The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Olwyn Naylor Headteacher The New Broadwalk PRU 51 Belvedere Road Salford Manchester M6 5EJ

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

Following my visit to the school on 4 December 2018 with Julie Bather, Ofsted Inspector, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in January 2015.

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvement in specific areas. This may indicate that the school has improved significantly overall. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection be a section 5 inspection.

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

Since the last inspection, you and a strong, well-informed management committee, have overseen a number of improvements at the school. There is high staff morale. Pupils feel safe and valued. Parents are well informed and supported. A typical comment made by parents and carers included: ‘The transformation is a direct result of the work, time and effort you put into helping my child.’

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

As well as these views, headteachers at some of the local secondary schools have been extremely positive about the benefits of your provision, for example through the newly formed ‘The Hub’. They appreciate the invaluable support you offer to ensure that pupils in danger of permanent exclusion remain in their mainstream schools. Comments made included: ‘Massive success story. My child is thriving here. He has received an award at presentation evening.’

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

Other pupils benefit from the joint-agency work between education, health and care services that enables their access to appropriate special school provision. As the school’s designated special educational needs coordinator, you are skilled in overseeing the process for families to secure an education, health and care plan for their children where required. Teaching and support staff work extremely well together. They ensure that their classrooms are bright and welcoming. Pupils’ spiritual, moral and cultural development is promoted well. For example, pupils who were spoken to explained that they know and understand the school’s agreed code of conduct. They work hard to gain points for good attitudes and behaviour. They learn about the importance of respect and tolerance for staff and for each other. They develop their social skills when catering for the local community during planned coffee mornings.

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

There is a clear emphasis on the importance of attending school and lessons. The attendance of most pupils improves significantly compared to when they were in their previous schools. Inspectors observed pupils settling quickly to their work with good attitudes to learning. Teachers and support staff are very skilled in assessing pupils’ learning abilities and then planning programmes to meet their individual needs. As a result, there is a good balance between the level of support they give and the extent to which they challenge each pupil in their learning.

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

Since the last inspection, you have ensured that teaching support staff have benefited from appraisal and professional development. As a result, there is a team of highly skilled and effective support staff. They provide sensitive support for pupils who experience social, emotional and mental-health needs. Pupils develop the qualities of resilience and independence that help give them the self-confidence to re-engage in learning. Support staff are also skilled in their support of learning, for example when pupils need to apply their reading, writing and mathematical skills in different contexts.

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

Subject leaders contribute very effectively to school improvement. They provide termly updates to the management committee so that members are informed about current priorities. For example, there has been a whole-school approach to ensure that all pupils develop their writing skills across different subjects. Inspectors saw evidence of pupils’ descriptive writing in mathematics following a visit to a local shopping centre. They included information about the coordinates of different stores at the centre in their accounts.

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

Leaders’ knowledge and understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses are accurate because areas for improvement identified at the last inspection have been managed well and addressed. You have ensured that information about pupils’ abilities in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation and mathematics is used well to inform teachers’ planning for individual needs. They set this information alongside pupils’ attendance rates to show them that good attendance and learning are linked. As a result, the majority of pupils make good or better progress from their starting points in each subject.

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

You have ensured that all pupils benefit from a broad and balanced curriculum regardless of their individual needs. There are enriching activities that provide choice for pupils in meeting their differing interests and abilities, for example in sport, art and food technology. There are some alternative-provision options through which some pupils can gain a vocational sports accreditation. Religious education is provided but does not appear formally in pupils’ timetables over the course of a year. The management committee is not fully informed about the intended impact of agreed school actions. As a result, governors are unable to make precise comparisons between where the school was before and after completing agreed actions. Information about pupils’ progress does not include a considered analysis of progress made by particular groups in specific subjects. For example, this term the same group of Year 7 pupils has

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

made good and outstanding progress in English and mathematics, but only good progress in science.

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

Staff at The Hub have been very successful in returning pupils to their mainstream schools. A number of pupils who benefit from short-stay intervention programmes have quite complex needs. Some pupils find it difficult to interpret or make sense of the behaviour of their peers. This can lead to occasional conflict and upset, which can then interrupt learning for brief periods. Some staff members are not fully trained in meeting the more complex needs of some pupils, for example those who may be on the autistic spectrum.

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

Leaders have established an effective pastoral team to oversee attendance, behaviour and reintegration programmes. As a result, pupils’ attendance and behaviour are well monitored. The majority make improvements in their attendance and behaviour so that they are then safe and secure in school. All safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. Safeguarding and related policies are reviewed and updated by the management committee so that there is full compliance with statutory requirements.

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

There are named safeguarding staff and governors and clear referral lines where any concerns are raised. Staff and governors receive updated safeguarding training so that they are apprised of any changes locally and nationally. There is a culture of safeguarding. Staff share any concerns or observations during briefing sessions at the beginning and end of each day. There is also close liaison with the police in regard to any local gang-related activities which might affect the safety and well-being of pupils.

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Short inspection of The New Broadwalk Pupil Referral Unit

Concerns and referrals are followed up with relevant health and care services. Procedures and systems are very thorough. Staff know what they are doing and work collaboratively. However, some of these procedures are too cumbersome. For example, information about child protection cases is not always centrally located or immediately accessible.

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Inspection findings

 Inspectors visited classrooms and found that teaching and support staff adhered strongly to agreed school policies and practices. For example, staff promote the school’s code of conduct with great care, sensitivity and consistency. As a result, pupils spoken to were very clear about what is expected and acceptable in regard to their behaviour in and around school. They are keen to gain behaviour points so that they can ‘cash’ them in at the tuck shop or to go on trips. As a result, the school has a calm and nurturing feel.  Staff work intensively to use information about pupils’ learning to inform their teaching and support plans. Staff knowledge and understanding of their subjects ensure that they are able to use explanation and questioning skills to great effect. Their deep insight into pupils’ needs and abilities enables them to provide carefully pitched questions and prompts so that pupils are appropriately challenged in their

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Inspection findings

learning.  Pupils enjoy learning. They are confident when reading out aloud in class, for example when studying ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Dickens. They make progress in their reading after being assessed on arrival at the school. They respond well to staff enactment and modelling of characters’ speech and intonation when reading from a shared text. Teaching support staff help to engage pupils, such as when they are learning about how to use a protractor when measuring different angles.  The curriculum is enriching and enables pupils to use and apply taught skills in a variety of contexts. For example, they spoke enthusiastically about a recent art exhibition in which they had their work displayed in Media City. They showed amazement when learning about the properties of iron and magnetism in science. At The Hub, pupils engaged with vigour and enthusiasm during boxing sessions.  The core skills of reading, writing and mathematics are promoted well through other

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Inspection findings

subjects. For example, pupils studying Victorian London showed imagination and creativity when designing colourful and informative posters and displays. Staff ensure that any errors in workbooks across different subjects, for example in spelling, are picked up and shared with pupils.  The majority of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, the most able and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good or better progress from their starting points in English, mathematics, science, computer science, art and food technology.  Inspectors confirmed that leaders at all levels work collaboratively and with purpose towards achieving the school’s intended aims. There has been rapid headway made in forging positive partnerships with other schools. The impact of this work is evident, in particular, where a number of pupils have returned successfully to their mainstream schools. As a result, this is a good and improving school with good capacity to

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 School improvement planning focuses on activities and outcomes that can be measured and evaluated in terms of their impact.  Current procedures to track and monitor child-protection concerns are simplified and streamlined.  Staff at The Hub receive training to meet the more complex needs of some pupils attending this provision.  Religious education features more clearly on the school timetable. I am copying this letter to the chair of the management committee, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Salford. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, the team held meetings with you and the executive headteacher. Inspectors conducted joint observations with you in each of the classes based at the Broadwalk site. These observations included the chance to hear pupils read within the context of lessons. An inspector held discussions with two members of staff about safeguarding, attendance and behaviour. An inspector visited The Hub to talk with a member of staff and to make observations of the provision. A meeting was held with two management-committee members and another with the assistant director of the local authority. An inspector held a telephone conversation with a local-authority representative about the alternative provision used by the school. Inspectors looked at pupils’ work books, folders and classroom display. They observed pupils in the school corridors and at breaktime. They considered a range of documentation, including the

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Information about the inspection

school’s review of its strengths and areas to develop, the school development plan, curriculum plans and information about pupils’ ability levels, progress and outcomes. They also looked at documentation relating to safeguarding, including safe recruitment of staff and risk assessments, behaviour and attendance and management-committee reports and minutes of meetings. They considered a recent written report about the school from an external adviser. Inspectors spoke informally with pupils during lessons and at breaktime. They considered 11 responses to a recent survey conducted with parents by the school. There were no responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents. There were no responses to the online pupils’ survey, but inspectors considered 15 responses to a recent survey conducted with pupils by the school. Inspectors looked at 22 responses to Ofsted’s online staff questionnaire.

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