Cambian Tyldesley School

Cambian Tyldesley School Shuttle Street, Tyldesley, Wigan, Manchester M29 8BS

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 School leaders and the proprietor have not ensured that the independent school standards are met in full. Outcomes for pupils, including the most able and those with special educational needs, are inadequate.  Those responsible for leading the school have not resolved areas for improvement with urgency or rigour. The actions taken so far have had little impact.  School leaders know where the weaknesses are, but do not have an effective plan for improvement. The school development plan, written by the headteacher with the support of the new director for education, is incomplete. It does not have sufficiently specific targets for improvement or explain in sufficient depth how the school is going to achieve its goals.  Leaders have not ensured that effective systems are in place to improve the quality of learning to ensure that good educational progress is made by pupils.  Recent changes to the leadership and staffing

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

of the school have been barriers to improvement.  Teaching, learning and assessment are inadequate because they do not enable pupils to make enough progress, particularly in English, mathematics and vocational subjects. Pupils rarely engage in learning and most cannot see the point of the educational activities in which they are asked to take part.  The leadership of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is inadequate. Attendance levels are usually very low. Pupils are often late. Leaders do not analyse patterns of pupils’ behaviour, which is often very challenging, to inform and improve the school’s approach to behaviour management.  Leaders do not ensure that a broad and balanced curriculum is implemented effectively. The range of vocational subjects on offer to pupils is very narrow and does not prepare them for life after school.  School leaders do not work effectively in partnership with parents, carers or local

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

authorities to help everyone understand what they can do to improve pupils’ learning.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

The school has the following strengths  The director of education and headteacher have an accurate understanding of the school’s weaknesses.  Leaders have begun to put in place systems to improve teaching and learning. However, it is too early to see sufficient impact. Compliance with regulatory requirements

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

The school must take action to meet the requirements of the schedule to The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 and associated requirements. The details are listed in the full report.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by: – reviewing the curriculum to ensure that learning is matched to pupils’ needs and aptitudes – introducing an effective system to check pupils’ educational progress and ensure that leaders intervene when progress is not good enough – raising staff expectations of what pupils, including the most able, can achieve, both in their personal and academic development – agreeing on and implementing a whole-school approach to communicating with parents and carers, to ensure that they understand what pupils are learning and how they can assist.  Raise achievement and improve pupils’ progress, particularly in English, mathematics and vocational subjects, by: – making sure that teachers understand and use the individual information they have about pupils’ abilities and aptitudes to plan activities which are targeted at developing useful skills, knowledge and understanding

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– providing high-quality professional development for teachers and teaching assistants to develop their skills in engaging pupils who have extremely challenging behaviour – ensuring that the curriculum is relevant and enables pupils who have very low starting points to develop their skills in English, mathematics and work-related subjects.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that: – procedures to ensure that pupils behave in an appropriate manner are firmly and consistently implemented – monitoring records of behavioural concerns are followed up to ensure that incidents of inappropriate behaviour reduce – leaders check for patterns in pupils’ challenging behaviours to inform whole-school approaches to behaviour management and link these to pupils’ engagement in learning – leaders ensure that plans to improve the school have a positive impact, with clear targets for improvement, challenging timescales and links to leaders’ evaluation of the

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

schools’ weaknesses – leaders develop a system to check that their actions are making a difference to improving pupils’ academic and personal achievement – leaders develop the curriculum so that it engages pupils, including the most able, and prepares them well for the next stage of their education, employment or training – the proprietor and directors of the Cambian Group set out clear expectations of the school’s performance and what resources will be made available to leaders to bring about improvement.

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The school must meet the following independent school standards

 Ensure that a written policy on the curriculum, supported by appropriate plans and schemes of work and which provides for the matters specified in sub-paragraph (2), is drawn up and implemented effectively (paragraph 2(1), 2(1)(a)).  Ensure that the written policy, plans and schemes of work take into account the ages, aptitudes and needs of all pupils, including those pupils with an education, health and care plan (paragraph 2(1)(b)(i)).  Ensure that full-time supervised education for pupils of compulsory school age (construed in accordance with section 8 of the Education Act 1996), which gives pupils experience in linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical and aesthetic and creative education is provided (paragraph 2(2)(a) );

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The school must meet the following independent school standards

