STAFF recruitment continues to be ‘challenging’ at the Coombe House special school near Shaftesbury – after a shaky start when it opened last year.

A new head took up the post at the end of January and a new deputy head has been signed up – but is not expected to start work until June.

A report to Dorset councillors notes: “Recruitment continues to be challenging with a combination of factors, including those impacting the wider economy and the teaching profession as a whole, with some legacy reputational issues from the school’s initial months.”

The report adds that despite the problems: “morale, engagement, retention and sickness/general absence have all improved as the new leadership structure has become more established.”

It adds: “A ‘People Strategy’ is being developed to overcome these barriers and to ensure the School is not limited in its ambitions to grow by its ability to recruit and retain staff.”

Meanwhile a follow-on from an Ofsted inspection visit in October has noted that some of the required Independent School Standards have not been met with an action plan submitted to the inspectors by the school in January.

Ofsted has said that it will re-inspect the school again to assess progress against that plan “at an appropriate point” with another full inspection expected by May 2023, a year after the school was first registered.

Councillors will also be told that a new business plan for the “Centre of Excellence” site is being prepared and is expected to be considered in June. This is expected to outline a slower growth rate than originally planned – with a knock-on effect on finances.

The new plan is likely to include proposals for limited community use of the site, provision for day and residential short breaks, residential care and the use of some of the facilities for training and conferencing.

When the school re-opened in mid-September for the current academic year it had 36 pupils on the roll – compared to 47 in the previous term when it first opened.

Dorset Council had committed to 100 pupils as part of its plan for the site which it bought for around £10million after the former St Mary’s private school closed. The current report does not say how many pupils are currently attending.

Sixteen pupils who briefly attended the school in spring 2022 have since had to be found places elsewhere after it was decided they should not return to the campus.

Some parents took to social media last year to claim the large school environment was not suitable for every child and complained that the site was not fully ready when it opened with building work still taking place.

Dorset Council said that the time that the first few weeks had been “bumpy” which led to some staff, including senior roles, leaving just weeks after being recruited.