Brenkley School

ID Academy 3–5 Brenkley Way, Blezard Business Park, Seaton Burn, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear NE13 6DS

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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 Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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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

 The leadership team has not yet ensured that all the independent school standards have been met.  At the time of the inspection, the play area behind the school had not been completed. Changes identified in the pre-registration inspection visit had not been carried out. For example, the planned barrier had not been erected around the play area. The play area also only contains a picnic bench instead of the planned activities.  The results of required checks on staff are not always recorded with sufficient diligence.  The school’s admissions register was incomplete at the start of the inspection. The online register did not have the correct headings. The paper register did not contain the relevant information on past and current pupils.  At the end of the inspection, identified issues were in the process of being resolved. This demonstrated leaders’ commitment to improving their understanding of the requirements of the independent school

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher and the proprietor have a clear vision for the future of the school.  The new headteacher brings a wealth of experience to her post. This is demonstrated in the school’s emphasis on teaching a bespoke and challenging curriculum to all pupils.  Leaders’ high expectations have ensured that good teaching, learning and assessment help pupils to make good progress overall.  Parents and carers the inspector listened to were pleased with the support the school gives to their children. They feel that their children are making strong progress.  Pupils told the inspection team that they feel safe and enjoy attending the school. This is reflected in their high levels of attendance.  Staff ensure that pupils’ academic, social, emotional and mental health needs are met.

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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 leadership and management, by ensuring that: – leaders adhere to the requirements of the independent school standards and provide an adequate play area for pupils to access during break- and lunchtimes – the school’s admissions register meets the requirements of the independent school standards and is regularly updated – all required records of staff safeguarding training are diligently logged and recorded appropriately.  Improve the consistency in the quality of teaching and learning in a small number of lessons, by making sure that work set accurately meets the needs of pupils.  The school must meet the independent school standards, as set out in the annex of this report.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 The leadership team has not ensured that all of the required independent school standards have been met. At the time of the inspection, the play area identified in the pre-registration inspection had not been completed. This restricts pupils’ access to outdoor areas at break- and lunchtime.  The admissions register put in place at the time of the previous inspection had not been completed. Another register had been started but this was also incomplete. Although the destinations of pupils who left in July 2018 were known to the school, they were not accurately recorded within the first register, as required by the independent school standards.  School leaders do not monitor the quality of teaching and learning across the curriculum regularly enough to enable them to spot and rectify inconsistencies in the quality of delivery and impact. In a small number of lessons observed during the inspection,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

learners made slower progress. This was because the curriculum did not always match their needs as precisely as it could.  Leaders have ensured that the planned curriculum is ambitious overall and reflects high expectations of pupils. Many pupils start with gaps in their learning, often as a result of time away from school. The headteacher takes a tenacious and successful approach to ensuring that pupils make up for missed time and leave with a wide array of qualifications and accreditations.  School leaders have recently carried out an audit of opportunities the curriculum presents for increasing pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural knowledge and understanding. Curriculum plans show that pupils will visit a range of different religious places of worship. Studying the work of a range of artists in art lessons also enables pupils to develop a broader understanding of spirituality.  Parents hold a positive view of the work leaders do for their children. Comments such as:

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

‘This is a new start for my child. He has settled very quickly and is ready to come to school on time each morning, a change from previously,’ clearly reflect parents’ views.  The headteacher is determined that pupils who attend the school will be well prepared for life in modern Britain. Effective careers education supports this aim, alongside a sharp focus on academic achievement. The success of this approach can be seen in the high number of accreditations achieved by learners and the success of their transfer to further education.

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Governance

 Currently, the school does not have a governing body. The proprietor undertakes this role.  The proprietor is taking an increasing role in holding the headteacher to account. Minutes from recent meetings evidence the effect of his work well.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The school’s safeguarding policy is clearly displayed on its website. It meets the requirements of current legislation. Copies are offered to parents when pupils join the school.  The headteacher and the proprietor have ensured that pupils are safe within school. All required checks on the suitability of staff to work in school have been carried out. However, at the time of the inspection, the staff safeguarding training records were not kept as diligently as they should be. This was quickly resolved by the headteacher and proprietor before the end of the inspection.  Staff are clear about what action to take if a pupil discloses a problem to them.  The headteacher regularly attends multidisciplinary team meetings regarding pupils who attend the school. Records of meetings, alongside other safeguarding concerns, are securely logged on the school’s bespoke online system.

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Safeguarding

 Parents and pupils feel that the school keeps pupils safe at all times. Risk assessments for off-site visits identify risk effectively.  Incidents of difficult behaviour are also logged effectively and follow-up actions are recorded clearly and acted on appropriately.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Much of the teaching is carried out by the headteacher, who ensures that the learning set matches the needs of pupils well.  Pupils’ needs are carefully assessed when they start school. Records of their previous achievement are not always available. Teachers’ rigorous assessment of pupils’ starting points is used to plan future learning. This ensures that pupils make progress.  Staff are skilled at asking questions that encourage pupils to think and learn. This was clearly seen when pupils were discussing recycling and the importance of using less plastic to reduce pollution in the world’s oceans. Pupils demonstrated well their clear knowledge, understanding and passion for change.  All the pupils have social, emotional and mental health needs. However, staff form strong relationships with them, despite their high levels of need. As a result, pupils settle well and are ready to learn.  Teachers have high expectations of what pupils will achieve and ensure that work nearly

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

always stretches pupils and encourages them to do their best. However, in a small number of lessons, the quality of teaching and learning dips and work set does not stretch pupils sufficiently. When this happens, pupils’ progress slows, as confirmed by work seen in their books.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good  Right from the start, pupils form strong bonds with staff. As a result, they settle quickly into the nurturing environment offered by school and incidents of difficult behaviour quickly reduce.  Pupils said that they feel safe and secure in school. They feel, even at this early stage, that staff understand their social and emotional needs. For example, pupils enjoy visiting a small farm close to the school each lunchtime to feed the sheep and pony with windfall apples. ‘This makes me feel calm, particularly if I am feeling stressed’, was a comment that reflected the views of pupils well.  Pupils’ self-esteem and feelings of self-worth are often low when they start at the school. Staff recognise this and work closely with parents to support pupils to improve their confidence both inside and outside school.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good despite their often very high levels of need.  Before arriving at the school, pupils have often suffered past difficulties and trauma. This sometimes makes them wary of adults and other pupils. Leaders and staff are particularly skilled at recognising pupils’ difficulties and making sure that actions that may trigger difficult behaviour are minimised.  Through taking an individual approach to teaching the curriculum, staff help pupils to start managing their own behaviour. For example, pupils and staff often work on a one- to-one basis at the start. This enables staff to develop a close understanding of pupils’ needs and to form relationships and model appropriate behaviour.  At the time of the inspection, pupils’ current attendance was 100%, demonstrating clearly pupils’ enjoyment of school and their desire to learn.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils make good progress overall, often from low starting points.  Staff use a mixture of professional judgement and their knowledge of age-related expectations to provide them with a baseline of pupils’ achievement when they join the school. A curriculum is then put in place that challenges and engages pupils to catch up and achieve to the best of their abilities.  The headteacher takes a tenacious approach to engaging pupils and leaves no stone unturned in her quest to ensure that pupils make as much progress as possible. Should a pupil suffer a trauma that affects their mental health, the headteacher ensures that every step that can be taken to re-engage the pupil is taken. This ensures that pupils do not lose touch with learning and they make strong progress overall.  As a result of the small numbers of pupils who attend the school, it was not possible, at the point of the inspection, to ascertain the progress made by different groups of pupils.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

However, last year’s Year 11 leavers left with a wide range of accreditations, including in English, mathematics, information technology GCSEs and a National Open College Network (NOCN) diploma. This helped pupils to make a smooth transition to the next stage in their education.

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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

Email address gordonquince@idsupport.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school meets the needs of up to 10 secondary school pupils with identified social, emotional and mental health needs. Pupils come from across North Tyneside and the surrounding regions.  Since the pre-registration inspection, the school has appointed a new headteacher.  The school does not use alternative provision to educate pupils.  The school was registered by the Department for Education in November 2017. This was the school’s first standard inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed learning across the school and visited a session of learning conducted by a home tutor. An analysis was undertaken of work in pupils’ books.  Meetings and discussions were held with a teacher, the headteacher, pupils and the proprietor.  The inspector carried out an analysis of all documents required for the school to meet the independent school standards. These included the school’s curriculum policy, safeguarding documentation, health and safety documents and the school’s complaints policy.  The inspector also took into account the feedback given directly by two parents and the feedback from four questionnaires received from current staff.

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Inspection team

Marian Thomas, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

 15 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that an admission and attendance register is maintained in accordance with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006[13].

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Part 5. Premises of and accommodation at schools

 29(1) The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that suitable outdoor space is provided in order to enable–

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

 34(1) The standard about the quality of leadership and management is met if the proprietor ensures that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school–

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

– 34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently;

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

– 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently; and

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

– 34(1)(c) actively promote the well-being of pupils. 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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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