 Ensure that pupils acquire speaking, listening, literacy and numeracy skills (paragraph 2(2)(b)).  Ensure that where the school has pupils above compulsory school age, a programme of activities which is appropriate to their needs is in place (paragraph 2(2)(g);  Ensure the effective preparation of pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life in British society (paragraph 2(2)(i) .Ensure that personal, social, health and economic education helps pupils fulfil their potential (paragraph 2(2)(e)(iii)).  Ensure that all pupils have an opportunity to learn and make progress (paragraph 2(2)(h)).  Ensure that the teaching at the school is effective; ensure that pupils acquire new knowledge and make good progress according to their ability so that they increase their understanding and develop their skills in the subjects taught (paragraph 3(a)).  Ensure that the teaching at the school fosters in pupils self-motivation, the application of

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The school must meet the following independent school standards

intellectual, physical and creative effort, interest in their work and the ability to think and learn for themselves (paragraph 3(b)).  Ensure that the teaching at the school involves well-planned lessons and effective teaching methods, activities and management of class time (paragraph 3(c)).  Ensure that the teaching at the school shows a good understanding of the aptitudes, needs and prior attainments of the pupils, and ensures that these are taken into account in the planning of lessons (paragraph 3(d)).  Ensure teachers utilise effectively classroom resources of a good quality, quantity and range (paragraph 3(f) ;  Ensure teachers utilise effective strategies for managing behaviour and encouraging pupils to act responsibly (paragraph 3(h) );  Ensure that the teaching at the school demonstrates that a framework is in place to assess pupils’ work regularly and thoroughly and use information from that assessment to

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The school must meet the following independent school standards

plan teaching so that pupils can progress (paragraph 3(g)).  Ensure that a framework for pupil performance to be evaluated, by reference to the school’s own aims as provided to parents or national norms, or to both, is in place (paragraph 4).  Ensure that the school actively promotes the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs (paragraph 5(a)) ;  Ensure the school enables pupils to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England (Paragraph 5(b)(iv ) ;  Ensure the school furthers tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures (Paragrap5(b)(v)) ;  Ensure the staff encourage respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the 2010 Act (Paragraph5(b)(vi) ;

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The school must meet the following independent school standards

 Ensure staff encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic process, including respect for the basis on which the law is made and applied in England (Paragraph5(b)(vii)  Ensure that arrangements are made to enable pupils to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence; enable pupils to distinguish right from wrong and respect civil and criminal law; and encourage pupils to accept responsibility for their own behaviour, show initiative and understand how they can positively contribute to the lives of those living and working in the locality in which the school is situated and to society more widely (paragraph 5(b)(i)(ii)(iii)).  Ensure that leaders promote good behaviour amongst pupils by ensuring that the written behaviour policy is implemented effectively (paragraph 9(b)).

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 New regional leaders have accurately identified areas of weakness and begun to plan improvement. However, there are few measurable signs of the impact of their actions, particularly in improving pupils’ academic and personal achievement and improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.  Teachers and teaching assistants lack the training and support that they need to ensure that pupils make good progress. There is no whole-school assessment system in place to check pupils’ learning and progress.  The leadership of teaching, learning and assessment has not led to any improvements. However, the new leadership team has drawn up plans to monitor and improve the quality of teachers’ work. It is unclear which member of staff, if any, has been given the responsibility for leading improvements in special educational needs and/or disabilities.  The school improvement plan does not focus sufficiently on improving the weaknesses in

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

teaching, learning and behaviour management. This lack of strategic direction from the Cambian Group and previous proprietors has been a barrier to educational improvement.  Leaders cannot hold teachers to account for the progress pupils make because there is no systematic process for setting targets or measuring progress. Leaders are aware that they need to strengthen systems to ensure that they have a greater impact on improving teaching, learning and assessment.  A reasonably broad and balanced curriculum is in place but it is not implemented effectively to take into account pupils’ ages, aptitudes and needs, including those of pupils with education, health and care plans. Schemes of work follow examination board specifications but are not well matched to individual pupils’ needs. Leaders do not monitor teachers’ work sufficiently well to ensure that targets for pupils are consistently high. The

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

quality of work and the progress pupils make are generally poor, including their progress in literacy and numeracy.  Pupils are offered a limited range of accredited courses and gain lower-level qualifications which are sometimes not well matched to their abilities, particularly for the most able. An alternative provider is contracted by the school to offer a limited range of vocational courses and occasionally pupils are offered work experience. The monitoring of the impact of alternative provision and work experience is poor.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is weak. The curriculum provides pupils with opportunities to learn about other faiths and British values such as democracy. However, due to pupils’ low levels of attendance or lack of engagement in lessons, this has very little impact. Pupils do not develop a sense of responsibility for their own actions and show very little respect for those in authority or wider society.

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Governance

 There have been a number of changes in the ownership of the school since the last inspection. The school is currently part of the Cambian Group. Leaders of the group have not ensured that the independent school standards are being met in a number of significant aspects. However, the recently appointed director of education has identified the school’s weaknesses. He demonstrates a commitment and ambition to tackle these issues. However, little impact of these actions is evident in relation to outcomes for pupils or the improvement of teaching, learning and assessment. The lack of strategic direction has contributed to the school’s inability to tackle key practical issues.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Appropriate checks are in place for the recruitment of staff.  The proprietor and headteacher ensure that the premises are safe and well maintained. The premises are of a suitable quality, and are a safe place for the pupils to learn.  Current leadership of safeguarding is adequate. The inspection found that leaders appropriately investigate individual complaints and concerns when they arise, and incidents are recorded in detail. However, there has been insufficient analysis of incidents to ensure that staff learn and take appropriate action to prevent further issues.  The school’s safeguarding policy complies with the most recent government legislation. Most staff have received up-to-date training to enable them to identify and act on signs of risk or harm. Those who have not are new and are scheduled to receive training in the next few weeks. This training includes information on the safe and appropriate use of

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Safeguarding

physical restraint and on how to identify pupils at risk from radicalisation or child sexual exploitation.  The school’s safeguarding policy, and all other policies, are available on request from the school. The Cambian company website gives too little information about school policies and procedures.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Teaching, learning and assessment are not good enough to ensure that pupils make the progress in their academic and personal development of which they are capable.  Teachers do not match work sufficiently well to individual pupils’ needs. This is because they have not had the information they need to check the prior learning, special educational needs and/or disabilities and aptitudes of their pupils. Consequently, lessons are often planned to be matched to national curriculum guidance or examination specifications without reference to meeting the individual learning needs of pupils.  Teachers and support workers do not have a deep understanding of why pupils have rejected schools and learning in the past and therefore are not well equipped to cope with the behavioural challenges with which they are faced.  There is no whole-school agreed approach to providing pupils with literacy and numeracy

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

support. Pupils do not receive the guidance they need to improve their work or to understand the next steps in their learning. The quality of work for most pupils, including the most able, is weak. In addition, the standard of pupils’ handwriting and presentation is often poor. Most pupils do not engage in writing longer pieces of work.  There is little focus on the teaching of reading or speaking and listening. In many classes, pupils mumble answers to questions or shout inappropriately. There is no agreed whole- school approach to teaching reading or writing despite this being an identified learning need of many pupils.  Teachers use practical activities such as cooking, art and the use of computers effectively to ensure that pupils develop an interest in some lessons.  Most pupils say they feel safe in the school environment.  Parents, carers and placing local authorities receive very scant written information about

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

pupils’ learning and progress. The reports lack specific detail of how parents and carers could help the school to encourage pupils to learn.  Teachers and teaching assistants develop positive relationships with some of the pupils, often working one-to-one to build their social and communication skills effectively. In addition, they help manage pupils’ challenging and disruptive behaviour. However, they spend too long cajoling pupils to work.  Pupils have limited opportunities for work experience in local businesses because often they are not well prepared emotionally or socially to cope with the world of work. Leaders recognise that development of vocational opportunities will make a positive contribution to the development of pupils’ social and communication skills; however, as yet resources are limited.  Pupils start the day chaotically, arriving at different times, often late, often being escorted

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

to lessons by teaching assistants. The inspector observed pupils arguing with staff and refusing to enter the school. This means that, for many, the day often starts on a negative note, especially for pupils with the most anxious and challenging behaviours.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate. Leaders do not ensure that concerns identified by staff about behaviour are appropriately followed up and resolved.  The school has facilities for pupils to play outside but they are rarely used. Physical education sessions are held off site, but attendance is low. Pupils’ social and communication skills are not well developed.  The curriculum contains information about how pupils should keep themselves safe, including when using the internet. The use of information technology is appropriately monitored so that pupils are not put at risk.  Teachers and teaching assistants try to get to know their pupils and understand the reasons for challenging and anxious behaviours, but they receive too little support to enable them to intervene effectively.  The school has few links with the local community and pupils rarely take part in local

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

events.  Most pupils’ attendance is poor. The school has not worked successfully with parents and carers to ensure that pupils who are reluctant to come to school attend. Records and attendance registers confirm that attendance for most pupils is poor. Pupils are often late for school.  There are too few opportunities for pupils to gain work experience and learn about a range of jobs. This does not prepare them for the next stage of their education. Risk assessments are in place to ensure pupils’ welfare, health and safety when taking part in activities away from the school premises. Although, in theory, the school will take pupils who are in key stage 5 (the sixth form), no pupils have ever stayed on at the school.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is inadequate.  The school’s approaches to reducing pupils’ anxious or challenging behaviours rarely work.  Leaders record behaviour incidents and incidents of physical restraint. Pupils are not given sufficient time to reflect on incidents which occur or helped to manage their behaviours and anxieties more effectively.  Leaders do not analyse incidents and concerns to identify patterns and possible triggers for pupils. Leaders do not ensure that the whole-school approach to managing behaviour used by staff has a measurable impact.  Pupils rarely speak in positive terms about their school, although recently a pupil who had recently left the school wrote a letter of thanks to the staff. The school occasionally gets compliments about its work from parents or carers but these are not recorded systematically.  Pupils enter the school with very low levels of attainment due to their social, emotional

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Behaviour

and mental health needs. There is very little formal therapeutic intervention to support pupils.  Information kept by the school to record and check pupils’ learning and progress is not systematically analysed. Teachers have not been able to use assessment information successfully when planning lessons to meet individual needs. The school does little to support pupils in developing communication and social skills. Pupils often express their views inappropriately and the use of bad language is common and goes mostly unchallenged.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Most pupils join the school at key stage 4 with levels of attainment that are below average. Many make little educational progress from these starting points and their attainment remains low. This is because the curriculum is not well matched to pupils’ needs and teachers are unable to engage pupils in learning to enable them to make rapid progress.  The standard of pupils’ work is inadequate in most subjects. Scrutiny of work shows poor presentation and pupils taking little pride in their work. Pupils’ progress in English and mathematics is inadequate.  Some pupils achieve qualifications, but for most, including the most able, these are at a low level. Pupils rarely achieve GCSE grades A* to C in any subjects.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not make good progress educationally. The most able pupils are not challenged by their work and consequently do not reach the levels of which they are capable.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Pupils’ work across a range of subjects confirms that pupils start with low levels of attainment but do not catch up. Even the most able pupils do not produce work of a consistently high standard, often because of the school’s inability to tackle challenging behaviour.  The alternative provision comprises low-level programmes in hairdressing and beauty, construction and motor vehicle studies. If pupils attend well, they generally gain the qualification. There is little or no link between learning at the alternative provider and learning at school.

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Sixth form provision Inadequate

 Although the school offers sixth form places, no pupils have ever stayed on into the sixth form. The range of subjects on offer is very limited. Current leaders at the school are keen to develop this aspect of the school’s work.  Pupils often leave the school before the end of Year 11 and their destinations into employment, education and training are often unknown, although one pupil successfully gained an apprenticeship in 2016.  Careers guidance sessions have been introduced recently, although there are few visits to local employers. Work experience opportunities are available but uptake from pupils is low.

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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

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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School details

Of which, number on roll in sixth form 0

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £26,000 per year

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School details

Website www.cambiangroup.com/cambiangroup.aspx

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School details

Email address william.lewis@cambiangroup.com

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Cambian Tyldesley School is registered as an independent special school for 34 boys and girls aged from 11 to 19 who have social, emotional and mental health difficulties. This is the first inspection since the Cambian Group took over responsibility for the school.  The school was taken over by Cambian in April 2014. Nearly all pupils are placed by local authorities.  The headteacher took up post in February 2016. The director of education took up post in September 2016.  There are currently 15 pupils on roll, aged 11 to 19. Four pupils have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan.  The proprietor, who is the company representative, has responsibility for the governance of the school.  Three pupils use alternative provision at Red Box Training Ltd, Rossini Street, Bolton BL1 8DL.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed eight lessons or parts of lessons and looked at pupils’ work, teachers’ planning and information about pupils’ progress. In addition, the inspector undertook a focused learning walk, visiting classes to observe teaching and learning and pupils’ behaviour. He also visited the alternative provision and observed two sessions.  The inspector held meetings with the director of education, school leaders and teaching staff. He spoke with pupils informally throughout the inspection to seek their views.  The inspector scrutinised records relating to safeguarding, behaviour, incidents of restraint and attendance. School policies and school documentation were also examined.  The inspector observed the start of the school day and break and lunchtimes.  The inspector took account of six staff questionnaires; there were no responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire (Parent View), and no messages from parents or carers.

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Inspection team

Andrew Johnson, 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

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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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