Taliesin Education Ltd

School report T Plus Centre (Taliesin Education) Loveny House, 10 Miller Business Park, Liskeard, PL14 4DA

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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

 The senior leaders and the proprietor have created a positive attitude for improvement and have ensured that the independent schools standards are met.  Students enter the school with low attainment due to a history of disrupted education. Students make good progress from their starting points.  All students gain a wide range of academic and work-related qualifications by the time they leave the school.  Students make excellent progress in developing their personal and social skills.  Senior leaders monitor all aspects of the school, especially the quality of teaching. This is carefully linked to the students’ academic and personal development.  Highly positive relationships help the students to succeed.  The school is safe and secure and meets all current safeguarding requirements.  There are good links with other agencies to ensure all students’ needs are fully met.  Staff provide good role models that promote

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This is a good school

students’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development well.  Effective appraisal arrangements ensure teachers are held to account for students’ progress.  Teaching is consistently good and re-engages students in learning effectively. Staff ensure each student is treated as an individual.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers’ marking does not always help students to improve their work, which results in their progress rates sometimes slowing.  Students do not have enough opportunities to develop an understanding of the society in which they live.  Teachers do not consistently encourage students to improve the quality of the presentation of their work.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 The school meets schedule 1 of the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010, as amended, and associated requirements.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed a number of lessons, including outdoor pursuits and technology lessons. Senior staff members observed some of these lessons with the inspector.  Meetings took place with the principal, members of staff, and discussions were held with a number of students.  There were not enough responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, to complete a meaningful analysis. The views of parents and carers were, therefore, taken from comments presented to the school previously.  The views of staff were gathered from the seven replies to the staff questionnaire and from discussions held during the course of the inspection.  At the request of the Department for Education (DfE), a material change request to extend the age range of the pupils, from 11 to 17 years to seven to 18 years, was considered.  The lead inspector looked at students’ work during lessons and also made a more detailed inspection of a

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Information about this inspection

sample of students’ work over time. A number of case studies were scrutinised to review the work the school does to support its most vulnerable students.  A range of documentation was looked at, including information on the progress made by students, teachers’ planning and assessment. The inspector also scrutinised the school’s self-evaluation and improvement planning, and a range of policies and procedures, including those for safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Ronald Hall, Lead Inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The T Plus Centre is a day school for boys aged between 11 and 16 years of age. There are currently six students attending, aged between 13 and 16 years of age, all attend full time. The school caters for students who are in the care of a local authority. Most of the students have been in the school for less than three terms.  The school was last inspected in November 2011 and received a monitoring inspection in April 2012.  At the time of the inspection technical problems meant that some aspects of the website could not be accessed such as the school policies.  All students have a statement of special educational needs for behavioural, emotional and social conditions. Some also have additional complex difficulties that include autistic spectrum conditions, post- traumatic stress and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. All are placed at the school by local authorities.  The school has one main site, which is new, and a technology unit a few hundred metres away from the

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Information about this school

main school. The main building has ample accommodation to cater for its current numbers and to cope with younger pupils if necessary. The school first opened in 2007.  There have been several changes in staff and the senior leadership team has been strengthened. As it is a relatively small staff team, the three teachers all take responsibility for various subjects. This they do effectively through careful monitoring of students’ work, lesson observations and scrutiny of progress data.  The school uses a range of local sports centres to provide physical education opportunities. They also use St Austell College, for both work and further education opportunities.  Students are not entered early for GCSE examinations.  The school is not in receipt of pupil premium funding for those disadvantaged students who attend.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of teaching by: ensuring that the school’s marking policy is consistently applied, so that all students to understand how to improve their work and make faster progress ensuring that all teachers consistently expect high standards of presentation, and so raise attainment levels further.  Improve students’ understanding of other religions and cultures by providing more opportunities for students to experience and be aware of the diverse nature of society.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and senior leaders have continued to improve the school. All staff feel fully part of the process, and demonstrate clear capacity for future improvement. Although the school has moved premises it has done so with little or no disruption to the students’ education and progress. Although the school website has technical issues which means that some aspects, such as the school policies cannot be accessed, scrutiny of these documents clearly show they are fully compliant. Leaders have ensured that the school complies with all the independent school standards.  All students make good progress from low starting points. Careful monitoring of teaching by the senior leadership team ensures that good teaching in English, mathematics and science leads to all students making good progress. The most able students reach levels comparable with their peers nationally. This has resulted in several students achieving high quality GCSE grades in English, mathematics and science.

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The leadership and management are good

 The range of subjects is specifically tailored to meet the students’ individual needs, and is a strength of the school. They effectively ensure that the students’ progress in literacy and numeracy skills are consistently good. All the required subjects are offered and give students the skills and knowledge they will need in the future. It is further supported through very effective physical education and outdoor pursuits. These subjects give the students confidence and self-esteem, as well as a range of qualifications that stand them in good stead for their future development. They help students to re-engage in their learning and motivate them to further develop their personal and social skills. This prepares them well for their future lives.  The senior leadership team monitors all aspects of the school effectively and uses this information to manage the performance and sets targets for teachers. This is used to identify training and development

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The leadership and management are good

needs. Both the senior leadership team and middle leaders carefully monitor the performance of any students attending off-site provision and check their attendance on a daily basis.  The senior leadership team has prepared effectively for the potential lower aged pupils entering the school by ensuring current staff are suitably qualified and that all relevant staff undergo regular training to ensure their skills are effective.  All leaders and managers are involved in the school’s self-evaluation process. They have an accurate view of the school’s performance and use this information to set challenging targets for staff.  Discussions with students confirmed that each had an individualised programme that encompassed their emotional and learning needs. The school does all it can to meet their interests and create opportunities for them to gain academic and work-related qualifications. The school provides many opportunities to

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The leadership and management are good

help students prepare for life in modern Britain such as a good understanding of the British legal and welfare systems and local government organisations. However, the students’ understanding of other religions and cultures is not as strong. These ensure that equality of opportunity for every student to access an individual programme.  Letters seen from parents during the inspection clearly show that parents are happy with the school. They indicate that they are involved in their child’s education and feel the school does a good job of educating their children.  Links with other agencies are strong and help to ensure that all the students’ needs are fully met. The school also uses these links to help create each student’s programme. This includes mental health specialists, therapists and educational psychologists.  Work-related and careers guidance is expertly provided by the local authority careers advisory service,

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The leadership and management are good

which attends the school regularly. Students also visit its premises throughout the year.  The principal is looking to build further links with other local schools and similar organisations to provide further learning opportunities for students. They have also begun preparing to accept younger pupils and the prepared curriculum is very suitable for such pupils.  The governance of the school: The proprietor established the school with a clear vision to help young people with very challenging behaviour to learn and to fulfil their potential. She and her staff have continued to develop and improve this vision. The proprietor has ensured that statutory duties are carried out, including those for safeguarding. There is a clear commitment to equality of opportunity and zero tolerance to any form of discrimination. A key aspect of the school is the promotion of tolerance and respect for those of different faiths, cultures, ethnicity and gender.

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The leadership and management are good

The proprietor has a good understanding of performance data and a detailed and accurate understanding of the effects of the school in promoting the progress made by its students. The governors have a good understanding of the quality of teaching and use this effectively to ensure any under performance is quickly resolved. Members of staff are held to account, which is reflected in the challenging annual targets set for all staff. Finances are managed effectively and each of the school’s local authorities is provided with an annual statement.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of students is good. School evidence clearly shows that behaviour over time has improved, with very few incidents occurring and no exclusions. Discussions with students also support this positive view and they state that behaviour is good. Students were happy to tell the inspector that staff really support and help them to improve their behaviour, social and personal skills.  In a very short space of time, students settle into the school and quickly begin to manage their behaviour. As this improves, the students’ attitudes to learning improve and the students re-engage in learning and want to achieve. Although attendance is a little below the national average, it has rapidly improved, and all students’ attendance has risen sharply. Students are punctual to lessons.  Staff have excellent skills in managing situations and avoiding conflicts, which mean that any incidents that do arise are very quickly resolved. During the inspection two minor incidents did occur, but due to

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Behaviour

the excellent intervention of the staff neither became serious and little learning time was lost.  The staff and students rightly feel that behaviour is good. As students admitted, they have problems and this sometimes means issues arise, but they respect the staff and want to change their behaviour. They know staff have high expectations of them and strive to reach them.  All staff assist in the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the students. Students’ confidence and self-esteem improve as their progress rates rise and their achievement improves. The school has a range of policies in place so that all the independent school standards for this aspect are met.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep the students safe and secure is good. The staff provide positive support and all related policies and procedures are fully compliant with regulations. All staff follow these procedures well and so students are safe and secure.  Staff are very well trained and the senior leadership team has ensured there are a number of senior staff with higher level qualifications. All appointments are rigorously checked and all required checks are made to ensure the suitability of all staff.  Students are taught well about the various types of bullying they may encounter, and especially in relation to e-safety. Students were very clear that there is no bullying in the school, as the staff will not tolerate this, and they all get on well together.  Students have a good understanding of how to stay safe and healthy, which includes healthy lifestyles and physical fitness.  All risk assessments are very robust and the school ensures that each and every activity is well assessed

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Safety

and any possible causes for concern are accounted for. Supervision is excellent at all times and parents and carers are kept fully informed about their children’s safety and behaviour. As a result, all the independent school standards are met for welfare, health and safety.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is consistently good and has a positive effect on learning in literacy, reading, mathematics and science and helps to re-engage students in their learning. All staff have high expectations and aspirations of the students and so teachers plan for each student individually. This, in turn, makes sure that the needs of each individual are catered for.  The students have an input into their learning as staff take care to ensure that learning is based on their interests. This means students want to learn and to achieve. Each student follows a carefully constructed programme of both academic and work-related courses. This results in all students leaving the school with a variety of qualifications which support their future lives. Teachers monitor the progress of the students within each subject, this in turn means that any underachievement is quickly picked up and resolved.  The verbal feedback given to the students is very effective at helping to support their learning. However,

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The quality of teaching is good

written feedback is inconsistent and so not all students are provided with the understanding of how to improve their work. This means that, occasionally, the progress of students is slowed.  Teachers are effective at ensuring that the needs of all levels of students are met, and this means that the most able students can and do achieve qualifications in line with that of their peers nationally. All students successfully move on to further education or employment  Teachers and teaching assistants have good questioning skills and use these well to develop the students’ understanding. They engage students in discussions which enable them to further understand the topic being taught. For example, during a food technology session observed, the questioning and discussion skills of the staff ensured that the student gained a wide range of food-related skills and knowledge.  All staff provide work that is well matched to each individual’s ability and they expect work to be

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The quality of teaching is good

completed to a high standard. However, these high expectations do not always stretch to the students’ presentation skills. This means that, occasionally, students do not always attain the levels they might, due to presentation not matching the standards required.  The effective development of students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is due to the manner in which all staff build this into all the work they do. During one lesson seen, students discussed racism and how this had been reflected in a number of countries plus their own. There were opportunities to reflect on their views and how these matched the values of our diverse society. During this session students were able to develop their self-awareness, self-belief and self-confidence within a learning environment that valued everyone’s opinions.  Leaders have ensured all the independent school requirements for teaching and assessment are met.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 When students join the school their attainment is low, with large gaps in their knowledge and understanding. This is due to the large amount of time many have missed in their previous education. However, all staff have the expectation that each student will reach their potential and close the gaps created in their education.  Students gain a range of qualifications in both academic and work-related courses. The school builds confidence and self-esteem by starting with lower level courses and then building these up to higher level courses and GCSE examinations in English, mathematics and science. Many students have left the school with at least grade C in a range of subjects. Work-related courses, such as horticulture, catering and sports and leisure, provide further stepping stones into further education or employment. These students also gain a range of qualifications ranging from entry level to the higher level 3 qualifications in literacy

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The achievement of pupils is good

and numeracy skills whilst attending their placements. This is especially true of the outdoor pursuit courses the school provides, which have provided further education opportunities for a number of students.  The most able students make good, and occasionally outstanding, progress in English, mathematics and science. They also make good progress in the wide range of subsidiary subjects the school provides. School information clearly shows that, over time, students have made good progress in their academic progress from their various starting points. Although the majority of students have been in the school less than three terms, most have made up at least two years in lost education.  The students make excellent progress in their behavioural and social development. They gain a good understanding of British values through close links with the local police, county council and other bodies. However, the students have limited opportunities to visit a range of places of worship of various religions

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The achievement of pupils is good

and/or opportunities to experience other cultures. Consequently, students’ first-hand experiences to help them understand the full diversity of modern British society is a little limited.  Much of the work the school does is on an individual basis. The staff and students work together to ensure the work remains of interest and so good progress is maintained. The work-related courses are based on the students’ interests and this helps ensure positive results. For example, during the inspection one student, who had previously expressed an interest in the leisure industry, was supported in gaining a work placement at a local, high quality hotel. The improvement in their self-confidence and self-esteem was clear to see.  All groups of students, regardless of their ability and/or background, make the same rates of progress, including disadvantaged students who make up most of the school population. As a result, all the

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The achievement of pupils is good

independent schools requirements are met.

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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 135405 Inspection number 454283 DfE registration number 908/6096 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 Special – Behavioural, emotional and social disabilities School status Independent school Age range of pupils 11−16 Gender of pupils Boys Number of pupils on the school roll 6 Proprietor Alice Morris Headteacher Alice Morris Date of previous school inspection 9 November 2011 Annual fees (day pupils) £42,000 Telephone number 01579 342520 Email address alice.morris@tpluscentres.co.uk guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a

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School details

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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