Pinderfields Hospital PRU

Pinderfields Hospital PRU The Wrenthorpe Centre, Wrenthorpe, Wakefield, WF2 0LW

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils make good and sometimes outstanding progress in their personal development. This means that they are well prepared for the next stage in their education or training.  The vast majority of pupils make good progress in English and mathematics. This is because their learning needs are well met, often on an individual basis.  Teaching is good. Teaching assistants make a very significant contribution to pupils’ progress.  Pupils try very hard to live up to the high expectations of behaviour and attitudes set for them and as a result, behaviour is exemplary.  Pupils say they feel safe and cared for well. This is because staff ensure that each pupil’s individual needs are met very well.  Older students increasingly often apply their skills in practical and adult situations and as such, are well prepared for leaving school.  Children in the Early Years Assessment Centre make an excellent start to their learning. This

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

is because it benefits from being co-located with a mainstream school and that the partnership with families is strong.  The headteacher’s excellent leadership has ensured good quality provision through a period of significant change. Senior leaders continue to ensure that everyone works together to help pupils achieve their potential. Staff are helped to improve their teaching and benefit from extensive training. This is supporting continuous development of the Pupil Referral Unit.  The management committee makes a very significant contribution to the school’s leadership because they ensure that their actions always contribute to their clear vision of always providing the very best opportunities for the pupils.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Information from checks on how well pupils are doing is not always used to identify what they need to do next and ensure that pupils are always fully challenged.  The role of the middle leaders is not yet fully developed to enable them to monitor the quality of teaching rigorously and have a sharp enough focus on the progress made by pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed eight lessons. All were observed jointly with the headteacher or assistant headteacher.  The inspectors listened to pupils read and examined pupils’ work in files and books.  The inspectors took account of the Pupil Referral Unit’s (PRU) procedures for safeguarding. They looked at the development plan, leaders’ evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses, curriculum and lesson planning, records of lesson observations, targets set for teachers, and documents that track pupils’ academic and personal progress.  Meetings were held with leaders, staff and a member of the local authority. A discussion was held with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Management Committee and one other member.  Informal discussions were held with pupils.  Inspectors took account of inspection questionnaires returned by 18 members of staff. There were no responses to (Parent View), the on-line questionnaire for parents.

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Information about this inspection

 Designation as a school was changed to PRU status with effect from April 2013.

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Inspection team

Pauline Hillingsmith, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Doreen Davenport Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The vast majority of pupils are on the roll of their mainstream school as well as the PRU.  The PRU consists of The Wrenthorpe Centre which is the main site and which caters for pupils between the ages of eleven and 19, an Early Years Assessment Centre based in a nearby primary school, teaching in-patients of school age at Pinderfields Hospital, home tuition of pupils with life-threatening conditions or severe mental health issues, and preventative provision for pupils with anxiety in other schools through a service level agreement.  There are more boys than girls.  All pupils have special educational needs. Approximately half have a statement of special educational needs.  A few pupils would be eligible for support through the pupil premium. However, the PRU does not receive this funding however other schools may use it to purchase a place at the PRU. The pupil premium is additional funding for those students who are known to be eligible for free

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Information about this school

school meals and those children that are looked after by the local authority.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  Designation as a school was changed to PRU status with effect from April 2013. There was a reduction in staff numbers, including the loss of some middle leaders. A new assistant headteacher has been appointed with effect from September 2014.  The management committee has responsibility for governance of the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching to outstanding in order to raise achievement further by ensuring that:  the targets set for pupils always build on assessments made, so that they are always sufficiently challenging  information gathered from checks on pupils’ progress is always used to plan what they should do next  ensuring that training continues to be a priority.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by developing middle leadership of English and mathematics, particularly on the main site.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils join the PRU with a very wide variety of starting points, both in ability and age. The vast majority of pupils make good and sometimes outstanding progress in personal skills, particularly in gaining confidence and self-esteem.  Children in the Early Years Assessment Centre may join at the age of two years. These children often have complex physical and sensory needs. The children make excellent progress personally, socially and in communicating, because their needs are assessed and met very well.  Pupils on the in-patient ward at the hospital make good progress, because they are reassured and enjoy their school work.  Pupils who receive home tuition make good progress as a result of the individual attention they receive. Those pupils who can are enabled to make the transition to attending the main site in a short space of time, because this is managed carefully and gradually.  Pupils who attend the main site make good progress overall in English, mathematics and

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The achievement of pupils is good

science.  Case studies show that there is no difference overall between the achievement of the most-able pupils and that of other groups. This is because there are few pupils with exceptionally different needs and as such, pupils’ achievement is tracked in detail as an individual.  Wrenthorpe site data in 2013 show that more pupils made more than expected progress in English than the other subjects. This is because of the focus placed on this subject during the year.  Older students achieved a good range of qualifications which compare favourably with that achieved by pupils nationally.  Achievement in reading is good. This is as a result of carefully targeted support and the use of the well-stocked library.  All pupils make outstanding progress in art because this subject is very well organised and planned and pupils are motivated to achieve some remarkable results, such as the shoes made out of paper and pointed out by the pupils with pride.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Occasionally, assessment of what pupils can do is not used sharply enough to influence what pupils should do next. As a result, targets set for pupils are not always sufficiently challenging.  All parents who made contact with inspectors were very pleased with the progress made by their children.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching has been maintained overall throughout the transition to a PRU. It is good and occasionally outstanding, because staff are skilled at enabling pupils to have positive attitudes to school work and to make good progress.  The development of pupils’ confidence and self-esteem is a strength, because staff have expert knowledge of how to manage pupils with mental health needs. As a result, pupils take up hobbies and enter for their driving test, for example.  Teaching assistants contribute exceptionally well to the achievement of the pupils through good teaching and support, for example, by working closely with both groups and individual pupils.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good, because staff make sure that children make a confident transition from the assessment centre to an appropriate school. This is because they work well with other professionals and families and establish the basis of good

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The quality of teaching is good

shared assessment of children’s needs.  Teaching on the hospital site is good, because staff ensure that high quality resources, including access to interactive screens, tablet computers, are available to the pupils. This contributes well to pupils’ good progress when they are confined to bed.  Staff enable pupils who require tuition at home to make good progress. They make good use of well-organised resources and use the programmes of study that are available effectively.  Secondary-age pupils make good progress. Their progress is not outstanding, because teachers are not as confident teaching some subjects as others. As a result, pupils’ depth of knowledge is sometimes lacking. Additionally, assessment is not always used sufficiently well to inform what the pupil should do next. As a result, some of the work set does not enable pupils to make the best possible progress.  Staff from the unit, who have particular specialist knowledge and who teach courses in

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The quality of teaching is good

mainstream secondary schools, are valued by those schools because what they do has been shown to have a good impact on pupils’ progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils are welcoming. They fairly quickly find the confidence to answer visiting adults’ questions.  Staff are skilled in maintaining a lively and positive atmosphere at all times. This is because the organisation of learning ensures that pupils are calm and stress free.  Teachers carefully plan any changes to pupils’ situations. This considerably helps some pupils to improve their self-confidence and self-esteem remarkably. Pupils understand about bullying well. They say bullying is rare and any problems are dealt with quickly and so it is not an issue.  The school’s procedures to keep pupils safe and secure are outstanding.  Pupils say they feel safe as a result of the clear, strong relationships between staff and pupils. Others show they feel safe by involving themselves as much as they can with planned experiences, such as attending the residential visit to Derbyshire.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils learn to keep themselves and others safe. When they are in the local sports centres, for example, they know how important it is to communicate with and reassure each other when they are rock climbing on an indoor wall.  Attendance improves significantly for most pupils when they join the PRU and pupils attend whenever they can.  All parents who met with inspectors or sent messages strongly agreed that their children were safe and comfortable.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher is a very effective leader. Ably supported by the assistant headteacher, she has steered the PRU very well through re-designation from a school to a PRU. This involved considerable reduction in staffing, yet her commitment to high quality education for the pupils has ensured that any negative impact has been kept to an absolute minimum.  The leadership of teaching and performance is effective. Procedures for senior leaders to check the quality of teaching are securely in place and rigorous. However, the headteacher knows that the role of the leaders of English and mathematics is not yet sufficiently developed to enable them to have a razor-sharp focus on, and to contribute more, to pupils’ progress, especially those of secondary age, when monitoring the quality of learning. There is a clear and suitable link between teachers' performance and their progress along the pay scales.  The school’s system for ensuring that pupils do as well as they can is underpinned by careful

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The leadership and management are outstanding

record-keeping for each individual pupil. The recent development of the use of ICT means that information about each pupil can be shared very quickly and easily. This reflects the school’s commitment to ensuring that every pupil has an equal opportunity.  The PRU does not receive any additional funds, such as the pupil premium. However, leaders are aware of which pupils would be eligible and direct their own funds to good effect by providing additional opportunities for eligible pupils. It is clear that this internal funding is making a positive difference.  Leaders of the Early Years Assessment Centre ensure that children are taught what they should learn according to their age and ability. This enables the children to make excellent progress, particularly in their basic skills.  The PRU has a very accurate view of its own performance. Improvement plans are effective because they are detailed, linked to training, and reviewed carefully. They reflect leaders’ very

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The leadership and management are outstanding

strong commitment and the priorities in the very clear plan for the future of the unit.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good, because pupils are given many opportunities to reflect and they enjoy close relationships.  Learning is enriched by visits and residential experiences, especially for children who attend the Early Years Assessment Centre and those who attend the Wrenthorpe Centre. It gives priority to meeting pupils’ health, communication and learning needs. Partnership with mainstream schools is very effective in ensuring that the pupils do not fall behind their peers.  The close partnership with health service personnel makes a very significant contribution to pupils’ well-being. The school makes a good contribution to the teaching of pupils with anxiety in other schools through the work it does with mainstream schools.  The local authority has worked well in partnership with leaders to establish an effective service

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The leadership and management are outstanding

for pupils with medical needs. It targets support effectively. The local authority’s advice to the management committee members has contributed well to them setting rigorous targets for the headteacher to be very effective in driving forward improvement.  Partnership with parents is excellent. Parents are unreservedly positive about the impact of the work of the PRU on their children’s development.  The governance of the school: – The management committee contributes very well to the leadership of the school. Members gain first-hand evidence and information through the involvement they have with pupils, parents and staff. They hold leaders to account for what happens in the PRU and how its work is carried out. Members manage the budget effectively and make sure that all safeguarding procedures are rigorous and meet requirements. They are clear about how additional funds allocated from their own budget have impacted on individual pupils who are eligible for the

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The leadership and management are outstanding

pupil premium. They have played an invaluable part in maintaining morale throughout the reduction in the number of staff. Committee members are fully included in information about how well teachers are performing, and know about the quality of teaching and how this links to any increases in salary.

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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 139560 Local authority Wakefield Inspection number 439932

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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 2–19 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 30 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 1 Appropriate authority Management Committee Chair Val Pickersgill Headteacher Helen Ferguson Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01924 303695 Fax number 01924 303695 Email address hf@hospitalschools.wakefield.yhgfl.net 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 and 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

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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