Manchester Settlement

Manchester Settlement New Roundhouse, 1328–1330 Ashton Old Road, Openshaw, Manchester M11 1JG

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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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 school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Senior leaders, including the headteacher and proprietor, have not implemented fully a comprehensive system to chart pupils’ progress and assess their performance.  Trustees do not fully challenge leaders. Too few have first-hand experience of the school’s work.  Some planning documents lack precision and do not clearly identify strategies for tackling areas of weakness.  Pupils’ behaviour varies because staff do not consistently apply the school’s behaviour policy. The attendance of some groups is low.  Few resources are available to enable pupils to engage in the learning activities necessary for the GCSE science curriculum.  Pupils have too few opportunities to develop their appreciation of the work of different authors.  Too few opportunities are available for teachers to learn from best practice in other schools.  Feedback to pupils on their work is inconsistent and not always in line with school policies.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils are not always challenged to achieve to the best of their abilities. Thus, pupils’ progress varies across the school in different subjects. The school has the following strengths

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Teachers and mentors are dedicated to their work and have a good understanding of the complex challenges faced by pupils.  Teaching in English and mathematics is effective in boosting pupils’ progress.  Parents are highly positive about the school. They say that their children are safe and well looked after.  Effective partnerships ensure that most pupils enter further education after leaving the school.  The school’s work, including that of mentors, creates a strong bond between the school, families and various community services.  Together, the proprietor and senior leaders have ensured that all of the independent school standards are met.

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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 leadership and management by: – providing opportunities for more trustees to come into the school to gain first-hand experience of the school’s work – making available professional development opportunities for teachers, to ensure they are fully conversant with the new qualification requirements for English, mathematics and science – ensuring that planning documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, clearly identify strategies for tackling areas of weakness – providing more opportunities for teachers to learn from best practice in other schools – ensuring that teachers and mentors are more involved in planning, to develop their knowledge and understanding of school priorities – devising clear and effective systems for monitoring pupils’ progress and assessing how well they are performing – making appropriate resources available to enable pupils to engage in the experiments, research and enquiry activities necessary for the GCSE science

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

curriculum – developing pupils’ reading skills and appreciation of books by providing more reading materials.  Improve the quality of teaching and learning by: – ensuring that all teachers consistently adhere to the school’s feedback and assessment policy, indicating to pupils how they can improve their learning – challenging pupils to achieve to the very best of their different abilities and making sure that all make good progress in English, mathematics and science – ensuring that all teachers and mentors take a consistent approach to applying the school’s new behaviour policy to foster a climate of tolerance and respect, particularly in the classroom.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Leaders and managers (the headteacher and proprietor) have not ensured that all areas for improvement identified from the previous inspection have been fully addressed. In addition, procedures for monitoring teachers’ performance and assessing pupils’ progress are not effective enough. As a result, the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning require improvement.  Too few trustees have a comprehensive understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, or what it needs to do to further improve. This is because they are over reliant on reports from senior leaders and have little first-hand experience of the school’s work.  Some school policies lack clarity and do not clearly state how senior leaders intend to tackle areas of weakness. There is little evidence that teachers are involved in strategic planning. For example, teachers responsible for English and mathematics are not directly involved in setting the priorities for their respective subjects in the school development

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

plan. This is hindering school improvements.  Staff who spoke to the inspector indicated that they take advantage of various training opportunities, including in safeguarding and behaviour management. However, English and mathematics teachers have not received all the training necessary for them to be conversant with the new qualification and curriculum requirements for their respective subjects.  Inspection evidence, including discussions with pupils, indicates that too few resources are available to enable pupils to engage in the experiments, research and enquiry activities necessary for the GCSE science curriculum. Senior leaders are aware of this and have recently secured funding to improve science provision.  Leaders set targets for teachers through a system of performance management. While targets relate to school priorities, they are not linked precisely enough to improving outcomes for teachers.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 This year pupils’ learning has been extended through a new ‘open awards’ curriculum that includes retail and art. The curriculum also includes aspects of personal, social and health education and outdoor learning in activities such as orienteering, mountain biking, rock climbing and archery. Early indications are that pupils are making rapid progress in all of the open curriculum subject areas.  Some aspects of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are promoted better than others. For example, pupils raise money for various homeless charities, a local children’s hospital and cancer research. They enjoy going to museums, the cinema and theatres. Pupils who spoke to the inspector said that they are looking forward to going to an Andy Warhol exhibition. However, pupils’ appreciation of world faiths, Christian traditions and well-known cultural and religious festivals, such as Diwali, Eid and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

Ramadan, is limited.  Pupils understand the importance of British values and explore issues such as fair play and democratic principles through English and the open curriculum. For example, pupils recently gave their views on the reorganisation of the school’s common room and have a developing appreciation of British history and political institutions.  The school’s work with parents and carers is well developed and effective. Parents who spoke with the inspector said that the school ‘transforms lives’ and goes the ‘extra mile’ to get their children into school. Learning mentors make home visits when senior leaders are concerned about pupils. They work with parents to encourage good attendance. Parents are of the view that their children are safe and well looked after.  The school works well in partnership with the community police support service. Officers come into the school regularly to discuss the importance of good citizenship. They

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

challenge pupils who are not in school, helping to prevent any safeguarding issues.  Senior leaders, with the support of teachers, mentors and other staff, have been effective in their work to ensure that all of the independent school standards are met.

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Governance

 Trustees are of the view that the school has undergone significant changes since the previous inspection. They say that the school caters for the pupils’ social, emotional, pastoral and academic needs effectively. However, too few trustees have a precise understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. This is because they are over reliant on reports from senior leaders and have little first-hand experience of the school’s work.  Trustees are fully aware that most pupils are either ‘school refusers’ or long-term absentees with significant gaps in their learning. They know that these factors have a negative impact on pupils’ attainment and progress. However, they are less aware of senior leaders’ strategies, or success, in tackling these challenges.  Trustees meet on a regular basis and receive reports from senior leaders. They are aware of the school’s good relationships with referring schools and know that strong links with

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Governance

colleges are helping to ensure a wide range of career options for pupils.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The school has a comprehensive safeguarding policy in place. All staff adhere to this policy and are familiar with the government’s latest guidelines on keeping children safe in education.  The school works with a range of partners, including police and community service officers and various welfare and social services, to ensure that the whereabouts of any pupils missing from school can be quickly established.  All staff who spoke with the inspector demonstrated their good knowledge of safeguarding procedures and familiarity with school policies and guidelines. For example, all staff know exactly what they should do in the event of a pupil making a disclosure linked to their safety or welfare.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The majority of teachers are new to the school since the previous inspection and are in either their first or second year of teaching. Most of their teaching experience has been gained at the school.  The quality of teaching requires improvement because it is not consistently good and is not always effective in ensuring that pupils make good progress and achieve to the very best of their ability.  The inspector found little evidence of teachers meeting the needs of the most able pupils. Although almost all pupils have missed significant periods of education, their skills and abilities differ considerably, as do their attitudes to learning. However, observations of teaching and a scrutiny of pupils’ work books, including for English, mathematics and science, show that teachers rarely use information on pupils’ prior learning to plan activities tailored to pupils’ individual needs and capabilities.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Teachers do not always follow the school’s marking and assessment policy. Where work is fully marked, practice is inconsistent. For example, teachers rarely indicate to pupils how they can improve their leaning.  There is good practice in marking in some subjects. However, such practice is yet to be fully shared across the school. In addition, there are very few opportunities for teachers to learn from best practice in other schools.  Teachers and mentors know pupils well and often skilfully use ‘de-escalation’ techniques to prevent classroom disruption. However, they do not apply the school’s new behaviour policy consistently to foster a climate of tolerance and respect in the classroom. For example, inappropriate language sometimes goes unchallenged.  Where teaching is most effective, pupils make good progress and enjoy learning. This was exemplified in an English class where pupils were learning how to use various literary

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

techniques to make their writing more interesting. At the end of the lesson pupils gave good examples of alliteration, metaphor and similes and discussed what they had learned about different styles of writing.  Where expectations are high, pupils are fully engaged in learning. This was shown in a mathematics lesson where pupils were encouraged to persevere with challenging calculations. These were linked to finding factors of various three-digit numbers. Pupils made good progress because they were encouraged to think about their answers and demonstrate the methods.  Pupils take great pride in the presentation of their art work and have produced moving illustrated family story boards in large format. These tell their, often very moving, life stories. Art designed to help pupils to express their feelings and emotions is highly effective, as is pupils’ ‘pop art’ work in the style of Andy Warhol.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Staff care deeply about pupils and are committed to improving their attendance and performance. However, systems for supporting the welfare of pupils are not as well developed as they should be. For example, a number of policies were not up to date at the start of the inspection. Although any shortcomings have now been rectified by senior leaders, these failures had the potential to compromise pupils’ welfare and safety.  Pupils have a good understanding of racism. They define it well and insist that it rarely if ever takes place at school. School records confirm that such instances are exceptionally rare. Pupils’ knowledge of homophobic bullying is less well developed.  The school’s recently introduced work aimed at helping pupils to understand the consequences of their actions is effective. Pupils know that they should be good citizens

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Personal development and welfare

and consider the feelings of their peers and adults.  Staff have good relationships with pupils. Those pupils who spoke to the inspector said that they could talk to any member of staff if they were worried about any aspect of home or school life.  Mentors are highly effective in promoting the social and emotional aspects of pupils’ learning. They offer a ‘listening ear’, accompany pupils to various sporting activities, including boxing, ice-skating, rock climbing and go-karting, and often act as the link between the school and home. Mentors are highly skilled at recognising ‘distress factors’ and usually intervene at just the right time to avoid conflicts between pupils and prevent anti-social behaviour.  Senior leaders ensure that impartial careers advice is available for pupils. Speakers from the Royal Air Force, army, prisons and mental health services have visited the school. Pupils have visited various job and recruitment fairs and attended careers ‘taster days’ at

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Personal development and welfare

local colleges.  Good partnerships with local colleges, most notably The Manchester College, help to ensure that the vast majority of pupils go into further education after leaving school. Last year pupils enrolled on various vocational courses in areas such as business, health and social care, engineering, construction, and travel and tourism.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  Pupils are not consistently well behaved and are often too easily influenced by each other’s poor behaviour. This is especially the case when pupils arrive to lessons late and aim to encourage their peers to misbehave.  The school has a comprehensive and recently reviewed behaviour policy, with appropriate rewards and sections. However, teachers do not always take a consistent approach to managing pupils’ behaviour or applying this policy. For example, some members of staff are more tolerant towards inappropriate language, while others are clear about their expectations of pupils’ (good) behaviour.  Parents are of the view that staff manage behaviour well and that their children’s behaviour improves during their time at the school. In addition, parents say that rewards such as ‘star of the week’, cinema tickets, certificates for good homework and phone calls

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Behaviour

home to inform of their children’s ‘fantastic work’ all help to modify and improve behaviour.  Comprehensive systems are in place for monitoring pupils’ attendance. At the time of the inspection, senior leaders were especially concerned about a small group of new Year 10 pupils with poor attendance. However, inspection evidence confirms that the school is acting appropriately, and working with the right partners, to improve the attendance of these pupils. Year 11 and key stage 3 pupils attend school regularly.  The school excludes pupils as a last resort. Data for this academic years shows that the number of exclusions has decreased significantly when compared with the same period last year. Race-related incidents are rare, and there are no recordings of homophobic bullying.  Pupils’ punctuality is not as good as it should be. A small number of pupils are regularly late. The school works closely with these pupils and their parents in order to get the

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Behaviour

message across that good attendance is central to pupils’ good achievement.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Outcomes for all groups of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, are not consistently good across the school because the quality of teaching varies.  Due to the nature and remit of the school, and most pupils’ exceptionally low starting points, no meaningful comparisons can be made between their performance and that of other pupils nationally.  The school’s admissions procedure requires that, on transfer to the Manchester Settlement, placing schools provide information on pupils’ prior performance. However, this information is often sketchy, especially where pupils have spent significant periods of time out of education.  The school’s own base-line assessments indicate that pupils enter the school with significant gaps in their learning, with very few working above the lowest grades at GCSE level. Systems to monitor pupils’ progress and assess their ongoing performance are not

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

fully developed.  The school has very few high-attaining pupils. However, pupils’ abilities vary considerably. The school does not monitor pupils’ performance by ability group. Pupils’ work books show little evidence that teachers plan different tasks to meet pupils’ varying abilities.  Information in pupils’ mentoring folders and individual learning plans have the potential for capturing pupils’ progress in relation to extended writing, spelling, reading and mathematics. However, these procedures are under-developed and under-used. Procedures for monitoring pupils’ attitudes to learning, punctuality and social development and the impact that these have on learning are more comprehensive.  Opportunities to enhance pupils’ reading are limited because resources are lacking. There are few opportunities for Year 10 and Year 11 pupils to develop an interest in reading for pleasure. Senior leaders are aware of this and have made acquiring new books and

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

improving pupils’ reading skills a priority area for development.  It is too early to say whether the recently introduced six-week English, mathematics and personal development ‘intervention programme’ is ensuring that key stage 3 pupils’ make good progress. This has only been introduced very recently. Pupils’ off-task behaviour in this key stage sometimes limits their progress in class.  In 2016, 19 Year 11 pupils studied for their GCSE qualifications. Of these, 13 took examinations in English, mathematics and science. Six pupils left the school before taking examinations. The highest grade achieved by any pupil was ‘C’, the average grade was ‘F’. From the starting points indicated in pupils’ baseline assessment folders, this represents good progress for some, but not all.  Some pupils ‘roll on and off’ their course of study throughout the school year. The school was able to provide strong evidence to indicate that those with the best attendance, and

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

greatest length of stay at the school, are most likely to make good progress. This is evidenced in pupils’ English, mathematics and science books.  The new open awards introduced this year, aiming to develop pupils’ employability skills, allow pupils to acquire units of accreditation as they move through various subjects such as art and retail. Evidence in pupils’ work books shows that so far this year pupils are making accelerated progress. Orientation activities, and activities such as archery and rock climbing, are helping to hone pupils’ team-work skills and their determination to succeed.  At the time of the inspection the school was upgrading its information technology systems and hardware. However, work provided by staff shows that pupils have good skills in producing extended pieces of writing, using word processors, and manipulating various graphic design programmes.

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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 Independent day school for pupils with emotional, social and behavioural difficulties School category Independent special school

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School details

Email address adrianball@manchestersettlement.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10–12 December 2013

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Information about this school

 Manchester Settlement’s main aim is to provide education programmes for young people aged 14–16 who are not reaching their full potential in mainstream school. Since 2002, Manchester Settlement has delivered educational provision aimed at reintegrating young people back into mainstream school or further education.  Since the previous inspection, a new proprietor (chief executive officer) and chair of trustees have been appointed. Other appointments include three newly qualified teachers.  Manchester Settlement works with pupils with educational, behavioural and social difficulties, mainly from secondary schools within the Greater Manchester area. Most pupils attending Manchester Settlement have significant gaps in their learning, having spent long periods out of school.  Pupils’ length of stay at the school varies from a few weeks to well over a year. A large proportion of pupils have been excluded from more than one school. All are officially

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Information about this school

registered at their placing school.  At the time of the inspection, Manchester Settlement was delivering a six-week ‘intensive half-termly English, mathematics and personal development programme’ for three key stage 2 pupils at risk of being excluded from local schools.  Pupils are offered GCSE qualifications in English, mathematics and science. In addition, they benefit from an ‘open’ curriculum. This includes art, retail, information technology and a programme of outdoor learning activities. The curriculum also focuses on developing the personal, social and health aspects of pupils’ learning.  Manchester Settlement has close links with The Manchester College, where the majority of pupils study for vocational qualifications after leaving school.  The Manchester Settlement charity provides a range of services from the same premises as that used by the school. These include a supported housing service and legal advice

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Information about this school

clinic. An after-school club operates from the premises. This is subject to a separate inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 During the inspection, senior leaders amended a number of policies and updated the school website in order to fully comply with the independent school standards.  The inspector observed teaching and learning and looked at pupils’ workbooks and assessment information on their progress and attainment. Two joint observations were carried out with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, proprietor and senior leader responsible for safeguarding. A telephone discussion took place with the chair of the board of trustees and a meeting was held with a trustee.  The inspector held a meeting with staff, including teachers and mentors. A meeting also took place with a mentor with responsibility for liaising with parents and carers.  A meeting took place with a group of Year 11 pupils. The inspector also talked with pupils from Year 10 and key stage 3.  Questionnaires submitted by 10 members of staff were scrutinised. There were no

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Information about this inspection

responses to the Ofsted online questionnaire (Parent View).  A telephone discussion took place with a representative from one placing school.  The inspector met with a parent and held a telephone discussion with a parent.  The inspector examined a range of documents. These included the school’s reviews of its own performance, development plans, checks on the quality of teaching, safeguarding, health and safety, and records of fire checks. Documentation, including risk assessments, and various records of pupils’ attendance and behaviour were also scrutinised.

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Inspection team

Lenford White, lead inspector Ofsted 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

Parent View 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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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

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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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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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