Haringey Learning Partnership

Haringey Tuition Service and Pupil Referral Unit 10 Bruce Grove, London, N17 6NA

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Teachers are skilled in delivering creative and imaginative lessons to students and focus on developing students’ basic skills and understanding.  Achievement is good and increasing numbers of students are leaving with good GCSE grades in a broad range of subjects including English and mathematics. This is despite the fact that students’ starting points are often low, as students have had previous breaks in their education.  Regular checks are made on students’ progress. As a result their needs are quickly identified and individual and flexible supports are put in place to ensure they gain worthwhile qualifications. An increasing number of qualifications is being offered within a broadening curriculum provision.  Students feel safe and behaviour is good. Despite the high range of complex needs in the school, students get along well and staff create a calm and harmonious atmosphere.  The provision for students at Simmons House is

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

outstanding. Students with highly complex medical needs benefit from a fully integrated service that joins both the hospital and tuition service together effectively. Leaders ensure that students’ learning in the classroom takes a high and realistic priority in supporting students’ medical needs.  Leadership and management are good overall. Leaders at all levels ensure that the right mix of care; support and success in educational outcomes are achieved at all times. The school is improving teaching and achievement for the young people it serves.  Governors, through the management committee, provide strong support to the headteacher. A restructured committee now includes people with relevant skills who are supporting leaders exceptionally well and ensuring continuing improvement in outcomes for young people.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There are not always enough ways to engage students in developing their language skills.  Staff do not always share their good practice and ideas.  There are not as many appropriate accredited courses and qualifications to maximise the achievement of students further as there should be.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection covered both the provision at the Bruce Grove site and at Simmons House. It did not include an evaluation of the home tuition service.  The inspector carried out eight part lesson observations, all of which were jointly observed with the headteacher.  Discussions were held with students formally and informally, with staff, the Chair of the Management Committee, a representative from the local authority, the service director of Simmons House and the headteacher.  Observations of the school’s work took place, including both structured and unstructured times.  Questionnaires from 12 members of staff were taken into consideration, along with a range of the school’s own documents including its self-evaluation and minutes from the school’s management committee.  The school’s own information on students’ current progress, planning and monitoring documents were analysed, along with records relating to behaviour and attendance and documents relating to

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Information about this inspection

safeguarding.  There were no recorded submissions to the online questionnaire (Parent View), but the inspector took account of the school’s own surveys on parent perceptions and discussed the school first hand with a parent.  At the time of inspection no students were following post-16 courses, and a very small number of children of primary age were taking part in on-site lessons.

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Inspection team

Chris King, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an integrated service for students whose medical needs make it impossible for them to attend mainstream school. It also provides an interim service for students in mainstream schools whose medical conditions cause them to require further support. The service also provides places and individually tailored programmes for students unplaced in mainstream school, such as young people requiring initial assessment who are recently arrived to the country and those that who are disabled or have special educational needs.  The provision also includes, on a separate site, at Simmons House, an adolescent psychiatric unit, a specialist Tier 4 inpatient provision for young people with acute and complex needs who cannot be managed safely in the community.  All students have complex needs, including a range of medical needs such as mental health issues. Other needs include behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. Approximately a third of students have

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Information about this school

statements of educational needs, with all other students deemed to be at school action.  The service aims to reintegrate students into mainstream education at the earliest opportunity. Students are on a mix of individual programmes of support, that might include part-time attendance on a restricted timetable and home tuition.  Students join and leave the service at different points in the academic year. The majority of students are part time and dual registered.  Although the school caters for students aged four to 18 years, the service at present has no young people working at the end of Key Stage 5 and no children in early years.  Approximately a third of all students are eligible for pupil premium funding, additional funding provided by the government for those students who are looked after and eligible for free school meals.  Students sit examinations at times most suitable to their circumstances.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching to outstanding levels by:  ensuring staff share more of their good practice and ideas  increasing ways to engage students in developing their language skills.  Increase the number of appropriate accredited courses and qualifications to maximise the achievement of students further.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leadership and management are good. The headteacher, supported effectively by the management committee, middle leaders and staff, has successfully implemented key improvements to the service since its last inspection.  The headteacher has successfully strengthened teaching. Good links exist between Simmons House and the service centre base, which have been used effectively to share practice and give staff professional development opportunities. It is recognised that teachers can further improve their professional development by sharing their skills and learning with colleagues in mainstream schools and with those in similar settings.  The headteacher has a sharp focus on the achievement of students. Good systems are in place to monitor the progress of all students in a regular and detailed way. As a result, the service promotes effectively the equality of opportunity, fosters good relations and tackles discrimination.

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The leadership and management are good

 The service has an accurate picture of its strengths and areas to further improve. It is extremely well supported by the local authority’s appointed improvement partner who brings challenge and expertise to the service provision.  The headteacher has developed an extremely positive set of values and beliefs in the service. Staff feel valued and work together to ensure that the best possible provision is put in place for students with high level needs. Staff take on additional responsibilities for a range of initiatives and projects that benefit young people. Performance management is used well to promote continued improvement.  An improved staffing structure is planned once the management committee has undertaken a budget review. It is planned that this will meet the need for additional permanent staff and ensure that the success of the growing curriculum provision is maintained.  The service curriculum is broadening and provides a range of creative experiences for young people,

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The leadership and management are good

including a rich experience of additional and extra-curricular experiences including business enterprise activities. The service is continuing to find appropriate formal qualifications to maximise the qualifications young people can gain. A positive start has been made with the introduction of short small unit courses that are recognised by the examination boards. The curriculum prepares students well for life in modern Britain.  The information, advice and guidance students receive are good. The service takes a long-term view on the success of young people and ensures that suitable next steps are found. The numbers of students that leave the service that are not in education, employment or training are low. As a result, the service promotes equality of opportunity, fosters good relations and tackles discrimination effectively.  The leadership of Simmons House is outstanding. The balance of high quality medical care alongside

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The leadership and management are good

educational achievement and success is expertly done.  The service is highly regarded by students and parents for the support it gives during often very difficult circumstances. A typical parental feedback form, when referring to the support their child had received, stated, ‘The tuition service has been our saviour.’  The service makes good use of pupil premium funding. Students receive individual programmes of support, and funding is used well to ensure that those students make good progress. Both the African drumming and film making projects are good examples of pupil premium funding being used to engage young people in the service and improve achievement.  The service meets all statutory safeguarding requirements fully.  The governance of the school:  The management committee now benefits from a group of people specifically chosen to ensure continued success and improvement. An experienced Chair is now leading the group that has a clear

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The leadership and management are good

focus on making the service outstanding in every way. The management committee benefits from professional knowledge through the local authority representative, professional medical support and financial knowledge. It understands the strengths in the quality of teaching, along with the areas still to be improved. The members ensure that the performance of teachers is managed rigorously through effective performance management. Regular and detailed reports are presented by the headteacher that keep the management committee in touch with the service’s continued work with young people, detailing their achievement and performance in formal examinations when appropriate.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. The service encourages a wide age range of students with a variety of high needs to work calmly and positively together. The conduct of students in lessons and around the service in a variety of practical and academic subjects was seen to be good.  Parents, students and staff talked positively about the atmosphere in the school and commented on how welcoming and supportive it was. Students keep their environment clean and tidy and are respectful of the work of their peers on display.  In lessons, students behave sensibly and work together, supporting each other in tasks. Students with a need to improve their behaviour make positive changes as a result of the support they receive.  Teachers are skilled at managing some challenging behaviours brought about by young people’s medical needs. Strategies to promote positive behaviours are successful.  Exclusions are low and used only as a last resort. Whilst the service is aware it is often the only alternative

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Behaviour

provision available for young people that join it, it maintains clear boundaries and expectations which students understand and respect.  Strategies to improve attendance have been effective. This is, however, still an area that the service is working on to improve further. Students at Simmons House gain good levels of attendance in the learning classroom once they have overcome the urgent medical needs that trigger their admission.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. High levels of staffing and support for young people ensure that their complex needs are well catered for.  The small size of the provision ensures that teachers get to know students and their needs quickly. Students feel that they are understood and supported well. The service values students and their views.  Students are aware of the boundaries and rules and support each other in their learning. They get along well in unstructured times and say that they are happy talking to staff should they have any problems. They say bullying is rare and if encountered is dealt with effectively by staff.  Students use the internet in their studies and understand how to keep themselves safe online.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good, and some is outstanding. It engages and challenges most students. This is because staff know their students well and they plan lessons which match their abilities.  Teachers use a variety of creative strategies to engage students in their learning. In one lesson observed, the teacher used a magic card trick to develop knowledge of number sequences and, in another, drama and performance were effectively used to develop speech and conversation.  The staff have excellent relationships with the young people and use many skilled activities to ensure students maximise the progress in lessons.  Teachers link key basic skills in literacy, reading and mathematics into lessons. Students’ numeracy and literacy are embedded in lessons and all teachers are aware of the importance of giving young people as many opportunities to develop these skills as possible.  Teachers mark work effectively. They give students clear comments on how to improve their work and, as

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The quality of teaching is good

a result, they make good progress over time. Students keep their books neat and take pride in their work.  Whilst students’ work in their books showed good progress, not all students are confident to talk about their learning in class.  The service is working to develop approaches and share best practice that allow students greater opportunities to develop their confidence and skills in talking about what they have learned. In one English lesson, where the teacher effectively encouraged talk, she used the story in a book to help engage students to talk at length about hiding places; as a result, students confidently engaging in conversation.  The teaching of reading is well developed; there has been good progress for all groups of students and in particular with students that have English as an additional language.  Teaching assistants are very effective in their work to support vulnerable children. Students with high

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The quality of teaching is good

levels of need make good progress because of the one-to-one support they receive and the seamless planning between assistants and teachers.

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is good

 Students come with a wide variety of medical needs and diverse backgrounds. As a result, not all have experienced regular attendance and progress in mainstream or other schools. Students spend short amounts of time with the service, with the aim of being able to return to mainstream or other provision as soon as possible. Those students who do stay in Year 11 take an increasing variety of GCSE subjects, including English and mathematics. An increasing number of short accredited courses is now being studied, although the service aims to improve this further.  Progress across groups of students and the ability range, particularly those with high ability, is consistently good. Students from a range of starting points make good progress overall. A broader range of courses has enabled more students to gain grades that have allowed them to move on to the next stage of education successfully. The service is very successful in enabling students to access further education

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is good

provision and ensuring their success on new courses.  Those students with disabilities or special educational needs make the same progress as their peers as a result of the individual support they receive.  Students’ progress in lessons is good. Work is regularly marked and checked, with comments made by teachers that helpfully move students’ learning forward. The tracking of students work in lessons clearly shows good progress from their starting points. This is true for students across the full ability range.  Those students at Simmons House make outstanding progress when taking into account their starting points. Despite breaks in their learning due to illness, students make rapid progress in their lessons studying a range of GCSE courses.  Those students eligible for pupil premium funding benefit from the additional support they receive. As a result, they make progress in line with their peers.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 131584 Local authority Haringey Inspection number 449042

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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 4–18 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 49 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 0 Appropriate authority The Management Committee Chair Laura Butterfield Headteacher Gordon McEwan Date of previous school inspection 1516 January 2013 Telephone number 02088882123 Fax number 02088818853 Email address Gordon.mcewan@haringey.gov.uk 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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