The Orchard Centre (Home and Hospital PRU) Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Leaders should improve the quality of teaching, by ensuring that:
  • teachers provide all pupils with work that challenges them sufficiently leaders monitor pupils’ work more frequently and rigorously
  • pupils have ample opportunities to write at length in a range of subjects
  • the new assessment system is embedded and used consistently
  • good practice is shared more widely so that the overall quality of teaching has a greater impact on pupils’ learning.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The executive headteacher has a clear and strong vision for the school. She is well supported by skilled, enthusiastic school leaders and management board. As a result, she has established a positive and nurturing ethos for all members of the school community.
• Staff value the effective support that they receive from leaders. High-quality training provides staff with the necessary skills and knowledge to develop pupils’ learning.
• In-class support from leaders ensures that staff are able to respond effectively to pupils’ behaviour and welfare needs.
• Pupils who attend this school are provided with access to full-time education based on their social and medical needs. The school works closely with mainstream schools to offer these bespoke programmes. Pupils’ individual curriculums meet their needs well. School leaders maintain strong links with mainstream schools to ensure that when pupils return to their mainstream school transition is both effective and supportive.
• The school’s curriculum is aspirational, broad and balanced. Leaders have designed a programme of study that provides pupils with a wide range of skills. These skills address pupils’ academic and pastoral needs. For example, the outdoor learning programme focuses on building pupils’ confidence, engagement, general mood, well-being, social skills, self-regulation, self-awareness and motor skills.
• Vocational studies commence for pupils in key stage 3. Pupils have access to taster sessions of BTEC National Diploma hair and beauty, and construction and motor vehicle mechanics. This provides them with the opportunity to make informed choices for their key stage 4 courses.
• There is a wide range of extra-curricular activities which enrich the curriculum. Clubs cater to individual pupils’ needs and interests, including drum lessons, boxing and chess.
• Leaders have ensured that strong systems are in place to support pupils who have psychological trauma. The provision of a full-time counselling team offers immediate and effective support to all pupils.
• Leaders and managers have established rigorous procedures to develop the provision. Checks made on staff performance are effectively used to develop teaching, learning and assessment. Leaders do not shy away from challenging underperformance. They have high expectations for staff and pupils. However, leaders do not check pupils’ work regularly enough. The new assessment system that they have introduced is not yet used consistently by staff.
• Leaders do not share best practice across the school consistently enough. As a result, teachers’ practice does not develop as well as it could.

Governance of the school

Safeguarding

• Staff have received appropriate levels of training and have a full understanding of the action they must take if they have a concern.
• Pupils say they feel safe and know who they can talk to if they have any concerns.
• The school’s curriculum supports the safeguarding culture of the school. For example, the local community police teach pupils how to stay safe in the community and online.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers use effective questioning to secure and extend pupils’ understanding in the majority of lessons. This questioning has a positive impact on pupils’ learning.

• Most teachers demonstrate excellent subject knowledge. This is especially the case in subjects such as art, design and technology. Pupils respond well to this and it has a positive impact on their learning.
• Where teaching is most effective, teachers support pupils to develop their skills and provide appropriate feedback so that pupils understand the next steps in their learning. Teachers tell pupils clearly how they can improve their work. As a result, pupils have strategies and the confidence to make strong progress. However, staff do not use the new assessment system as consistently as they could.
• Pupils are taught how to make effective use of decoding skills in reading and as a result they increasingly read for pleasure, both at school and at home.
• Teachers are well supported by support staff who follow a rigorous system of pre-lesson planning and feedback activities. This system ensures that all staff support pupils’ learning effectively.
• Teachers use a range of visual resources, such as green smiley faces, to visually demonstrate achieved tasks to pupils.
• Teachers in the hospital provision liaise closely with multi-agency staff to ensure that teaching is appropriate to pupils’ needs. Additional time in the hospital classroom ensures that pupils are able to learn in a low-risk environment.
• On occasion, pupils are not challenged enough. As a result, they sometimes do not make as much progress as they are able. Leaders know this and are addressing it through a new assessment system.
• There are not enough opportunities for pupils to participate in extended writing activities.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• Pupils are proud to be members of the school community. During their time at the school they become confident in debating topical and sensitive subjects, showing tolerance and respect towards each other. They are able to articulate likes and dislikes about their school confidently.
• Pupils show a deep understanding of the need for rules and regulations and talked to inspectors about the positive ways in which staff manage behaviour.
• Pupils know how to stay safe in the community and online and talk convincingly about how to protect themselves. They know who to approach if they are worried about anything.
• Pupils enjoy the curriculum offer and feel that homework positively reinforces what they learn in the classroom. They enjoy learning and feel that teachers help them make progress by minimising stress during lessons.
• Transitions in and out of school are handled sensitively as communication between settings is consistent and provision is reviewed regularly.
• Collaboration between school leaders and key workers ensures that pupils are kept in education. This minimises the risk of exclusion so that pupils make confident and successful next steps.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Given pupils’ specific needs and starting points, their conduct and self-discipline is highly developed.
• Low-level disruptions in classrooms are rare and dealt with in a low key, swift and effective manner.
• The school environment is well ordered. Pupils demonstrate pride in their surroundings and ensure that the corridors and play areas are clean and litter free.
• The weekly debrief sessions for staff provide an accurate and robust system to identify and quickly address any concerns. Staff are exceptionally vigilant in corridors during less structured sessions and are quick to support where pupils have behaviour and welfare needs. As a result, pupils’ behaviour is exceptionally positive.
• Pupils enjoy the rewards that leaders provide for positive behaviours, such as gaining points to cash in for ice-skating trips or visits to the Christmas markets.
• Given their starting points, pupils’ attendance is strong and improving. Leaders promote and celebrate positive attendance effectively. Pupils are proud to have their excellent attendance recognised.
• Pupils are able to self-regulate their behaviour, choosing to isolate themselves by taking sensory breaks from their peers. When this happens, staff remotely support pupils by remaining visible and talking in a calm, reassuring manner.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils join Orchard with low starting points due to their exceptionally high levels of need. While at the school, pupils make good progress in developing literacy and numeracy skills through a range of subjects. Leaders make sure that the examination courses that pupils are entered for are challenging and manageable, given the past disruption to their learning.
• As a result of effective support, pupils make consistently positive progress in academic and vocational subjects. Many of the most able pupils in 2017 gained the qualifications they needed to progress onto level 3 courses.

• Additional support, including enrichment and intervention activities, enables pupils to catch up and effectively develop their knowledge and skills while improving their attendance.
• Careers advice is strong and commences for pupils while in key stage 3. Once in key stage 4, pupils are provided with personalised programmes and the majority of pupils leave to attend post-16 provision.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 104288 Wolverhampton 10012666 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Pupil referral unit School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Maintained pupil referral unit 5 to 16 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 62 Appropriate authority Management Board Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Tim Gallagher Mrs Joanne Wood 01902 555947 http://orchard.lawnswood.org.uk JWood@lawnswoodcampus.co.uk Date of previous inspection 5–6 June 2013

Information about this school

• Orchard Centre (Home and Hospital PRU) offers full and part-time provision for pupils with additional medical needs either on site, at home or at the local hospital. The home and hospital provision is called Nightingale Centre.
• The Orchard School is part of a federation of pupil referral units called The Lawnswood Campus. All of the providers in the federation share the same site.
• The current building is shared by a free school that is due to relocate to alternative premises in the near future.
• Pupils placed at The Orchard Centre are all on the special educational needs register at their local mainstream school or have an education, health and care plan.

• The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is average.
• The proportion of pupils who arrive or leave at different times of the school year is high.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed 11 lessons or part lessons, some jointly with leaders.
• The lead inspector met with the executive headteacher at the start of the inspection to share key lines of enquiry and discussed the overall effectiveness of the school.
• An inspector observed pupils arriving at school via transport provided by the local authority.
• Inspection activities included: meetings with leaders with responsibility for curriculum, behaviour, assessment and safeguarding; book scrutinies; parent interviews via telephone; a visit to an alternative provider; a visit to the school’s off-site hospital provision.
• The lead inspector met with members of the management board and a representative from the local authority.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of school documentation including: minutes of management board meetings; the single central record; external reviews for improvement and safeguarding; policies; child protection records; attendance information; assessment information and monitoring files. They also conducted interviews with parents, including by telephone.
• Inspectors took account of 10 responses from parents on Ofsted’s free-text service. There were insufficient responses on Parent View to generate a report. There were no responses to the staff survey or pupil surveys.

Inspection team

Kim Ellis, lead inspector Jane Edgerton

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector