The Anderson School caters for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities related to autism spectrum disorder, including pathological demand avoidance. All pupils have education, health and care plans and are placed by local authorities. The school is based in new, purpose-built buildings in Chigwell, Essex. The numbers on the school roll have decreased since the inspection in October 2019, from 57 to 48 pupils. The school is registered for pupils between 11 and 19 years. Currently, there is no sixth-form provision. Since March 2019, the proprietorial body appointed a director and assistant director of education to make regular visits to monitor the school’s work. There have been changes in senior leadership since the emergency inspection in October 2019. At the time of this inspection, there was an acting headteacher in place. A newly established governing body was set up in September 2019. The proprietor is the National Autistic Society (NAS). The NAS is the proprietor of six other independent schools and special free schools that are registered with the Department for Education (DfE), as well as a school in Scotland. The school has ceased taking admissions. Some local authorities have stopped referring pupils to the school. The school’s inspection history: – in May 2017, the DfE commissioned Ofsted to conduct a pre-registration inspection. All of the independent school standards were deemed likely to be met – the school’s first standard inspection was conducted in May 2018. The school’s overall effectiveness was judged as requires improvement and two independent school standards were not met. The unmet standards related to teaching, and leadership and management – the school submitted an action plan to the DfE about how it was going to address the unmet standards. This plan was deemed not to be acceptable on 31 July 2018 – the school resubmitted an action plan to Ofsted in December 2018. This plan was deemed acceptable – the school received an emergency inspection in October 2019, focusing on part 3 to part 8 of the independent school standards. The school did not meet all of the standards checked – following the emergency inspection, the school submitted an action plan to the DfE about how it was going to address the unmet standards. This plan was deemed not to be acceptable on 3 January 2020.