Lakeside Early Adult Provision (LEAP) College (Wargrave House Ltd)

Lakeside Early Adult Provision (LEAP) College (Wargrave House Ltd) Independent specialist college

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Outcomes for learners Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Provision for learners with high needs Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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This is a provider that requires improvement

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is not good enough to enable all learners to make good or better progress in all subjects.  The overall progress that learners make in lessons is not clear, because many targets are too broad and not sufficiently broken down into small steps of learning.  The arrangements to track, monitor and review the overall progress that learners make from their starting points are not effective in English, mathematics, independent living and work skills.  Learners do not develop their English and mathematics skills systematically in classroom or community lessons.  Leaders and managers do not use performance management processes very well, including lesson observations, to identify, challenge and support underperforming staff.  The curriculum does not include a sexual health programme so learners are not gaining full understanding of this aspect of their rights and

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This is a provider that requires improvement

responsibilities as young adults.  Teachers do not promote diversity effectively in lessons and, as a result, learners are not prepared well to participate fully in the wider community.  Governors do not provide sufficient challenge to managers to promote improvements in the quality of provision.

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This is a provider that requires improvement

 Learners develop good personal and social skills in a range of settings, including work experience and the local community.  Most learners demonstrate increased confidence and skills in managing their behaviour.  Transition planning to prepare learners for their destinations on leaving college is effective.  Learners make good progress in developing their communication and social interaction skills.  Learners achieve a range of relevant qualifications to support their independent living and work skills.  A very effective multidisciplinary therapy team works with staff and learners to provide strategies to support learners’ development of personal and social skills.

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Information about the provider

 Lakeside Early Adult Provision (LEAP) College is part of Wargrave House Limited (WHL). WHL is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee, and offers school provision up to 19 years as well as LEAP College. WHL offers residential and day provision for children and young people on the autism spectrum, some of whom have additional complex needs. LEAP College opened in 2012 with a purpose- built building separate to the school. The leadership team spans both the school and the college.  The majority of the 13 enrolled learners attend on a daily basis. Learners are recruited from north-west local authorities.

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by making sure that teachers deploy learning support assistants effectively to ensure that learners make good progress.  Make sure that learning support is effective in promoting learners’ independence in all settings.  Review lesson targets and ensure that they are broken down into small steps of learning to meet the individual needs of all learners.  Revise and develop the arrangements to track learners’ progress in English, mathematics, and independent living and work skills.  Ensure that all staff are clear about how learners will develop their English and mathematics skills in lessons, and that they are monitored closely.  Wherever appropriate, use accreditation to recognise the achievement of learners’ long-term goals. Design and implement a sexual health education programme appropriate to the needs of the learners so that they gain a full understanding of their rights and responsibilities as young adults.

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What does the provider need to do to improve further?

 Develop and implement a strategy to promote the full range of diversity issues to learners to ensure that they are prepared for life in the wider community.  Ensure that governors receive the right training and information regarding the quality of the provision so that they can provide robust support and challenge to senior leaders.  Strengthen the rigour of the performance management processes for all staff. Ensure that lesson observations focus on the quality of learning and that teachers’ subsequent action plans for improvement have specific time-bound targets that are monitored closely.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 In 2015, WHL completed a management restructure of its school, post-16 provision and LEAP College. In September 2015, a new assistant head of education, reporting to the cross-organisation’s director of services and head of education, was appointed to oversee the college but changes have not impacted on improving the quality of provision.  Leaders and managers have high expectations of learners’ behaviour and social and communication skills. The support systems are well established within the cross-company multidisciplinary teams. The development of learners’ English and mathematics skills is not given sufficient priority. All learners have exemption certificates for working towards English and mathematics qualifications. A minority of learners have the ability to develop and achieve accreditation in English and/or mathematics, but this opportunity is not available.  Performance management is not sufficiently rigorous. The director of services and the head of education

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

have not had formal appraisals since 2012. Teachers are set targets following their appraisals but too many are not sufficiently specific or do not have timely completion dates.  Managers formally observe classroom-based teaching and learning once a year. The completed records show that they focus too much on the teaching taking place rather than its impact on learning. The suggestions for improvement are not always specific enough and progress in achieving them is not monitored frequently. Consequently managers do not have an accurate picture of the quality of teaching and learning. The head of education identified accurately the strengths and weaknesses in the lessons observed jointly with an inspector.  Since September, the new assistant head of LEAP College has introduced a range of initiatives to promote improvement. Half-termly reviews of teachers’ lesson planning and learners’ progress in English and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

mathematics are thorough and are improving the quality of individualised targets that teachers set for their students, but further improvements are needed.  Managers have developed an appropriate curriculum that offers a range of subjects to meet learners’ individual needs. Learners gain accreditation for skills in independent living and safe working practices. Good use of community settings and work experience enables learners to practise and develop their skills effectively in a range of different settings. An appropriate sexual health education programme is not offered. Individual tutorials cover specific sexual health topics when a need is identified.  The self-assessment report includes many of the strengths and a few of the weaknesses identified by inspectors: for example, managers identified accurately the need to enhance the governing body’s capacity to both support and challenge college leaders.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 The programme of staff development in relation to autism-specific topics, including behaviour and therapeutic support, is very effective. It contributes to the maintenance of a calm atmosphere that is conducive to learning.  Managers and staff promote a culture of mutual respect for others in the college community, including an increased learner awareness of how their behaviours affect other people. The promotion of diversity is not effective in supporting learners to understand tolerance of issues in relation to sexual orientation, other religions and disabilities.  The governance of the provider Trustees have supported the college well during the management restructure and through the development of new college facilities. The skills and experiences of the governors are not sufficient to provide robust challenge to senior leaders. Managers provide governors with regular and detailed reports but members of the board have not had

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

the training to enable them to use the information to ask challenging questions on the quality of the curriculum and learners’ experiences.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective Arrangements to safeguard learners are very effective. Learners feel safe and individual risk assessments are updated regularly in relation to learners’ changing needs. Staff, governors and trustees have annual training on safeguarding. The Chair of the Governing Body has specific responsibility for safeguarding and to oversee the detailed concerns log which includes instances of bullying. Staff and learners have the confidence to report instances and know that managers will respond swiftly. Managers have good links with external agencies to discuss concerns and refer safeguarding issues. Managers have responded well to protect learners from the dangers of radicalisation and extremism. Staff, governors and trustees have had ‘Prevent’ training and a plan is in place to address actions from

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

the recent audit. External monitoring of computer activity identifies any links to radicalisation or names of individuals, groups or material linked to extremist behaviour. Learners have had e-safety training, are aware of the risks involved and know what to do when they have concerns. Managers have provided a useful summary of the ‘Prevent’ agenda for parents and carers including links to websites with autism-specific resources, and they are in the process of adapting the resources in a format that can be used with learners in tutorials.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Teaching, learning and assessment require improvement. Too often learners sit around waiting to get instruction from their teacher on what to do next. Learning support assistants are not always used effectively and the pace of learning is slow. On a few occasions, learning support hinders the promotion of independence: for example, staff linking arms with learners in the community limits their opportunities to practise road safety skills.  Detailed initial assessment is used well to identify learners’ starting points and their needs and aspirations. Staff work well with parents and other professionals to identify learners’ needs when they first enter the college. In the current year, an improved baseline assessment provides a coherent summary and more specific course goals for first-year learners.  Learners’ targets in lessons are not sufficiently individualised. Many targets in English, mathematics and

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

independent living are too broad and are not sufficiently broken down into small steps of learning to meet individual learners’ needs. As a result, learners’ progress in lessons is not clear.  The monitoring and recording of learners’ progress is overly complex. There is no centralised record to support timely and thorough reviews of progress across all areas of the curriculum. The recording of progress in work placements does not consistently relate to learners’ individual targets and consequently does not clearly state what the learner can do and their next step in learning.  Staff do not have sufficiently high expectations for learners to achieve challenging English or mathematics targets. A clear and specific college strategy is not in place to support staff and, as a result, the integration of English and mathematics into lesson activities is not effective. Many teachers use strategies that engage learners well in activities that provide good opportunities for

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

developing a range of skills especially communication and social interaction. They check learners’ understanding effectively and use this well to promote further learning. Learners demonstrate a clear understanding of expectations and complete work to required standards. In these lessons, teachers effectively assess learners’ progress and the quality of their work.  Support for learners is good, particularly in helping them to manage their behaviour more effectively. For example, learners who become upset in lessons are supported well to calm quickly and return to their work. In many lessons, specialist therapy staff work closely with teachers and learners to ensure that each individual is able to learn and make progress. A small minority of support staff require further training to enable them to use more age-appropriate language with learners. Written feedback on learners’ work does not always relate to learners’ targets, and so does not consistently help them to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

understand how to improve the quality of their work.  Teachers promote a culture of mutual respect and make learners aware of their behaviour and how it affects staff and peers. The promotion of diversity in lessons is not sufficiently effective in preparing learners to participate fully in the wider community.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare requires improvement

 While learners enjoy their programmes and the community-based learning activities, they make slow progress from their assessed starting points in their English and mathematics skills. The curriculum does not cover all aspects of a young person’s rights and responsibilities, including sexual health issues. Individual tutorials discuss specific sexual health issues when a need is identified.  Learners work safely in lessons and feel well protected from harm. They recognise some risks they face around bullying and cyber bullying and are confident in knowing what steps to take to manage these risks. Learners’ understanding of the risks associated with sexual exploitation and extremism requires improvement.  Work experience placements are used well to extend learners’ understanding of work and enable them to practise their communication and social skills in a range of settings.  Learners develop good personal and social skills in a range of settings in the college, workplace and the

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare requires improvement

community. They learn to interact with people, listen to instructions and develop confidence in practising their skills in new situations.  Learners benefit from very effective multidisciplinary therapy support for their autism-specific needs, including behaviour. Most learners demonstrate increased confidence and skills in managing their behaviour with support. A few learners develop good skills to manage their behaviour independently.  Learners develop skills in maintaining their physical health. They benefit well from using community leisure services such as a local golf range and fitness suite.  Teachers and learning support assistants encourage learners to respect each other and the staff. They model respectful behaviour as they work with the learners. As a result, learners are polite and helpful in lessons and around the college.  Transition planning to prepare learners for their destinations on leaving the college is effective. Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare requires improvement

individual resources, produced by the multidisciplinary team, enable teachers to work effectively with learners to support their understanding of transition information, express their views and take part in decisions about their future.  Learners rarely miss college and arrive on time. The initial morning lesson is effective in helping learners prepare for the day.

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Outcomes for learners require improvement

 Learners’ progress is too slow in English, mathematics, independent living and work skills. The arrangements to track, monitor and review learners’ progress from their starting points is overly cumbersome and lacks rigour. Learners’ progress in communication, social interaction, flexibility of thought and behaviour is good.  Learners are supported well to progress into appropriate destinations, including maintaining their supported work placements beyond college. All leavers in summer 2015 progressed into individual day services programmes and a majority into supported living places.  Learners achieved a range of relevant qualifications in 2015 to support their independent living and generic work skills. Current learners are making appropriate progress in these areas.

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Provider details

Type of provider Independent specialist college Age range of learners 19+

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full contract year

Principal/CEO Mrs Sheila Jaeger Website address www.wargravehouse.com

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Intermediate Advanced Higher

16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ 16-18 19+ N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Number of traineeships 16-19 19+ Total N/A N/A N/A Number of learners aged 14-16 N/A

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Intermediate Advanced Higher

Funding received from Education Funding Agency (EFA)

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Inspection team

Margaret Hobson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Bernie White Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

The above team was assisted by the head of education as nominee, and carried out the inspection at short notice. Inspectors took account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of learners and employers; these views are reflected within the report. They observed learning sessions, assessments and progress reviews. The inspection took into account all relevant provision at the provider. 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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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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 1231, 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 www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk Learner View is a website where learners can tell Ofsted what they think about their college or provider. They can also see what other learners think about them too.

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Inspection team

To find out more go to www.learnerview.ofsted.gov.uk

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Inspection team

Employer View is a new website where employers can tell Ofsted what they think about their employees’ college or provider. They can also see what other employers think about them too.

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Inspection team

To find out more go to www.employerview.ofsted.gov.uk

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