Sheffield Inclusion Centre Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of leadership and management and accelerate pupils’ progress by:
  • increasing the effectiveness of the checks carried out on the quality of teaching and learning delivered within the 32 alternative providers which the school currently uses
  • developing a more effective system to map and record the curriculum offered to individual pupils in order to avoid duplication of planned work
  • improving the current system for measuring the progress made by pupils so that the progress of groups such as the most able can be more easily checked increasing the role the management committee plays in offering support and challenge to senior leaders in order to increase the pace of improvement across the school.
• Improve the quality of teaching and learning for pupils in key stages 3 and 4 by:
  • ensuring that staff have a clear focus on promoting academic achievement across the provision
  • ensuring that staff across the provision have a more clear understanding of how to assess the quality of work completed by pupils
  • making sure that teaching assistants’ time is more consistently used to support pupils’ learning.
• Accelerate the progress pupils make, particularly in key stages 3 and 4, by:
  • making sure that work set more appropriately matches the needs of pupils and that staff have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve in the time available
  • ensuring that work set for the most able pupils is sufficiently challenging and enables them to make the progress of which they are capable.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• The executive headteacher and leadership team are aware of the changes which are needed to move the school forward. However, they have been hampered in their endeavours to bring about these changes by the rapid increase in pupil numbers over a short period of time, due to an increase in the numbers of pupils being permanently excluded from schools across the city in key stages 3 and 4.
• The increased use of alternative provision has ensured that all pupils who join the school receive a prompt and timely offer of education. However, the quality of provision is not consistently good. School data show that pupils’ progress this year has slowed as a result.
• School leaders, alongside representatives from the local authority, carry out checks on the provision offered by alternative providers. However, although regular safeguarding checks are carried out, checks on the quality of provision are undertaken on an annual basis and do not look sufficiently closely at the academic progress made by pupils who attend. As a result, work planned for pupils does not always meet their needs sufficiently accurately.
• Pupils sometimes access more than two providers and do not always access on-site school provision for a wide variety of reasons, including the personal safety of the pupil. Where this happens, academic subjects such as English and mathematics are undertaken within the alternative provision. Where a pupil attends alternative provision with two or three providers, they may receive lessons in English and mathematics from more than one provider. Currently, there is no system in place to check the overall coverage within a subject. Although this only affects a small number of pupils, it can lead to these pupils repeating work or not covering the relevant sections for external examinations.
• Since the last inspection, the deputy headteacher has developed a system for tracking pupils’ progress across the school. Staff within alternative provision contribute to this system and report on pupils’ progress on a half-termly basis. This enables leaders to track pupils’ progress over time. However, the system does not yet give leaders an accurate view of the progress of all groups of pupils, for example the most able and those who have attended the school for the longest period of time. As a result, the most able pupils sometimes do not make as much progress as they could.
• Senior leaders have an accurate view of the strengths and weaknesses within the provision. This was clearly reflected in the self-evaluation documentation provided. The measured approach taken by the executive headteacher is reflected in the clear and effective targets for improvement that the school has set itself.
• Other members of the leadership team, under the guidance of the executive headteacher, have brought about much change since the previous inspection. For example, the number of serious incidents of difficult behaviour requiring pupils to be restrained has reduced considerably since the last inspection. The atmosphere within the school site is calm and pupils in most classes demonstrate good attitudes to learning.
• An effective system of performance management has been introduced for all staff. Targets link very closely to areas identified on the school improvement plan. This enables senior leaders to directly reward staff for their contribution to bringing about improvement in school.
• Senior leaders have rightly recognised the importance of ensuring that pupils receive early help in managing difficult behaviour in school. The success of the ‘Bumble Bee’ service, which supports both schools and primary-aged pupils who are at risk of exclusion, has been praised by both schools and health professionals. The effectiveness of this service in supporting both pupils and staff in schools is reflected in the successful reintegration to their home school of 95% of pupils who attend.
• Pupils who attend are offered a bespoke and personalised curriculum. This is under constant review by senior leaders who recognise that a broader range of academic options are needed in order to ensure the best outcomes for pupils.
• School leaders receive pupil premium funding for disadvantaged pupils. They use it to support a wide range of activities and interventions to offer support for disadvantaged pupils. School data show that this group make similar progress to others in the school but less progress than others nationally.
• The small amount of funding school receives is used appropriately to improve the behaviour and meet the social and emotional needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This can clearly be seen in the improvement in this group of pupils’ behaviour for learning.
• Pupils are offered a diverse range of activities which enrich their curriculum experiences and broaden their horizons. Sporting and outdoor activities, such as climbing, walking, cricket and engagement with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, enable pupils to develop spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding.

