Compass Community School North

Compass Community School Cross Lee House, Cross Lee Road, Todmorden, West Yorkshire OL14 5NZ

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school  The executive headteacher has worked hard to ensure that standards within the school continue to rise. Her vision for the future is shared by staff and is clearly reflected in the school’s forthcoming plans. She is ably supported by the newly appointed lead teacher.  Leaders ensure that all of the independent school standards are met.  The school works closely within a ‘therapeutic community’ which comprises staff from two care homes and the on-site psychology team. This partnership takes a holistic view of pupils’ needs and supports them to make good gains academically, socially and emotionally.  School staff understand pupils’ different and often very challenging needs. They manage behaviour well. They guide and support pupils to develop strategies to manage their own behaviour and successfully access education.  Teaching and learning are good overall. Staff have good subject knowledge. They use

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

questions effectively to help pupils improve their thinking skills and make at least good progress, particularly in mathematics.  When pupils join the school their academic and social and emotional skills are tested. However, current tests used do not always give staff a sufficiently accurate view of pupils’ academic abilities. As a result, work for the most able pupils is occasionally insufficiently challenging, particularly in English.  Pupils say they enjoy coming to school and feel safe and very well supported. This is reflected in their good levels of attendance and punctuality to lessons.  Leaders are focused on enabling pupils to attain as many qualifications as possible in the time available. As a result, the curriculum includes a wide range of subjects including first aid, Spanish and science as well as mathematics and English.  The proprietor’s understanding of school leadership is improving and a governing body

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

has just been appointed. However, the governing body has yet to develop strategies to support and challenge leaders to improve.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

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

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that: – systems used to measure pupils’ aptitudes when they arrive in school measure pupils’ academic ability accurately – work set for the most able pupils stretches them sufficiently and enables them to access as many higher-level qualifications as possible.  Embed improvements to the school’s leadership and management, by: – increasing the governing body’s levels of knowledge and understanding of the matters pertinent to the school so that governors are better equipped to support and challenge senior leaders and accelerate school improvement – ensuring that information on school computer systems is unique to this school.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The executive headteacher has a very clear vision of how to move the school forward. She has been effective in ensuring that current staff share her passion for making sure pupils receive good-quality education and care. She has ensured that all of the independent school standards are met.  The recent experience of working in mainstream schools has enhanced both the executive headteacher’s and the lead teacher’s knowledge of current educational standards. This has aided them in developing the curriculum and in setting aspirational targets for pupils.  Leaders work closely with teachers to check pupils’ progress. A very detailed termly review is undertaken. This report is fed back to carers and parents where appropriate. Academic targets are set in consultation with pupils, who are encouraged to strive to do the best they can. As a result, pupils left last year with qualifications and accreditations in

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

a wide range of subjects.  This year, all pupils are making good and better progress and are on course to achieve even higher levels of accreditation.  The close working partnership between school staff, staff from the care homes and the psychology team helps pupils to overcome their difficulties and high level of need. For example, some aspects of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education are delivered in their therapy time and regular homework is completed with the support of care home staff.  While the school has a clear focus on academic learning, staff wisely recognise the need to widen pupils’ horizons, aiming to let them gain experience in a variety of different settings, often following pupils’ interests. For example, pupils who show an interest in caring for animals help out in a local rescue centre. A visit made to the centre during the inspection clearly showed how much benefit pupils get from these experiences. Pupils

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

demonstrated great knowledge of the needs of animals, from terrapins to tarantulas, and empathy, kindness and understanding for others such as rescued horses, donkeys and pigs.  Leaders’ regular checks on teaching give useful feedback to staff and help them to refine and modify what they do to be even more effective. The psychology team meet with staff regularly and offer support and guidance on how to manage pupils’ behaviour. This enables staff to modify the way they teach to suit pupils’ individual needs. This has contributed to the very low levels of physical restraint used in the school.  Performance management processes are rigorous. Leaders identify and provide appropriate development for staff which links directly with school improvement targets. This approach has contributed to moving the school forward.  The executive headteacher carries out very regular and detailed analysis of many aspects

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

of the school’s work including behaviour, attendance, and physical restraint. She uses this information to bring about change. For example, changes to the curriculum have reduced the number of incidents of difficult behaviour successfully.  Through their work in citizenship and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, pupils learn how to become active citizens in modern Britain. Some have direct experience of the criminal justice system but are keen to learn about democracy and current affairs. A hotly contested and much enjoyed weekly news quiz run during celebration assembly demonstrates their enthusiasm.  The news quiz has increased pupils’ appetites for reading newspapers and listening to the news and has helped them to develop a stronger understanding of the viewpoints of others. This has contributed well to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Governance

 The governing body has recently formed and has had its inaugural meeting. It hopes to recruit further members including a parent governor.  Governance overall is at an early stage of development. Governors currently lack an understanding of school systems including, for some, the requirements of the independent school standards.  Governors are willing to learn and have identified governor training courses run by the local authority which they are planning to attend.  The executive headteacher and lead teacher are well supported by the proprietor and other members of the senior leadership team within the company. They recognise many of the improvements which the executive headteacher has implemented.  However, too many of the systems currently in place record school data and other company data together. This increases the amount of time the executive headteacher has to spend in sifting this data in order to record and analyse information pertinent to the

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Governance

school and reduces the time available to her to bring about improvements to the school.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Pupils who attend the school have exceptionally high levels of need which makes them vulnerable in society. School and the company staff work very closely together and have developed, along with the therapy team, a very strong culture of safeguarding.  Staff are trained to an appropriate level and two senior leaders have recently undertaken the designated safeguarding lead training (DSL).  Record-keeping is robust in all areas. Minor incidents are meticulously recorded and incidents requiring physical intervention are documented carefully and accurately.  Leaders review incident records regularly and use information gained from the time and frequency of incidents to analyse possible causes and triggers. This information is then used effectively in multidisciplinary team meetings to explore possible solutions or adjustments to timetables.  Rigorous recruitment processes are carried out which ensure that all staff are suitably

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Safeguarding

vetted and checked before starting work at the school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teachers are clearly focused on ensuring that pupils achieve as much as possible in the time available. Pupils are offered a bespoke timetable which meets their individual needs and offers a range of different subject areas.  Teaching groups are very small and this enables staff to work closely with pupils, making learning as interesting as possible. Pupils regularly attend off-site provision where they gain valuable experience of life outside school. These experiences are often used as a focus for learning. For example, pupils were recently set the task of writing a report on the different feeding requirements of animals after a visit to an animal sanctuary. This offers pupils opportunities to write for different purposes.  Reading is a key priority for both pupils and staff. Daily reading sessions such as ‘drop everything and read’ are carried out by both pupils and staff every morning. This successfully reinforces to pupils the importance of reading and has contributed to the

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

good progress they make in their reading development.  Staff work hard to produce a calm learning environment. Wall displays are informative and are changed regularly. Classrooms, although small, are effectively resourced with a range of information technology (IT) equipment. This is used to enhance learning and increase opportunities for pupils to develop their IT skills.  The therapeutic team of psychologists contribute to classroom learning effectively. They work closely with staff to increase their knowledge and skills of the needs of individual pupils. They also carry out individual and group therapy sessions. When these take place in the school day, pupils are always given opportunities to catch up on lost learning which contributes to their good and better progress.  Staff mark pupils’ books regularly and most follow the school marking scheme effectively. Pupils are beginning to respond to this feedback and this is contributing to the good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

progress made from their varied starting points.  Pupils are set realistic termly targets which are linked to their educational health care plans and learning needs. On arrival at the school, their needs are assessed by senior leaders. However, currently the system used does not have clear enough focus on measuring pupils’ academic knowledge and understanding. As a result, baseline information is not always as sharp as it could be. This sometimes slows progress, particularly for the most able pupils.  School leaders have worked hard to improve the quality of mathematics teaching within the school. The appointment of a new mathematics teacher has brought about significant change and pupils spoken to say how much they enjoy mathematics. School information shows that pupils now make slightly faster progress in mathematics than in English.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils often arrive at the school with very low levels of self-esteem. All have been involved with the criminal justice system and sometimes have missed more than a year of school.  Though an effective personal, social and health education and citizenship curriculum, pupils learn how to keep safe and the dangers posed by drugs and alcohol abuse.  Pupils’ personal development and well-being is placed at the centre of the school ethos. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong and are based on mutual respect and honesty. Individual success in both academic and social and emotional achievement is celebrated by everyone in a weekly assembly.  Pupils spoken to say they feel well supported and understood by staff. They are very clear about the forms bullying can take but are adamant that it doesn’t happen in school.

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Personal development and welfare

 Careers advice is provided by an external provider. While it is relevant and appropriate, school leaders recognise that more could be done to assist individual pupils to realise their ambitions.  Pupils undertake a wide range of sporting activities and this, combined with the guidance they receive when planning their lunch, has increased their understanding of healthy lifestyles.  Transition between school and college at the end of Year 11 is very carefully monitored. Last year’s leavers have all made a successful transition and are continuing to follow a diverse range of courses at local colleges.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  School staff work closely with other key staff in the company and the psychology team to ease pupils’ passage back to learning. As a result of this very carefully structured and sensitively implemented approach, pupils’ behaviour improves both inside and outside the classroom.  Due to their very high levels of need, pupils are closely supervised, particularly when they make visits outside of school. School staff work hard to gain their trust and work with pupils on developing strategies to enable them to manage their own behaviour.  Individual pupils’ attendance rises once they join the school. Their increased enjoyment in learning and future plans often enables them to see a purpose for attending school. Attendance at the time of the inspection was 96% overall, an impressive increase from last year where overall attendance was 82%.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils make good progress academically, socially and emotionally, often from very low starting points. The highly individualised curriculum enables pupils to progress at their own pace. For some, this means they complete level 2 qualifications sometimes started elsewhere. For others, it means they gain success from completing accreditation in more practical subjects such as first aid, animal care and vehicle maintenance as well as basic skills in mathematics and English.  All pupils leave Year 11 having attained a wide range of qualifications and accreditations. School leaders are continuing to build on this year-on-year. Pupils this year have more study options than last year.  Pupils are offered the opportunity to study up to GCSE level. School leaders employ external tutors in subjects where permanent staff are not qualified to teach. However, as pupils’ school attendance is for a fixed period there is not always sufficient time to

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Outcomes for pupils Good

complete this higher level study. The executive headteacher is aware of this and has been able to negotiate with local authorities to extend a pupil’s period of stay in order to complete examination study.  Pupils make good progress in writing; work in books shows how they grow in confidence and this is reflected in their writing skills. Their growing enjoyment for reading also improves their writing skills. Pupils commented how much they enjoy the time that everyone stops and reads at the start of the school day.  Progress in mathematics has improved since the previous inspection. Pupils cited mathematics as being one of their favourite subjects. More pupils are being entered for GCSE this year and the school is optimistic for their success.  While most-able pupils are beginning to undertake more GCSE subjects, particularly mathematics, few are willing to try GCSE English. This is sometimes because they fear

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Outcomes for pupils Good

failure and sometimes because of the lower expectations of staff.

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School details

Unique reference number 138441 DfE registration number 381/6004 Inspection number 10012878

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School details

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.

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School details

Type of school Other independent special school School category Independent school Age range of pupils 11 to 17 Gender of pupils Boys Number of pupils on the school roll 4 Number of part-time pupils 0 Proprietor Compass Community Ltd Chair Compass Community Ltd Headteacher Rebecca Slayford Annual fees (day pupils) £26,000 Telephone number 01422 524053 Website No website specific to the school Email address Rebecca.slayford@compasscommunity.co.uk Date of previous inspection 27–28 June 2013

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Information about this school

 Compass community school provides education for up to 10 boys with social, emotional and mental health issues, the majority of whom are known to the criminal justice system.  Pupils visit a range of different off-site providers to gain work experience. They are always accompanied by school staff who are responsible for pupils’ education and behaviour during these visits.  All pupils who attend are in the care of the local authority.  Pupils join the school as part of their 72-week placement with the company during which time they receive care, education and therapy services.  At the time of the last inspection the school was called Modus Academy.

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Information about this inspection

 Her Majesty’s Inspector observed four lessons and parts of lessons across all classes. A visit was made off-site to an animal sanctuary.  Meetings were held with the executive headteacher, staff, pupils, the governing body, the registered manager of one of the company’s care homes and the proprietor.  One response was received on Parent View. The registered manager also provided a corporate parent view of the school.  School documentation was reviewed, including the school’s evaluation of its effectiveness, its plan for future development, safeguarding documentation and the school’s own analysis of pupils’ achievement, attendance and behaviour.  Staff views were gathered through informal discussion and a formal meeting.

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Inspection team

Marian Thomas, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 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 copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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