Sutton Tuition and Reintegration Service

Sutton Tuition and Reintegration Service Drapers Centre, Orchard Hill, Carshalton, SM5 4NR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 While no teaching is inadequate, more needs to be done to encourage students’ initiative and independent learning. The time devoted to teacher-led activities should be reduced.  Not enough students make sufficient progress from their starting points because of the inconsistent teaching.  Assessment procedures and tracking systems are insecure. Leaders do not make best use of assessment data to raise students’ achievement.  The hospital-based provision is not managed effectively. There are particular problems in pupils’ learning and progress on the Queen Mary’s site.  Leadership and management at all levels, including that provided externally, are not wholly effective in monitoring and evaluating accurately the quality of education that the service provides.  While the service improves the attendance of many students, it is much less successful with others. Attendance overall is low.

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The school has the following strengths

 Students’ behaviour in classes and around the building is extremely good. They are polite and courteous young people.  Staff provide a high level of care, support and guidance for every student and do much to build up students’ resilience.  Relationships are excellent and staff and students interact with each other with great mutual respect.  The service provides good support for parents and carers.  Primary-aged pupils are reintegrated into mainstream school quickly.  Very good partnerships with a wide range of other agencies provide an effective, integrated system for helping students to address their medical conditions.  The curriculum in the Drapers Centre is much broader than that normally found in some pupil referral units and it provides a good range of accreditations.  Aspects of students’ personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are promoted well.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited all three sites and observed lessons on each. They spent five hours in classes, comprising 10 lesson observations, each taught by a different member of staff, and shorter visits to note students’ learning.  Meetings were held with local authority officers, members of the management committee, members of the senior leadership team and other staff, hospital medical staff and students.  Parents and carers did not make any submissions through the on-line Parent View, although their responses to recent surveys conducted by the service were examined. The views of staff were noted from the questionnaires that were completed by most. No parents or carers asked to meet with inspectors.  A variety of documentation was examined, such as student progress data, attendance information, self-evaluation procedures and development planning, and internal records of lesson observations.

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Inspection team

Mike Kell, Lead inspector Additional inspector Sonja Joseph Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 The service is for students with physical and mental health needs. All referrals must be supported by medical services. It operates across three sites; the Drapers Centre, the Royal Marsden Hospital Sutton and Queen Mary’s Hospital. The number on roll fluctuates greatly throughout the year, as does the age range. For students above the age of 16 years the service only works with those who are hospital in-patients. There were none at the time of the inspection.  The Drapers Centre is the main teaching base. It provides education for students between the ages of five and 16 years. The very few primary-aged pupils who are referred are always taught one to one away from the Drapers Centre and were not observed. Depending on the severity of their needs, secondary-aged students may be taught full time at the Drapers Centre, solely off site on a one-to-one part-time basis or through a combination of on-site and off-site provision.

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Information about this school

They stay for varying lengths of time, ranging from over four years to just a few months before they leave school at the end of Year 11. The overwhelming majority of students have a White British heritage. There are broadly equal numbers of boys and girls.  The educational provision at the Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton is located in the specialist oncology centre, which admits children and young people from across the country and abroad. Their stays vary in length, as does the frequency of their visits. They may be taught in a designated classroom or bedside depending on their condition.  Education at Queen Mary’s Hospital is offered to in-patients on the paediatric ward after one day of admission if they are Sutton residents and after three days for others. Patients may be there because of one-off illnesses or injuries or because of more chronic conditions that require regular re-admissions throughout the year.

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Information about this school

 There are no looked after children and a small number of students have a statement of special educational needs.  Both the headteacher and deputy headteacher have been appointed since the previous inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the amount of consistently good teaching by ensuring that:  behaviour and learning support workers have a good understanding of what is expected of them and are deployed efficiently to support students’ learning  teachers enable students to become more active learners by encouraging their initiative and independent learning, and by reducing the time devoted to teacher-led activities  staff routinely take time in lessons to check students’ learning and students are given the time to reflect and answer questions  lesson planning pays more attention to what teachers expect students to learn rather than being simply a list of activities that the teacher intends to provide.  Improve the impact of leadership and management by:  establishing effective leadership and management of the hospital-based provision  improving the procedures for monitoring and evaluating the quality of teaching, including lesson observations that form part of teachers’ performance management

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 developing assessment procedures so that students’ levels are determined accurately through moderation  refining the analysis of assessment data in order to better determine each student’s progress and to explore in greater detail any indication of relative underperformance  strengthening the procedures by which the local authority monitors and challenges leaders through visits and the reports that it receives  implementing systems to raise the level of students’ attendance.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The vast majority of secondary-aged students referred to the Drapers Centre are working broadly in line with national expectations for the age group.  In 2011, 28% of students obtained five GCSEs at grade C or above including English and mathematics, and 67% achieved a grade C or better in English. The comparable proportions for mathematics and science were much smaller. The results in English in 2012 fell sharply, although they improved in mathematics and to a lesser extent in science. While these overall figures compare favourably with the performance of pupil referral units generally, they do not reflect good progress overall when students’ attainment on entry is taken into account.  Generally, standards are not maintained as students move through the Drapers Centre. Too few students who remain long enough for the service to be charged with responsibility for their achievement make enough progress from their starting points. Cohorts are small, but there are

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

no significant differences between the performances of different groups of students. The local authority is still working with the schools to determine the impact of pupil premium payments when students move on to the service’s roll.  The lack of rapid progress is due in part to some students’ failure to attend often enough or because their health problems sometimes inhibit learning, but it is also due to weaknesses in teaching. In the majority of lessons observed, students did not make the progress of which they were capable, although no student groups were particularly disadvantaged.  Students generally have well-developed literacy skills when they arrive. They are given many opportunities to practise and develop their reading and writing skills further. Informal situations, such as the breakfast club, and most lessons also encourage students’ speaking and listening skills, but not all teachers give enough time for students to do this.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The service does a good job in working with primary-aged pupils. They continue to make progress in their learning while their medical needs are being addressed to the extent that most make a successful return to school.  Hospital in-patients remain there for short periods and so their progress over time cannot be determined. However, those in the Royal Marsden Hospital made good progress in the lessons observed, while those in Queen Mary’s did not.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 A minority of teaching is good, and none is inadequate, but lessons overall do not motivate students to learn at a rapid enough rate.  Teaching observed on the Royal Marsden site was consistently good and that at Queen Mary’s was less effective.  Students’ interactions with each other and their relationships with adults in lessons are extremely positive. Staff have a very good appreciation of students’ health and of how this fluctuates, and are sensitive to the impact that this may have on their ability to concentrate.  Staff generally provide opportunities for students to develop their literacy and communication skills, although in a few instances they do not give students enough time to reflect and articulate a response to questions.  Staff are reluctant to encourage students to show initiative or to work independently. Too frequently, teachers dominate lessons by talking too much. Excessive teacher-led learning lowers

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

the expectation that students will solve problems by thinking for themselves and applying what they have learned previously, such as when carrying out a science investigation.  In the better lessons, teachers use question and answer sessions well to check students’ progress in developing new skills, knowledge and understanding. However, on too many occasions staff do not exploit opportunities to assess students’ learning and progress by taking the time to encourage them to recap or explain what they have been doing.  Lesson planning lacks precision. Consequently, behaviour and learning support workers are not deployed efficiently as they do not have a clear understanding of their specific role in supporting learning. Furthermore, planning focuses almost entirely on what teachers intend to do and the activities they will provide, with little attention paid to what it is anticipated students will learn as

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

a result.  While teaching does not always promote independent learning skills, lessons do develop other aspects of students’ personal development well, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For instance, their confidence and self-esteem grow as they work together, read aloud or express opinions in front of others.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students behave very well in classes and around the Drapers Centre site. They arrive for lessons punctually, settle quickly and listen attentively.  The Drapers Centre is an orderly and harmonious community. Students have very positive attitudes in lessons and any form of disruption is extremely rare. Consequently, there are almost no serious incidents and short-term exclusion is very rarely applied.  Students are respectful of each other’s views and are sensitive to their feelings. No instances of inappropriate behaviour or language were seen during the inspection. Students respond positively to adults’ requests and instructions. Those who met with inspectors were extremely well-mannered and engaged in discussion maturely.  Many students demonstrate good progress in their personal development. They become more resilient and increasingly able to deal with situations and setbacks on their own, showing greater

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

awareness of their own safety. As a result, the great majority leave the Drapers Centre at the end of Year 11 and transfer to college or, in a few cases employment.  Students confirm that they feel very safe and are very well cared for. They do not suffer from bullying or any other form of harassment and they comment that there is always an adult to speak with if they feel over-anxious, stressed or are suffering in any way.  The few parents’ and carers’ responses to service surveys do not indicate any reservations about their children’s safety, and they support their children’s view about the high level of staff care and support that is available.  Staff take the view that students behave well, and none express any concerns about students’ safety.  In the lessons observed at the hospitals, students showed positive attitudes despite their medical conditions. They are extremely safe and are looked after very well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The vast majority of students have been out of school for a long time, sometimes years, before joining the Drapers Centre. The service works well with the majority and their families to re- engage with education, and most students attend more regularly than they went to school. However, attendance is erratic and a significant minority of students rarely arrive. Consequently, attendance is low.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 For some considerable time after the previous inspection, the headteacher and deputy headteacher were temporary appointments. This uncertainty limited the extent to which leaders could take strategic decisions and implement change.  Hospital-based education in particular suffered from this uncertainty. Despite the appointment of a deputy headteacher with overall responsibility for this area of work, issues surrounding the post of lead teacher for hospital provision remain. This continues to limit its development.  Leaders have established a very caring service. Strong links with students’ families enable staff to support them directly as well as working with them to help their children. Effective partnerships with many agencies produce a coordinated support network for families.  The Drapers Centre offers a good, broad curriculum. Students can choose from a good range of GCSE options. One is Preparation for Working Life and this, alongside work experience, makes a

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The leadership and management requires improvement

good contribution to preparing students for leaving school. The regular use of community facilities and out-of-hours clubs provide good enrichment activities.  Procedures for monitoring and evaluating teaching are unreliable and insecure, including lesson observations that form part of teachers’ performance management. Too few formal observations have been undertaken by the headteacher and external sources, such as the local authority. As a result, training and professional development opportunities do not necessarily focus on the most important areas for improvement.  Assessment procedures are not robust. Without a mechanism for working with other schools to moderate teachers’ judgements, there is no guarantee of their accuracy and so judgements of students’ progress may not necessarily be exact.  Assessment data are analysed, but only superficially. Data are not examined and interpreted to a depth that indicates students’ performance compared with students of similar age and starting

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The leadership and management requires improvement

points nationally. Analysis does not tease out in sufficient detail questions about students’ progress in one subject compared with another.  Strong and secure procedures safeguard students. Robust vetting procedures, including the maintenance of a single central record, ensure that new staff are suitable for working with children.  The senior leadership team is now up to full strength and there are signs of the headteacher and deputy headteacher gaining greater insight into the service’s weaknesses through self- evaluation. While much remains to be done, they are demonstrating the capacity to initiate and then sustain further developments.  The governance of the school:  the local authority provides ‘medium level’ oversight. Routine monitoring takes place through School Improvement Partner visits. Reports are presented to the management committee, but they do not demonstrate that leaders’ judgements are tested and challenged fully.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 the management committee scrutinises the reports that it receives, but members do not then delve in depth to seek explanations about the data presented and the extent to which it has been validated, and how.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 135010 Local authority London Borough of Sutton Inspection number 402662

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Pupil referral unit School category Pupil referral unit Age range of pupils 5–18 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 50 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 0 Appropriate authority The local authority Headteacher Catherine Baird Date of previous school inspection 15–16 September 2009 Telephone number 020 8404 3124 Fax number 020 8404 3125 Email address tuitionservice@suttonlea.org guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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