robust and vigilant culture of safeguarding at the School.

For example, Ofsted have reported the following:
a. Pupils are at continual risk of physical and emotional harm because staff have weak skills or insufficient expertise to cater for the complex emotional and behavioural needs of pupils.
b. Staff do not have a consistent understanding of the School's new behaviours policy.
c. Staff rely heavily on various forms of restrictive physical intervention to deal with escalating behaviours and lack preventative strategies. 
d. The frequency with which these physical interventions are used, is excessive. It puts pupils under unnecessary emotional distress and negatively impacts their wellbeing. It also sometimes leads to pupils to cause physical harm to themselves.
e. Although premises are suitably kept, the way in which the school currently utilises the building is unsafe.
f. Classrooms are not fit for purpose in catering for the primary-aged pupils with complex social, emotional and mental health needs, and/or autism spectrum disorder. They are too small to suit these pupils' SENDs and their associated sensory and physical needs. Consequently, pupils do not have sufficient space to move around and to be supported when they become distressed and over-stimulated, which is a common occurrence given their primary SEND needs.
g. Quite often, this further escalates pupils' emotional state and triggers more significant behaviours that put pupils and staff at risk of unnecessary harm.
h. You, as the proprietor demonstrate a pattern of weak, passive oversight of compliance with various independent school standards over time. You have demonstrated limited understanding of how to carry out your responsibilities in a systematic way, for example, numerous policies are not fit for purpose nor wholly reflective of the School's structures and expected practices.

Ofsted's findings reflect a worrying absence of a professional curiosity and suggest that the safeguarding culture within the School is extremely weak and not fit for purpose.

The letter continues.

A spokesperson for Rochdale Borough Council said to Roch Valley Radio in a statement:

The findings by Ofsted are extremely disappointing and we fully support the action that has been taken since. We are now working closely with the children and the families affected by this to support them in finding alternative education arrangements and we will be making contact with the school for a formal explanation of the circumstances.

Despite this, the Supreme Start school’s director, Aneela Sattar, has rejected claims of confirmed findings. In an email to Roch Valley Radio, she said:

No findings of ‘massive safeguarding concerns’ have been made or concluded. Any regulatory engagement with the local authority, DfE or Ofsted is ongoing and confidential. 

Supreme Start has not confirmed whether it plans to reopen. The full Ofsted report has yet to be published.