Governance

• A new management committee has recently been appointed after the resignation of all members of the previous committee in December 2016.
• At the time of the inspection, the new committee had only been in place for eight weeks. During this time, they had begun to develop an understanding of the complex nature of the school.
• The appointment of both a primary and secondary headteacher to the committee has contributed well to the skills of other members who have knowledge and understanding over a broad selection of services.
• They have started to form a vision for the future of the school and have already set about appointing a permanent headteacher. However, because they are new to their roles, it is not possible to evaluate the effectiveness of the quality of the support and challenge they will offer to current senior leaders to bring about improvement.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Safeguarding pupils is a strength of the school. Senior leaders have worked very closely with staff who work in alternative provision and have ensured that all staff have received recent and relevant training in line with current legislation.
• Staff who work in all areas are knowledgeable and follow a strict set of protocols when recording incidents. School leaders regularly make unannounced visits to alternative providers and check on safeguarding systems and processes.
• Record-keeping is effective and all concerns are followed up diligently by senior leaders.
• Leaders work very closely with a range of different organisations including the police, social services and other healthcare professionals. This effective sharing of information contributes directly to keeping pupils safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching and learning across the school is not yet consistently good because staff do not yet have a sufficiently clear focus on ensuring that pupils make as much academic progress as possible in the time available. They do clearly recognise the high level of need many pupils have, and work successfully to engage them in learning and improve their behaviour. However, they then do not always plan work which offers pupils sufficient challenge in order to make good and better progress, particularly in key stages 3 and 4. Work in pupils’ books demonstrates this clearly.
• Staff directly employed by the school have received recent and relevant training on how to assess the quality of pupils’ work. Staff in other areas have not yet received this training. As a result, there is inconsistency in the way pupils’ work and levels of progress are measured in some areas of the provision. This leads to slower progress for some pupils. Senior leaders are planning to deliver this training to all staff who work with pupils but as yet this has not taken place.
• Teaching assistants are skilled at supporting pupils’ behaviour both inside and outside lessons. Staff in the alternative provision are similarly skilled. However, in some lessons, where pupils’ behaviour for learning is appropriate, staff appear to take more of a back seat and do not actively support pupils’ learning needs. When this happens, pupils sometimes make less progress than they should.
• Staff working in some areas of alternative provision have a clear focus on combining pupils’ academic progress with their specific area of expertise. For example, pupils at one provider visited during the inspection learn the skills of repairing and rebuilding bicycles. Some go on to gain an apprenticeship in this area. Alongside this, they also all achieve mathematics and English qualifications. Close links are made between the practical elements of their work training and academic subjects. For example, they measure and assess bicycle frames and make a decision on whether repairing and rejuvenating a bike will give sufficient profit to justify the work input.
• The majority of staff are knowledgeable particularly within their subject areas. This enables older pupils to develop their skills and knowledge in a range of different areas. For example, pupils attending one alternative provider observed by the inspection team learn how to conserve the environment, understand the biology and habitats of British wildlife, and learn to make fishing flies. In another, they learn how to design logos and signs using a range of computer programmes. These diverse opportunities enable older pupils to start to develop their ideas and ambitions for the future.
• The quality of teaching and learning for pupils in key stages 1 and 2 is good. Staff recognise the needs of these pupils and ensure that work set matches their needs closely. Primary pupils spoken to during the inspection expressed their pleasure at ‘feeling understood’ and are especially proud of the gains they have made in learning to read.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Nearly all pupils who arrive at the school have been permanently excluded from school. Many have been involved with drugs and crime and are known to the criminal justice system. A small number have recently returned from periods in secure units. Despite their often troublesome backgrounds, they settle into the caring and nurturing atmosphere of the school and begin, sometimes for the first time, to enjoy learning.
• Pupils’ welfare and personal development is at the centre of all that the school does. Recent training in key stage 2 has changed the approach staff have to managing pupils’ behaviour. This more nurturing approach has improved pupils’ behaviour and personal development.
• Pupils spoken to told the inspection team that they feel secure in school because staff keep them safe. Younger pupils were also very keen to talk about how much progress they have made since coming to the school. Comments such as ‘I can do joined up writing now. I couldn’t before’ and ‘I know my times tables now’ epitomise the pleasure and pride pupils feel in their work.
• Pupils spoken to are clear about the different forms bullying can take. They demonstrated good knowledge of the dangers of online cyber bullying and sensitively described the effect homophobic bullying can have on growing teenagers. They are also clear that bullying of any sort is a rare occurrence in school because pupils ‘understand each other’.
• Pupils feel that school prepares them well for transfer to the next phase in their education or the workplace. Extra sessions with the careers officers have been put in place this year for key stage 4 pupils, many of whom are forming a clear understanding of the next steps available to them. The success of this can be seen in the increase in numbers of pupils remaining in education, training or employment six months after leaving school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Incidents of difficult behaviour have significantly reduced across the school since the previous inspection. Use of physical restraint has correspondingly reduced, particularly in key stages 3 and 4.
• Staff work hard and successfully with pupils to develop systems which enable them to better understand and manage their feelings and emotions. At the time of the inspection, learning mentors had changed role and were working directly with pupils. As a result, learning continued almost without interruption in most classrooms.
• Positive behaviour is rewarded at every opportunity and this is appreciated by pupils who learn to respect each other, staff and the school. At the time of the inspection, the school was clean, tidy and free of any evidence of graffiti in both corridors and classrooms.
• Pupils’ attendance has improved significantly over the last two years. This year, it dipped after the increase in numbers of pupils admitted to the school. However, school data show that attendance has started to improve once more. This is due in part to school leaders’ development of a system in which alternative providers follow up the absence of pupils in the first instance before handing any concerns on to school staff.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils often start school from very low baselines, having missed significant periods from their education. Many start at times other than the start of the school year as well as towards the end of key stage 4. When they arrive, the school measures their current levels of attainment and uses the data sent by previous schools to measure their current baseline. This system, although robust, does not always take into account the results from previous national data, which sometimes reduces the expectations of pupils’ progress. This sometimes slows progress for the most able.
• School data show that pupils in key stages 3 and 4 currently make slower progress than primary-age pupils. They also less frequently make a successful return to mainstream school. They also spend more time in alternative provision, which often supports their social and emotional needs well but puts too little emphasis on academic accreditation.
• The progress of key stage 4 pupils has improved year on year for the previous two years. This upward trend has slowed this year. However, a larger number are taking GCSE examinations this year and the vast majority are on track to leave with a range of qualifications and accreditations.
• Current pupils in key stage 3 are making less strong progress than those last year in mathematics but similar progress in English. Progress for key stage 3 pupils rose dramatically last year from the previous year and senior leaders predicted a similar rise this year. However, the increase in pupil numbers affected progress overall. Work in books looked at during the inspection evidenced this clearly.
• In contrast, work in pupils’ books in key stages 1 and 2 shows a marked improvement overall, indicating clearly that pupils are making good progress from their starting points.
• Pupils overall make similar progress in mathematics and English. However, in both subjects, opportunities are missed to accelerate pupils’ progress and deepen their knowledge. For example, mathematics books show that pupils learn how to carry out calculations and gain skills. However, they often have too few opportunities, currently, to put these skills into action by using and applying them and deepening their understanding.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make similar progress to their peers. A number make better progress than others in the school and sometimes those nationally because of the focused support delivered by the school’s special educational needs coordinators.
• The school works in partnership with an alternative provider to meet the needs of approximately 30 pupils who speak English as an additional language. Most are members of the Roma Slovak community. Overall, they make good progress from very low starting points. Many have not only the barrier of being new to English but also have often not attended school before coming the United Kingdom.
• The school’s system for collecting data on pupils’ progress is embedded and staff use it to assess pupils’ progress and plan the next steps in their learning. However, it does not yet clearly identify separately the progress of the most able pupils. As a result, staff do not always plan effectively for this group and this slows their progress over time.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 137596 Sheffield 10032011 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Pupil referral unit School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Maintained pupil referral unit 5 16 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 311 Appropriate authority Chair Executive headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Local authority Gail Gibbons Tony Middleton 0114 253 1988 www.inclusion.sheffield.sch.uk enquiries@inclusion.sheffield.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 24 25 March 2015

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is a pupil referral unit which meets the needs of pupils from 5 to 16 from the Sheffield area who have been permanently excluded from school or are in danger of permanent exclusion.
• Currently, there are 311 pupils on the roll of the school.
• Approximately 25% of pupils who currently attend speak English as an additional language. Many of them are from Slovak Roma families.
• Approximately 25% of pupils who attend school have identified additional needs such as social, emotional and mental health needs or autistic spectrum disorder. Many have not had a formal diagnosis before arriving at the school.
• Since the previous inspection, the senior leadership team has increased and now consists of the executive headteacher, two deputy headteachers and two assistant headteachers.
• All the management committee who were in post at the time of the previous inspection resigned in December 2016. The local authority has appointed a new management committee that took up office in March 2017.
• Pupils on the roll of the school also attend the following alternative provision:

Hadfield, Cellar Space, Sheffield College, Ed Lounge, Ed Virtual, Endeavour, Education through Angling, FURD, GTA, ETA, In 2 Change, The Millan Centre, My Life Project, NACRO, Not School, On Board, Pathways, Recycle, Sheffield Media Project, St Bernards, SWFC, Syreetas, YASY, CDC Manor, Musical Works, Whirlow Farm, Mind Apart, On Board and Sheaf Training, Holgate Meadows School, Heritage Park School and The Meadows.

Information about this inspection

• The inspection team observed learning in classrooms across the school. Some observations were carried out with members of the senior leadership team.
• The inspection team visited 22 of the 32 alternative providers used by the school to educate pupils.
• A range of school documents including safeguarding documentation, pupils’ progress data and the school’s curriculum planning were analysed by the inspection team.
• Meetings were held with pupils, senior leaders, middle leaders, members of staff, the chair and deputy chair of the management committee and one other member.
• An informal meeting was held with a small number of parents. It was not possible to view the responses from the eight parents who completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. No text responses were received from parents during the inspection.

Inspection team

Marian Thomas, lead inspector Tudor Griffiths Fiona Dixon Linda Griffiths

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector