TLG West London

The Lighthouse Group (TLG) Centre Independent school standard inspection report

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DfE registration number 205/6405 Unique Reference Number (URN) 136504 Inspection number 386854 Inspection dates 7–8 March 2012 Reporting inspector Steffi Penny HMI 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk No. 090070 Independent school standard inspection report September 2011, No. 090070

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Purpose and scope of the inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school. 1, 2

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Information about the school

The Lighthouse Group (TLG) Centre, in Hammersmith, is an independent day school that was set up as part of the Lighthouse Group, a national charity which provides a network of nine similar alternative education centres. This school, situated in West London, was developed in partnership with St Paul’s Hammersmith, a charitable trust. The trust is in the process of taking over the role of the proprietor, subject to approval by the Department for Education. The Lighthouse Group will continue to provide support for staff development, quality assurance and curriculum development through centrally employed staff who make regular visits to the school.

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Information about the school

The school provides personalised learning programmes for up to 18 students aged between 11 and 16 years who have been, or who are at risk of being, excluded from their mainstream school. Students are either dually registered with another mainstream school or remain on that referral register and have their placements paid for by the referring school or local authority. Currently, there are 11 students on roll, one of whom has a statement of special educational needs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Most students attend part time for two days each week, with a very few students attending for four days a week, and all aim to complete programmes of study in twelve-week blocks.

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Information about the school

The Lighthouse Group (TLG) Centre is located in a hall situated in a densely populated residential area. The hall is leased by the trust from the Sheraton Society. The school also uses the nearby St Paul’s Church Annex for some lessons. This is the first inspection of the school. It was opened in February 2011.

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Information about the school

The school has a Christian ethos that aims to, ‘tackle the issues that underpin behavioural difficulties and to develop learning skills, leading to qualifications and re- integration into school, further education or employment’.

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Evaluation of the school

The quality of education provided by the Lighthouse Group (TLG) Centre is satisfactory. Overall, the teaching, assessment and curriculum provided are

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Evaluation of the school

1 www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/32/contents . 2 www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/18/contents . Independent school standard inspection report September 2011, No. 090070 satisfactory. The school successfully meets its aims in re-engaging students with their learning and increasing their self-esteem. Students’ behaviour and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are good. The provision to ensure students’ welfare, health and safety is good; the school’s safeguarding arrangements are thorough and robust. The school meets all but two of the independent school regulations which are related to the premises.

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Quality of education

The quality of the curriculum is satisfactory. It is based on motivating students to re- engage with education through developing their functional skills in English, mathematics and information and communication technology (ICT), along with a programme of personal and social development. These are suitably underpinned by subject policies and schemes of work drawn from national guidance or meet the requirements of examination boards or external award schemes. These subject areas are effectively supported by other non-accredited activities. Students make satisfactory progress in their learning when set against their starting points across all of the required areas of learning. This is because the highly tailored curriculum provided by the school helps raise students’ self-confidence, giving them a quick catch up with basic skills, and increases their enjoyment of learning with the result that their attendance increases.

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Quality of education

The majority of students attend the school for two days per week spending the other days in their mainstream school, although there are a very few who only attend this school for the twelve-week period, for four days a week. The school does not have enough on-site facilities to teach a wide range of practical aspects related to science and technological learning. The school is aware of this shortcoming, having it as a priority area of the school improvement plan. It is also in the process of developing more workplace learning and vocational opportunities and extending the range of provision for students beyond the school day. For example, the students are successfully accessing the newly completed St Paul’s Church Annex for music and dance lessons There are weekly extension sessions after them in the same building, such as youth meeting groups and ‘The Bridge Group’ where young people develop skills as disc jockeys, and a drop-in café, along with special one-off events. This

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Quality of education

enables students to be involved with the wider local community and partnership groups with which the school works, which they increasingly do. These good links with the community ensure that students have a place of respite, safety and comfort, providing a continuum of support beyond the end of their twelve-week programme at the school.

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Quality of education

Personal, social and health education (PSHE) linked with the personal and social development programme helps students to raise their aspirations and involves agencies such as the Connexions service and youth projects. In lessons, staff expertly support the development of students’ emotional and social skills along with helping students to improve their behaviour. In particular, they successfully meet the Independent school standard inspection report September 2011, No. 090070 emotional and social requirements of those students with statements of special educational needs.

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Quality of education

The quality of teaching and assessment is satisfactory and students make satisfactory progress. During the inspection teachers demonstrated a good subject knowledge for the courses that the students were following. The high ratio of other adults in lessons enables one-to-one or paired learning discussions and support for students from which they benefit greatly. This is because all staff focus on the learning that needs to take place, particularly in relation to literacy, mathematical and social skills. However, learning targets are not always used effectively enough in lessons to help students to know how well they are doing and what they need to do next. Consequently, they are sometimes over reliant on adults to help them to learn and improve.

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Quality of education

When students join the school they have records from their mainstream school that are sometimes incomplete. The school has developed its own accurate baseline assessments, which are used to measure the progress at the start and end of each programme. These show that most students start their programme with very low functional literacy and numeracy skills. By the time they finish their programme most have moved to the next entry level. The school also ensures that when students are ready they are entered for GCSEs. Senior leaders are continually exploring ways to measure accurately the progress that students make over shorter time spans and are currently implementing a new bespoke electronic system, into which all current systems, formal and informal, will feed. This new system is beginning to provide an even more secure framework for recording and monitoring the achievement of students.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The students’ behaviour is good overall, although it remains unpredictable. This is due to the strong emphasis placed on promoting the students’ ability to reflect upon, and consequently learn how to manage, their own behaviour. A key feature is through ‘My Day’ sessions where students share how they are feeling and what they have gained from their learning. Through these and other daily discussions, where tolerance and harmony are expressly modelled and taught by staff, students explore how to challenge negative stereotypes and discrimination. Students in attendance during the inspection and those who responded to the questionnaires said they had been bullied elsewhere but that one of the most important features of this school is that it makes them feel safe. As one young person explained, ‘I can really be myself here… it’s ok to be different in this school, staff help you to get on with different

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

Overall, the students’ attendance is satisfactory and for some, this is a significant improvement on their prior placements. Not all of the mainstream schools that the students attend provide this school with the relevant attendance data. This hinders Independent school standard inspection report September 2011, No. 090070 the school in being able to demonstrate the impact that its provision has on increasing attendance rates for these students.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

Removing the barriers to students’ social, emotional and behavioural development is a primary aspect of the school’s aims. To facilitate their good progress in these areas opportunities to develop students’ social and emotional skills are skillfully interwoven into the school day. Lunchtimes and breaktimes, in particular, are exploited by staff to develop students’ social skills, often in simple ways, for example by taking it in turns with them to play pool.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

Because the main teaching spaces are used by other groups when the students are not in school, there are limited spaces to safely share and display students’ work. This hinders the celebration and sharing of the students’ achievements with those who were not directly involved. It also means that new students cannot see how well previous cohorts have done, limiting their initial expectations.

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

The provision for the students’ welfare, health and safety is good. Students are supervised at all times when in school or engaged in school-based activities. Prejudice-based bullying or harassment of any kind, although rare, is immediately challenged and effectively dealt with. Rewards and sanctions are relevant and have a positive impact on improving behaviour through restorative justice.

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

Students are provided with or encouraged to only have healthy meals, snacks and drinks. They undertake regular exercise through sports sessions and are supported effectively to develop mental and emotional stability with the support from other agencies and partnerships. All aspects of how to live healthily, including sexual health, are covered through the PSHE curriculum.

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

All safeguarding policies and procedures, including regular risk assessments, are robust and comply with requirements. Policies are annually reviewed to ensure that relevant changes are made to the school procedures in relation to current guidance. Fire and other safety arrangements meet requirements. The school meets the requirements in respect of the Equality Act 2010.

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Suitability of staff, supply staff and proprietors

The school makes comprehensive checks to ensure the suitability of all staff, including volunteers. Senior staff ensure rigorous recruitment procedures are adopted. The school maintains relevant evidence of these checks and ensures all of the required information is held in a single central register. Independent school standard inspection report September 2011, No. 090070

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Premises and accommodation at the school

The main open-plan teaching hall, washrooms, offices and small teaching side room are kept in a satisfactory decorative order; other parts of the building are not so well maintained. There are clearly identifiable areas of water penetration from leaking guttering, with dampness and mould clearly visible on some walls. The school has identified these as areas for significant improvement through its monthly health and safety records. Consequently, the small outdoor garden area, along with the basement, has rightly been risk assessed by the school as being unsuitable for use by the students until these issues have been resolved. The school makes appropriate arrangements for students to use local sports facilities for exercise and recreation. St Paul’s Church Annex is used for music and dance lessons. However, there are no specialist rooms for the teaching of science or design and technology. Facilities for

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Provision of information

The provision of information for parents, carers and others is clear, accurate and up to date, and all receive the required information. As a consequence, they are very positive about the work done by the school and, in particular, the regular contact made by phone to students’ homes provides good ongoing, two-way communication and feedback to take place. Very close liaison also exists between the school and the central company office.

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Manner in which complaints are to be handled

The complaints procedure meets all the requirements. It is set out clearly and can be easily followed by parents, carers and others.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The proprietor has ensured that the school meets The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010, schedule 1 (‘the Regulations’), with the exception of those listed below. 3

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the premises of and accommodation at schools (standards in part 5) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that the drainage system is adequate for the disposal of surface water (paragraph 23(b))

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

3 www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/1997/contents/made . Independent school standard inspection report September 2011, No. 090070  make sure that the school buildings provide reasonable resistance to penetration by rain, snow, wind and moisture from the ground (paragraph 23(f)).

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What the school could do to improve further

While not required by regulations, the school might wish to consider the following points for development.

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What the school could do to improve further

 In conjunction with the linked maintained schools ensure that: - students who attend this school have access to a wider range of practical, scientific and technological learning experiences - the maintained school provides this school with full and detailed information about each student, including attendance rates.  Make better use of academic learning targets in all lessons, to help students know how well they are doing and what they need to do next. Independent school standard inspection report September 2011, No. 090070 Inspection judgements outstanding

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The quality of education

How well the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of pupils 

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The quality of education

How effective teaching and assessment are in meeting the full range of pupils’ needs 

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The quality of education

How well pupils make progress in their learning 

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The quality of education

Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Quality of provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

The overall welfare, health and safety of pupils  Independent school standard inspection report September 2011, No. 090070

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School details

Type of school Special school for students with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties

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School details

Number on roll (full-time pupils) Boys: 0 Girls: 0 Total: 0

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School details

Number on roll (part-time pupils) Boys: 10 Girls: 1 Total: 11

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School details

Number of pupils with a statement of special educational needs Boys: 1 Girls: Total: 1

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School details

Number of pupils who are looked after Boys: 0 Girls: 0 Total: 0

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) From £2,489 to £1,421 per 12-week block

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School details

Address of school St Paul’s Centre Hammersmith London W6 9JJ

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School details

- Independent school standard inspection report September 2011, No. 090070

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of The Lighthouse Group (TLG) Centre, London W6 9JJ

I came to your school in March to see how well students were learning and how well the school supports them. I visited students in lessons and talked with them about their work. I would like to say a big thank you to all the students I met for making me feel so very welcome, because of their kindness and generosity both of ‘My Days’ were a high level 5. I enjoyed talking with students, parents, carers and other adults involved with the work of the school. This letter is to tell all students what I found out.

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Inspection of The Lighthouse Group (TLG) Centre, London W6 9JJ

 Most of you are making satisfactory progress in your learning.  The school works hard to make sure that you can take a GCSE or equivalent examination.  Most of you are beginning to enjoy learning more, attend school more often, and behave well.  I saw, and students told me, that all the adults involved with the school really care about you. They want you to do your very best in everything you do.

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Inspection of The Lighthouse Group (TLG) Centre, London W6 9JJ

Senior leaders and managers of your school are keen to keep on improving things. In terms of your learning I have asked them to ensure that your other schools share information fully with this one and to make sure you have access to a wide range of practical, scientific and technological learning experiences. I also asked them to use academic targets with you more often in lessons, so you can be more independent in your learning. Most of all, you can help by attending both schools regularly, on time, and with the same willingness to learn as I saw on my visit.

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Inspection of The Lighthouse Group (TLG) Centre, London W6 9JJ

If you would like to read my full report it can be found at www.ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection of The Lighthouse Group (TLG) Centre, London W6 9JJ

I hope that you all continue to work with everyone to make sure that your education helps you realise your dreams. I give you my very best wishes for your future.

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