Carrick Alternative Provision Academy

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

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Mr Ryan Brokenshire Principal Carrick Alternative Provision Academy Cormorant House Threemilestone Business Park Truro Cornwall TR4 9NH

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Short inspection of Carrick Alternative Provision Academy

Following my visit to the school on 21 March 2019 with Kath Powell, 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 April 2015.

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Short inspection of Carrick Alternative Provision Academy

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since moving to new premises in 2017, the number of pupils on roll has increased and you have appointed additional staff accordingly. The appointment of the family support manager and the family support worker has strengthened the school’s relationship with parents and carers. This has been a cornerstone to the success of the school in improving pupils’ outcomes.

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Short inspection of Carrick Alternative Provision Academy

As with all schools in the multi-academy trust, the governance arrangements have been strengthened. The pupil progress steering group challenges you and your staff robustly to ensure that a good standard of education is maintained and that pupils are safe. This provides directors with the assurances they need.

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Short inspection of Carrick Alternative Provision Academy

At the inspection in 2015, you were tasked with improving the accommodation to meet pupils’ needs and abilities. The new premises do this well. Specialist facilities for science and catering allow pupils to complete more-demanding courses. You were also charged with improving the quality of teaching of mathematics. During this inspection, inspectors found that learning is planned well to ensure that pupils make strong progress in mathematics. When pupils struggle, teaching staff try different approaches that help pupils develop their skills. In other subjects, such as science and catering, pupils apply these skills, for example when interpreting graphs. Consequently, outcomes are improving. However, some pupils do not develop the depth of understanding they need to reach the higher grades which they are capable of. Safeguarding is effective.

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Short inspection of Carrick Alternative Provision Academy

All staff show a deep understanding of the risks pupils may face and the signs of harm. The strong relationships between pupils and staff result in pupils having confidence that staff will take action to help them when they are concerned. Every pupil who responded to Ofsted’s questionnaire and those who spoke with inspectors reported they feel safe and well cared for.

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Short inspection of Carrick Alternative Provision Academy

The school has invested heavily in developing relationships with pupils’ families. This places staff in a strong position to provide pupils and families with the support they need. The well-established relationships with specialist agencies, including through early help, ensure that families receive support in a timely fashion.

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Short inspection of Carrick Alternative Provision Academy

The arrangements to keep pupils safe are robust. All concerns, no matter how incidental they may appear, are followed up. The recruitment procedures for potential members of staff are thorough. Consequently, the arrangements for safeguarding are strong and record-keeping is tight.

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Inspection findings

 Leaders have planned the curriculum so that pupils benefit from a combination of academic and vocational courses, some of which are delivered in partnership with the local college. This is designed to ensure that pupils are able to return to mainstream schools or, for those who complete their studies at the school, move on to further education or apprenticeships. In both their academic and vocational studies, pupils generally make good progress. In a few subjects, teachers do not plan learning well enough so that pupils deepen their understanding of the topics they study. This means that pupils do not make the strongest progress possible.  As a result of this balanced approach, a high proportion of pupils return to mainstream schools, and sustain their places, because they have made good progress in the core subjects. For those who complete their studies at the school, the vast majority of pupils have successfully continued their studies at college,

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Inspection findings

taken up apprenticeships or employment with training.  However, the courses pupils follow often sit in isolation and there is a lack of coordination. The programmes that pupils follow do not complement each other and ensure that pupils make strong progress. In some cases, the courses that pupils follow are loosely connected to their aspirations.  Leaders have taken a clear approach to raise standards in English and have invested in improving literacy skills as this is a barrier for many pupils. The whole-school approach to reading is relatively new. Pupils are engaging well with this and are reading more. As a result, their reading skills are improving.  The application of the school’s literacy strategy across the curriculum is not strong. There are too few opportunities for pupils to practise their writing and sometimes errors go unchecked. As a result, the quality of pupils’ writing does not reflect the knowledge and understanding they articulate verbally.

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Inspection findings

 Leaders have not yet developed a cohesive strategy for careers education. There are a number of activities that pupils complete to help them prepare applications for jobs and develop pupils’ confidence when they attend interviews. Some key stage 4 pupils benefit from independent careers advice. Staff have arranged work placements for some pupils. These have had mixed success.

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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

 the curriculum, including careers education, is designed cohesively to ensure that it meets pupils’ academic needs and their aspirations for the future  pupils have sufficient opportunities to apply their learning and deepen their understanding  the quality of pupils’ writing improves further.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees and the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Cornwall. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, senior leaders and the school’s improvement partner joined inspectors observing learning in classes and looking at the work of many pupils. Meetings were held with you, your senior leaders, the members of staff who oversee careers and work-related learning, two subject leaders and a group of pupils. I met with the three members of the local governance committee and the chief executive officer of the trust.

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Information about the inspection

Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documentation, including the school’s own analysis of strengths and weaknesses, safeguarding records and staff recruitment checks.

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Information about the inspection

I considered the views of one parent who responded to Parent View, the views of seven members of staff who completed Ofsted’s staff questionnaire and the six pupils who completed the online pupil questionnaire.

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