Tees Valley College

7KS Tees Valley Youth Achievement Foundation Sotherby Road, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, TS3 8BT

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Overall effectiveness 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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This is a good school

 Students’ achievement in English and mathematics is good. Their achievement in vocational subjects is outstanding.  The quality of teaching is good. Teachers question students skilfully so that students learn well. Teachers also use this skilful questioning to check how well students are learning throughout lessons.  Behaviour is good. Relationships are good and respect for each other is evident. Carers comment on the dramatic improvements in students’ behaviour and attendance since starting the school.  Students’ safety is good and they say they feel safe. Adults educate them well about how to keep themselves safe.  Leadership and management are good. Leaders are highly committed to ensuring the curriculum meets the needs of each and every student.  Leaders and managers know their school very well. They are constantly reviewing and monitoring to promote improvement in teaching and student achievement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not always engage students in learning throughout the full length of a lesson. This is sometimes through activities not exciting students and on other occasions by not efficiently using all the time available.  Teachers’ marking in English and mathematics does not always help students know how to improve.  Teachers do not get enough opportunities to learn from each other and improve their own practice.  Leaders and managers do not organise assessment information in English and mathematics well. Therefore this information is not always easily available to support learning.  Individual education plans are not used effectively to support students’ learning.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 The school meets schedule 1 of The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection took place over three days with one inspector.  The inspector visited a number of lessons in a range of subjects. All lessons were observed jointly with members of the senior leadership team. The inspector also looked at students’ work.  The inspector observed students moving around the school at break times and between lessons, and spoke to students at different times during the inspection.  The views of staff and carers were taken into account. There were no responses to the Ofsted on line questionnaire, Parent View. However the inspector spoke to several carers and also members of staff from the school where students are also registered. Four responses from the Ofsted staff questionnaire were considered.  The inspector examined a number of documents, including the school’s safeguarding records, policies, procedures, and records of attendance, behaviour, achievement and teaching.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector held meetings with the centre manager, senior leaders and the proprietor, throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Joanna Sharpe, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 7 Keys School is an independent day school which is part of the Keys Childcare Company. The school is an alternative learning provider which is registered to admit up to 100 girls and boys. Students are referred from their mainstream schools where they remain on roll.  The school is located on a small industrial estate in Middlesbrough.  Most of the students have behavioural, emotional and social difficulties and have been excluded or are at risk of exclusion from their mainstream school.  The school focuses on vocational learning opportunities underpinned by core skills, English, mathematics and computer studies.  There are currently 19 students on roll who have a statement of special educational needs.  There are currently no students on roll in the sixth form.  Students take part in physical education at an off-site purpose-built facility.  The school was last inspected in November 2011.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good or outstanding by ensuring that – all available time in lessons is spent with activities that engage and stimulate students’ interests – all work is marked and marking helps students know where they have gone wrong and how they can improve – outstanding teachers have opportunities to share their skills with other teaching staff.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Leaders and managers should ensure that assessment information in English and mathematics, and students’ individual education plans are well organised and readily available so that they can be used effectively to support planning for learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 All leaders and managers work enthusiastically with all staff to bring about improvement. Their commitment to high standards is apparent.  Education principals (middle managers) work well with the centre manager to regularly and robustly review all aspects of the school’s performance. Their evaluation of the school is accurate. Termly audits as well as school evaluations and school development plans reflect a true picture of strengths and weaknesses.  Leaders and managers have ensured the curriculum meets the needs of the students extremely well. Students who have previously become disengaged from learning are now eager to come to school. They concentrate for exceptional lengths of time on activities that interest them. Students are eager to share their knowledge about how to mend a motorbike, build walls and discuss contra indications in the nail salon.  Excellent links with feeder schools, local colleges and local businesses enable students to gain a wide

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The leadership and management are good

range of good quality advice and guidance to help them make an informed decision about what their next step may be.  Students are very well prepared for life in modern Britain. The personal, social and health education programme supports students’ learning about democracy and how they can make good and bad choices in life.  Leaders and managers promote equality of opportunity very well. Any apparent discrimination is tackled appropriately. An ethos of respect and understanding of differences is apparent in everyday life in the school. Male and female students comfortably study together.  Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Through planned activities such as a visit to the local mosque and through skilled teaching, students learn to respect the views of others, especially when they differ from their own.  Leaders and managers have a firm reward and monitoring system which is highly effective in bringing

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The leadership and management are good

about improvements in behaviour. Carers comment on dramatic improvements in students’ behaviour. Daily reviews of student behaviour are communicated to the school where they remain on roll.  The performance of teaching staff is regularly reviewed. Supervisions, termly and annual meetings ensure that teachers are well supported and that their training needs are met. At the moment there are too few opportunities for teachers to discuss and observe each others’ skills so that they can learn from each other and improve.  The assessments and work of students in the vocational subjects is extremely well organised and used on a daily basis to support the students’ learning. This is not the case in English and mathematics lessons where, due to a lack of organisation, information is not used effectively to support learning.  Leaders and managers do not ensure that individual education plans are available for teachers on a daily

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The leadership and management are good

basis to help them support students in lessons.  Arrangements for safeguarding students meet statutory requirements.  Leaders and managers have ensured that all the independent school standards are met.  The governance of the school: The proprietor knows the school extremely well and works closely with the centre manager and middle managers to bring about improvement. Termly audits keep the proprietor well informed and enable her to challenge leaders well on issues such as student and teacher performance. The proprietor has developed good systems to reward good teachers and tackle underperformance. Financial management is well organised.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of students is good and frequently outstanding.  Students’ attendance has improved dramatically as they are eager to engage in learning at the school. Carers comment mostly about improvements in attendance.  Adults expect high standards of behaviour and any occasional use of inappropriate language is quickly and calmly addressed. Students respond well to any such requests.  Relationships are good in the school. Students respect each other and adults in school. They are polite and respectful to visitors.  There are clear routines in place which review students’ behaviour throughout the day. Students respond well to a reward system that they consider is fair and this supports the high standard of behaviour.  Students move around the school in a purposeful and orderly manner. They arrive punctually at all lessons and are eager to learn.  Students’ occasional disruptive behaviour interrupts learning, however this is extremely well managed by

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep students safe and secure is good. Students say they feel safe. Leaders and managers make sure students are safe whilst on the school site. Students are well supervised at all times.  Leaders and managers ensure that risks are assessed and safe procedures are strictly adhered to in the workshop environments where hazards are numerous. Students study health and safety courses so that they learn to take responsibility for their own safety. They also learn how to keep the environment safe for everyone.  Students are well educated about how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations. In personal, social and health education lessons they learn how drugs can negatively affect them and how they can say no. They also learn about how to keep themselves safe on the internet. For example, lessons on sexting (sending inappropriate images to others) inform students about the legal implications of this form

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is good and at times outstanding.  Teachers’ questioning skills are exceptionally good. They question students to make them think more carefully and deepen their understanding. They also use questioning to continually assess how much knowledge and understanding the students have gained.  Teachers manage behaviour extremely well. They have high expectations at all times. Teachers use diplomacy and encouragement very successfully, such as in an English lesson where even the most reluctant learners remained engaged. The use of the raffle ticket reward system and praise at the appropriate moment supports improvements in behaviour.  Teachers ensure that study in all subjects includes learning in both English and mathematics. Students working in construction use mathematical calculations to help them plan designs and select appropriate amounts of materials. Teachers support good progress in mathematics by teaching concepts and then

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The quality of teaching is good

using them in real life situations to consolidate learning.  In English, teachers engage students well as they teach things that are very relevant to individual students.  Reading is well taught as teachers encourage students to improve their reading skills at every opportunity in a wide range of situations. Students welcome the support from teachers when they come into school in their own time to complete application forms for college and work placements.  Marking and assessment of students work in vocational subjects is outstanding. Assessments are well organised to inform learning and all work is marked. Students are made aware of how well they have completed tasks, mistakes they have made and how they could improve. This is not always the case in English and mathematics.  Generally lessons are well planned so that students are stimulated and actively engaged throughout the lessons. For example, a teacher used short video clips and discussion to maintain interest and introduce

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The quality of teaching is good

new concepts throughout a computer lesson. Occasionally activities do not always inspire learning or are not planned well enough so that all the learning time is used.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students make good progress from low starting points. Progress in vocational subjects which are new to them is outstanding. Students reach standards in English and mathematics that are generally below those of other students nationally.  Previous barriers to learning in the form of inappropriate behaviours and very low attendance are quickly improved to support the good and outstanding learning that takes place. All students gain qualifications during their time at school, for example success is gained in health and safety qualifications prior to working in the motor mechanics workshop.  Students’ success in the next stage of their education or work life is as a result of the progress they make in English, mathematics and their chosen vocational subject. Over 60% of students gain training or work placements after leaving the school. The vast majority retain these posts for several months. Some

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The achievement of pupils is good

students are able to return to their previous school to resume learning. Many students also gain work experience or part time employment as a result of skills gained in school.  Students make good progress in English through a well planned scheme which leads to accredited qualifications. A balance of discussion and real life situations engages students well in their learning. Skills learned help students write their own curriculum vitae and application forms.  Progress in reading is good including for those students with a statement of special educational needs. Students read in a wide range of situations and skills are well developed. In a personal, social and health education lesson on Jack the Ripper, students read complex vocabulary fluently and accurately. Students also demonstrated skills of scanning texts to gather information quickly.  The most able students make good progress as they are challenged well to try to reach their full

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The achievement of pupils is good

potential. For example, in a mathematics lesson the teacher quickly moved a student onto a more challenging task so that he continued to learn and deepen his understanding.  Small class sizes and very individual input from adults means that the learning needs of pupils with a statement of special educational needs are well met to help them maximise their learning potential.  Mathematics lessons teach students mathematical concepts and then how to use calculation methods in a variety of real life situations. This supports good progress as students consolidate learning through practice and problem solving.

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Grade Judgement

Grade 1 Outstanding Grade 2 Good Grade 3 Requires improvement Grade 4 Inadequate

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Grade Judgement

Detailed grade characteristics can be viewed in the Non-association independent school inspection handbook which is published on the Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/non- association-independent-school-inspection-handbook .

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School details

Unique reference number 136259 Inspection number 454297 DfE registration number 806/6002 This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, 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. Type of school Secondary day school School status Independent school Age range of pupils 11–19 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 57 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 0 Number of part time pupils 35 Proprietor Keys Childcare Centre Manager Ian Kerr Date of previous school inspection November 2011 Annual fees (day pupils) £47.50 per day Telephone number 01642 218776 Fax number 01642 219019 Email address ian.kerr@keyschildcare.co.uk guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website:

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School details

www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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School details

inspects to 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit

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School details

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our website for news, information and updates at https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/user .

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School details

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

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