Kent Health Needs Education Service Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and learning, and pupils’ outcomes across the provision, by ensuring that all teachers:
  • challenge pupils to achieve what they are capable of
  • use the information they have about what pupils can do, know and understand to inform their planning
• Strengthen leadership and management by:
  • developing the role of middle leaders so that they can improve teaching and learning in their subjects across all hubs
  • embedding the new policies and procedures to improve rigour and consistency across the provision
  • refining the systems for tracking pupils’ progress so leaders are confident to use them to evaluate the impact of provision on pupils’ outcomes
  • ensuring that teaching assistants consistently support pupils’ learning.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Some turbulence in senior leadership and periods of instability in staffing have led to an inconsistent standard of education across the provision. As a result, the quality of education that pupils receive is not consistently good across the hubs, and the tuition and outreach service.
• Leaders have accurately identified where improvement is needed across the provision. Leaders are taking swift action and are continually monitoring the progress towards reaching specific targets. However, it is unclear how these actions will result in an improvement in pupils’ outcomes.
• Leaders have developed a new assessment system to accurately track pupils’ attainment and progress. However, this is at an early stage of implementation and is not being used consistently across all hubs. As a result, leaders do not have accurate information to analyse pupils’ progress across the provision.
• The majority of subject leaders are new to post. They have carried out a number of monitoring activities to assess the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects. However, due to the short amount of time they have been in post, their information about strengths and weaknesses has yet to be used to improve teaching and learning.
• The new executive headteacher and the heads of school have worked hard to develop a range of policies and procedures to bring rigour and consistency across the hubs. This is beginning to have an impact across most hubs.
• Leaders are honest about the quality of education, and their evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the provision is accurate. The school is led by a relatively inexperienced leadership team. However, leaders are clear about what needs to be done and have the capacity to achieve this quickly.
• An appropriate range of subjects are taught across the provision. Pupils benefit from the increased support they receive in the small-class groups. Pupils are complimentary about the curriculum and feel that it supports them well to catch up, filling gaps as a result of them being out of education.
• Pupils show respect for, and acknowledge the differences between, various faiths and openly discuss these with each other. During the inspection, inspectors observed pupils working together on the various explanations that different religions and belief systems have to explain creation. Pupils carried this out respectfully and considered the views of others as they formed their own opinions.
• The leadership and organisation of pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is effective. Staff have a good understanding of pupils’ needs and every effort is made to reduce their barriers to learning. As a result, pupils have the confidence and resilience to become successful learners.
• The effective promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is evident in each hub’s environment. Pupils are calm and considerate of each other and mix well together. Alongside the enrichment curriculum, assemblies contribute well to pupils’ understanding of fundamental British values.
• Initially, the local authority did not respond quickly enough to issues within the provision. Several management restructures also impeded the rate of progress necessary. However, more recently, support from the local authority has improved, and now plays a pivotal role in moving the provision forward in its journey of improvement.

Governance of the school

• Historically, the management committee did not provide the necessary challenge to leaders about the impact of the school’s work on pupils’ progress. The improvements which were needed across the provision were not actioned quickly enough. As a result, the standard of education has declined.
• Minutes of the management committee’s meetings demonstrate that changes in the membership of the committee are having a positive impact on the provision. Members are now providing an element of challenge to leaders and seeking external validation of leaders’ judgements. However, it is too soon to see the impact of this on pupils’ outcomes.
• Members of the management committee offer a good level of expertise to the school. They are committed to ensuring that the provision improves and that pupils receive a high standard of education.
• The management committee carries out its responsibilities to safeguard pupils effectively. A member has been nominated to oversee and monitor safeguarding matters. Early indications show that this is beginning to impact positively by improving the provision for pupils’ welfare.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders have ensured that all safeguarding policies and procedures are fit for purpose.
• The designated safeguarding lead, who is based at the Oakfield site, works effectively with other professionals, external agencies and pupils’ home schools. Excellent support is offered to the most vulnerable pupils during their time at the provision.
• A range of safeguarding training for staff ensures that they are aware of their responsibilities to keep pupils safe and protect them from harm. As a result, staff are aware of the actions to take should they have any concerns about a pupil’s safety.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching and learning requires improvement because it is inconsistent across the provision. At the Oakfield, Ebbsfleet, Ashford and Southborough hubs teaching is strong and pupils enjoy their learning because it is tailored to meet their individual needs. However, at the Canterbury and Leybourne hubs, teaching and learning are weaker because not all pupils receive the educational support they require.
• Not all teachers consistently use the school’s assessment information to plan lessons that precisely match pupils’ starting points. Where this is the case, pupils do not receive the necessary challenge or support to enable them to make rapid progress in their learning.
• A number of staff changes, since the provision opened, has led to some pupils receiving inconsistent teaching within subjects. As a result, not all pupils have made the progress that they are capable of across the curriculum.
• There is some highly effective teaching across the provision. At the Oakfield hub, teachers’ planning is precise in meeting the needs of pupils, many of whom have gaps in their knowledge and understanding as a result of their mental health needs. The precise planning and high-quality teaching enable pupils to catch up quickly.
• Teachers’ subject knowledge is strong. For example, at the Ebbsfleet hub, teachers use their knowledge to question pupils effectively, deepening pupils’ understanding and strengthening skills, particularly in mathematics.
• Relationships between staff and pupils across the provision are strong. Pupils feel cared for and listened to. They are confident to answer questions and to ask for help. There is a strong nurturing culture across the hubs which enables pupils to feel safe and secure. This establishes the foundations for good learning.
• Teaching assistants encourage pupils to learn and engage with their work. They are highly skilled at proactively managing pupils’ behaviour. Pupils listen and respond well to their instructions. However, not all teaching assistants are consistently effective in supporting pupils’ learning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The provision’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are happy to attend their hubs and feel safe and secure. Should pupils have concerns or worries, they are confident to speak about these with staff.
• Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe while online. They were able to explain to inspectors how they apply what they have learned about this topic when using mobile phones and social media.
• Pupils value the friendships they make while attending the provision. Staff support them to develop their social skills and maintain these friendships. Pupils state that bullying does not happen in the hubs.
• All pupils benefit from the range of enrichment opportunities that the provision offers. Gaps in pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding are identified by staff and developed through a well-thought-out programme of activities. Consequently, pupils make strong gains in their understanding of the world around them.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Across all hubs, pupils’ conduct during the course of the inspection was consistently good. Records of behaviour incidents, provided by leaders, suggest that this is typical.
• Pupils feel that behaviour within the hubs is good and that any potentially unkind behaviour is dealt with effectively by staff before it escalates.
• Staff are successful in improving pupils’ behaviour, particularly for those pupils who have complex behavioural and/or mental health needs. Both the frequency and/or intensity of pupils’ behaviour reduces during their time at the provision.
• Although pupils’ attendance is below the national average for similar provision, it is improving. A number of pupils have complex health needs which involve them being absent for prolonged periods. Leaders provide support to help them reintegrate back into their hub. Parents and carers spoken to during the inspection expressed their appreciation of this.
• Leaders work hard to ensure that all pupils’ attendance is good. Staff liaise regularly with pupils’ home schools and parents to ensure that pupils are safe when absent. Because of this work, there are noticeable improvements in the attendance of pupils who previously had high levels of absence.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Outcomes require improvement because leaders do not accurately know how well pupils are doing across the provision or over time.
• Pupils do not make consistently good progress across the provision. The achievement of pupils within different subjects varies.
• The new leadership team has created an assessment system that is effective where it is used consistently. However, it has not been fully applied by staff across the provision. Consequently, leaders do not have confidence in the accuracy of current assessment information and are unable to identify how well pupils are performing across all hubs and the tuition service.
• At the Oakfield, Ebbsfleet and Ashford hubs, the assessment system is used well by staff and the information is analysed and evaluated by leaders. Teachers on these sites use this assessment information constantly to ensure that they are meeting pupils’ needs. The progress evident in pupils’ work confirms that this is the case.
• Pupils’ work over time shows that most pupils make progress in their learning in English and mathematics. After an initial period of transition, most pupils are starting to make the progress required to fill the gaps in their skills, knowledge and understanding within these subjects.
• Pupils join the provision with significant gaps in their knowledge and understanding across a range of subjects. Their underlying health needs have resulted in them missing lengthy periods of schooling. For some pupils, their prior experience of education has often been negative. Staff successfully address pupils’ personal, social and emotional needs during their time at the provision, enabling pupils to better access learning.
• The provision meets the needs of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Leaders have been quick to recognise that a number of pupils have specific needs that have not been identified by their previous schools, and have now put in place appropriate support.
• The provision provides tailored careers support for individual pupils across all hubs. This support builds on the knowledge that staff have about pupils’ particular needs and aspirations. Pupils are supported to make choices that will enable them to reach their goals. Because of this, when they leave the provision, most pupils go on to sustained further education, training or employment.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 135432 Kent 10046549 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Alternative provision School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Pupil referral unit 4 to 18 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 141 Appropriate authority The local authority Chair Executive Headteacher Sue Dunn Mark Goode Telephone number 01732 875694 Website Email address www.khnes.kent.sch.uk/ m.goode@khnes.kent.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 22–23 October 2014

Information about this school

• Kent Health Needs Education Service opened in September 2015. It was formed when two alternative provisions within Kent merged with the predecessor school, Oakfields.
• The provision is currently operating across six hubs: Leybourne, Ebbsfleet, Ashford, Canterbury, Southborough and Oakfields. It also offers a tuition and outreach service.
• The Oakfields hub provides education for 16 pupils who have been admitted to the Kent and Medway Adolescent Unit (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service Tier 4) at Woodlands House, which is a hospital treating young people with a variety of mental health conditions. The health partner is the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM).
• The provision has undergone significant restructuring since it opened in 2015. There have been several changes of staff since the last inspection, including at senior leadership level. The new executive headteacher started in September 2017.
• The percentage of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is higher than the national average. The majority of pupils have long-term medical and/or mental health needs.
• All pupils join the provision part way through their education.
• Most pupils are of White British heritage.
• The provision does not currently use any other alternative provision.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited all the hubs within Kent Health Needs Education Service during the inspection to observe teaching and learning. The majority of these visits were carried out jointly with senior leaders.
• When visiting classrooms, inspectors observed the learning that was taking place, but focused particularly on gathering evidence about what teaching and learning are typically like. This included scrutinising the work in pupils’ books and on display, and talking with pupils about their learning.
• Inspectors also took the school’s assessments of pupils’ progress into account, and considered leaders’ and external visitors’ evaluations of the quality of teaching over time.
• Inspectors met formally and informally with a wide range of people to gather further evidence. This included pupils, staff, school leaders, a representative of the management committee and with the local authority’s school improvement adviser. The lead inspector reviewed a wide range of the school’s documentation and records, including particular scrutiny of those relating to safeguarding.
• Inspectors took account of the two responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View. Views from parents, staff and pupils were also gathered informally and formally throughout the inspection and considered alongside this evidence.

Inspection team

Emma Sanderson, lead inspector Sue Cox Julie Sackett Andrew Hogarth

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector