Perryfields Primary Pupil Referral Unit

Perryfields Primary Pupil Referral Unit Glebe Close, Bromyard Road, Worcester, WR2 5AX

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1

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This is an outstanding school. Select

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher provide excellent leadership and management to the unit. They have ensured continued improvement in all areas of the unit’s work.  All staff have leadership responsibilities and carry these out exceptionally well. This contributes to the success of the unit.  Pupils’ outstanding achievement is due to the excellent relationships the staff build with the pupils, and the outstanding teaching they provide.  Links with parents, other agencies and the unit’s feeder schools are excellent. These help considerably in promoting pupils’ learning further.  The senior leadership team manages the quality of teaching very effectively resulting in much teaching that is outstanding and all that is at least good.  The unit provides excellent outreach support to a number of the local authority schools.  Behaviour is outstanding and pupils have excellent attitudes to learning, which results in pupils rapidly

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This is an outstanding school. Select

returning to mainstream schools.  The unit provides excellent opportunities for pupils' personal and social growth. These enhance the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development highly effectively.  Pupils feel safe and secure and all safeguarding procedures are carried out rigorously.  The management committee provides excellent challenge and support to the senior leadership team.  Members monitor all aspects of the school in great depth. This includes the quality of teaching and the performance of the pupils so that they can effectively reward good performance.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed teaching across the unit and a number of these observations were carried out jointly with the headteacher. The inspector also scrutinised evidence relating to teaching over time, including evidence from the local authority, management committee observations and observations carried out by the headteachers of the feeder schools.  Meetings took place with members of the senior leadership team, the Chair of the Management Committee, a representative from the local authority, a parent and a representative from the unit’s feeder schools.  The inspector observed pupils reading during their lessons and talked informally to pupils about their work and how they felt about their time in the unit.  There were not enough responses to register on Parent View (the online questionnaire). However, the inspector took account of a recent unit parent survey and the 10 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector also scrutinised a range of documentation relating to pupils’ progress, their behaviour, procedures to ensure the safety of the pupils and their attendance. In addition, the inspector examined a range of both past and present pupils’ work.

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Inspection team

Ronald Hall, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The unit provides short term education for pupils between 5–11 years of age experiencing behavioural difficulties and who are at risk of exclusion or have been permanently excluded from mainstream schools.  The unit’s senior leadership team consists of a headteacher and deputy headteacher. The middle leadership team is made up of the rest of the staff.  The unit provides outreach support to 107 of the local authority schools.  Currently half the pupils are part time and are dual registered with their mainstream school, and half are fulltime and registered only at the unit.  All pupils have special educational needs for emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.  The unit receives only a very small amount of funding through the primary sports funding.  The unit has only received pupil premium funding for one of its previous pupils (additional government funding to support pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals or are looked after by the

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Information about this school

local authority). The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium is much lower than the proportion nationally. However, the unit has not received any pupil premium for these pupils.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British origin. There is a much lower proportion of girls in the unit compared to boys.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher have both been appointed within the last year.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement further by ensuring that teachers are even more consistent in providing pupils with opportunities to practise their handwriting skills and so make pupils' presentation of work even better.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The senior leadership team have made excellent progress in improving the unit since the last inspection. They have developed the quality of teaching even more and, in turn, further raised the achievement of the pupils. The excellent way in which they and all the staff work together as a unified team provides excellent capacity for future improvement.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 All leaders and managers, and staff have high expectations of all pupils. They monitor the progress of all pupils very effectively. This ensures that all staff know exactly where their pupils are and any underachievement is quickly tackled. Staff work very closely with their feeder schools to fully ensure that work is uniform across both establishments. This in turn ensures that pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their education.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The senior leadership team is highly efficient in the way it monitors the work of the outreach team which provides excellent support and training to the unit’s feeder schools. Outreach staff work closely with the headteachers to make sure that the quality of the support given is at the highest levels possible. As a result, the headteachers are extremely positive about the work of the outreach team.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The leadership and management of teaching is excellent and the senior leadership team ensures its judgements are robust by having its views moderated by the local authority, the headteachers of their feeder schools and the headteachers on the management committee. This has resulted in teaching being consistently good and much of it is outstanding. In addition, the proportion of outstanding teaching is rising rapidly. Senior leaders cross reference the quality of teaching with the work seen in pupils’ books and the information they have on the pupils’ progress to gain an accurate picture of teaching over time.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Performance management systems are rigorous and used to support and develop teachers exceptionally well. Training is very well linked to the needs of the unit and the individual staff, which results in all staff being highly positive about the unit. As one member of staff stated, ‘I am very proud to be a member of staff at Perryfields, the leadership team cares and helps us to improve.’

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Due to the excellent and thorough monitoring systems in place, the senior leadership team has an excellent understanding of the unit and so self-evaluation is very accurate. This results in excellent planning for future improvements. The subject leaders monitor their subjects very effectively and the quality of teaching in their subject areas. They in turn are held accountable for the rates of progress pupils make by the senior leadership team.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Pupils’ targets are highly focused to ensure the most rapid improvements possible and help to ensure that all their needs are fully met. This in turn helps to ensure that pupils can, and do, achieve their very best and that there is no discrimination. All have equal opportunities to engage in the full life of the unit.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The small amount of pupil premium funding received last year was very effectively used to fund reading resources. This helped to raise pupils’ reading ages considerably in the six week period that they were in the unit. The funding also enabled pupils to attend the residential visit held earlier in the year. The primary sports funding, although only a very small amount, has been very effectively used to provide weekly swimming lessons. This in turn has engaged the pupils’ interests in physical activity and promoted healthy lifestyles.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The senior leadership team is working closely with its feeder schools to develop a system for assessing the pupils without National Curriculum levels. The unit is continuing to use its current system until a unified approach is agreed.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The senior leadership team has created a robust range of teaching programmes based around reading, writing and mathematics. These are then very well enhanced with a range of other subjects such as history, mixed martial arts, art, geography and religious education. The unit also provides a range of learning opportunities to develop the pupils’ understanding of various cultures, religions, and moral and social issues, which in turn means the pupils gain an excellent understanding of life in modern Britain.  Partnerships with other schools, the parents and other agencies are excellent. The links with the local authority are also excellent and are used very effectively to moderate the work of the unit. The work the unit does with specialist agencies is exemplary and ensures that any medical and/or specialist support the pupils need are always available. One parent described the work of the unit as, ‘a miracle. My child has

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The leadership and management are outstanding

changed so much in such a short time.’ Parents' responses to the unit's questionnaire were overwhelmingly favourable about all aspects of its work and especially in improving pupils’ behaviour.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements and all procedures are very effectively followed by a very well trained staff. This in turn means that pupils are kept exceptionally safe.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  The management committee has undergone a number of changes since the last inspection. It has a number of headteachers amongst its number and members have undertaken considerable training. This has resulted in them being a highly challenging and supportive body. Members use regular visits to the unit, examination of pupil progress information and books, the observations of teaching and senior leaders’ reports, to ensure they have a highly accurate view of its work. They use information on the performance of teachers to effectively reward positive results and ensure that, if any issues do arise, they can be tackled effectively. Members understand how well the pupils are doing both in the unit and against their peers nationally. They carry out their statutory duties effectively and ensure that all safeguarding aspects meet requirements.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. The senior leadership and all staff consistently apply the behaviour procedures. This results in the pupils quickly following routines and settling into the unit. In turn pupils are able to learn in a quiet, calm and relaxed environment. Behaviour both in lessons and around the unit is excellent.

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Behaviour

 The excellent relationships the staff build with the pupils means they are trusted by the pupils, who in turn want to succeed both for themselves and their teachers. The outreach staff also build excellent relationships with their pupils. The feeder schools report that this enables them to help their staff tackle any issues which arise without disruption to others. Pupils take pride in their work and have a real desire to improve.

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Behaviour

 Pupils, parents and staff are rightly overwhelmingly positive about behaviour in the unit. The pupils spoken to all felt that behaviour was excellent. As one pupil stated, ‘We are all friends, we get on well and share with each other.’ Parents state that, ‘behaviour is fantastic. They are little angels in the unit and much better at home too.’

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Behaviour

 The pupils’ very positive attitudes to learning is very well demonstrated in the rapid rise in their attendance. The unit’s behaviour logs all show a marked reduction in instances of poor behaviour and all records are extremely well kept and cross-referenced.

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Safety

 The unit’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. All risk assessments are rigorous and monitored by the management committee to ensure that pupils are safe at all times. As a result, pupils state they feel safe and this sentiment is echoed by all the parents and staff who feel Perryfields is a very safe place to be. Feeder schools report that since they had the support of the outreach staff, their schools have become much safer with far fewer instances of disruption to lessons.

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Safety

 Given their ages, pupils have an excellent understanding of the various types of bullying, but state there is no bullying in the unit as staff do not allow this to happen. They know how to stay safe on the internet and in general.

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Safety

 Pupils are given a lot of support both in the unit and at home in order to develop confidence, self-esteem and pride in themselves. This means they do not worry about returning to mainstream schools and feel safe in the knowledge that the staff will be there to support them.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers build excellent relationships with the pupils and this means that pupils respond very positively when being challenged in their work. Pupils want to learn as teachers make learning fun and engaging, give the pupils’ time to do their work and support them fully.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The staff provide a wide range of opportunities to develop the pupils’ language and communication, literacy and mathematics skills. Lessons are very well structured and planned to ensure that each pupil’s needs are fully catered for. Pupils at all levels are highly challenged and the pupils eagerly rise to this. Hence their rapid progress and quick return to mainstream education.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The outreach team also provide excellent teaching and support to pupils in their mainstream schools and this has resulted in a marked fall in the number of permanent exclusions across the local authority.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The teaching of reading is excellent with reading ages rising rapidly over a six-week period. This is also the case with the pupils’ spelling ages, which also rise by a similar amount. However, teachers do not always ensure that the pupils form their letters correctly and/or give pupils the opportunity to practise their handwriting skills. This occasionally results in pupils not always being able to read back their own work easily.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The staff always ensure that resources are available to maximise the progress the pupils make and to suit each individual’s learning style. Teachers deploy the other adults who support learning exceptionally well and these staff members are highly trained and provide a very valuable contribution to the pupils’ learning.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 In a mathematics lesson pupils were observed tackling number problems and having to decide which form of mathematical technique they were going to use. As a result of excellent questioning and discussion by all staff, pupils used a wide range of operations such as multiplication, division, decimalisation and addition to solve the problems they were presented with. The pupils were so engrossed in this work that several of them expanded the numbers they were using to hundreds and thousands. Throughout the lesson pupils were highly challenged but confident that if they became stuck they always could ask for help.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 All staff assess the pupils throughout each lesson and so teachers have an excellent understanding of where each pupil is, how well they are progressing in each subject and what is required to ensure continued rapid improvement. The close liaison the staff have with the feeder schools means work is continuous across all settings and so transitions from the unit to school or school to unit are smooth and without issue.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Staff have excellent subject knowledge. Teachers provide clear information to the pupils about what they are going to learn and why. This in turn means that the pupils are fully aware of the expectations right from the start of a lesson. Feedback on how to improve their work is exceptionally good and staff provide excellent opportunities for pupils to change and improve their work based on this feedback.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils enter the unit with skills and understanding that are often below age-related expectations. They make rapid progress in reading, writing and mathematics so that most reach levels of attainment that are in line with, or close to, where they should be based on their ages. This is a result of the outstanding teaching pupils receive, a factor which is recognised by the feeder schools. The headteacher from one of the feeder schools noted, ‘The work the unit does is remarkable, they motivate the pupils so well their progress is amazing, we can’t believe they are the same pupils who entered the unit.’

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils also make exceptional progress in their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. This is due to the very wide and challenging opportunities the unit provides to develop their understanding. For example, the pupils study the lives of people such as Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King. Each of these famous personalities is linked closely to the pupils’ own lives and the study brings out the benefits of living in a culturally diverse society. In all lessons staff reinforce positive attitudes, behaviour and social skills and so pupils rapidly adapt their own behaviour. Consequently, they are ready for a return to mainstream education very quickly.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 There are no variations between groups, girls do as well as boys, and disadvantaged pupils actually make slightly better progress than their peers in the unit. They leave with skills and knowledge that are approximately half a term above their peers in the unit and nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. Their progress rates are significantly better than those expected nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The pupils’ outstanding achievement is due to the outstanding teaching and the wide range of learning opportunities the unit provides. The core skills of mathematics, reading and writing are rightly the key focus of the unit’s work, but these are very well supported by a wide range of other subjects and learning enhancements. For example, the pupils have been on a number of visits and a residential trip. They study musical instruments such as the ukulele, which is taught by a local community resident. The unit also provides the opportunity for them to develop their confidence in other ways such as through mixed martial arts lessons. The pupils thoroughly enjoy these lessons and gain self-confidence and discipline.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Reading and writing skills are developed rapidly and the pupils’ understanding of text and ability to build words improves rapidly. This is due to the way in which the staff develop pupils’ reading skills and support the use of phonics skills (the linking of letters and sounds) effectively. Pupils also rapidly improve their sentence structure and general grammatical skills, resulting in them attempting much longer pieces of writing.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The most-able pupils are fully challenged in all lessons resulting in their outstanding progress. In a history lesson observed relating to Perseus and Medusa, the most-able pupils in the class were studying how each of the characters would have felt, predicting the actions of each in a range of scenarios and commenting on how each of them could improve their work. They were fully engaged throughout and clearly enjoying the challenges presented to them.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The skills and knowledge the pupils gain during their time at the unit develop all aspects of the pupils’ lives and so sets them up well for their future education and lives.

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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 130984 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 448144

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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 5–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 12 Appropriate authority Management Committee Chair Richard Hunt Headteacher Peter Hines Date of previous school inspection 14 June 2010 Telephone number 01905 427011 Fax number 01905 748950 Email address head@perryfields.worcs.sch.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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