Park View Academy

Park View Academy 146–148 Parkview Road, Welling, Kent DA16 1SR

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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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 Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The strong and determined leadership of the headteacher and deputy headteachers has improved the school. Teaching has improved and pupils’ outcomes are good.  The proprietor and board members bring a wealth of expertise to the school. They use it well to hold leaders to account and ensure that the school meets all the independent school standards.  All staff know all pupils extremely well. Staff work well together as a team to meet pupils’ needs. Staff promote pupils’ well-being and personal development effectively. Staff take care of pupils very well. Pupils say that they feel safe and that staff listen to their views with sincerity.  Pupils enjoy school and attend regularly. Staff use a range of well-planned approaches to improve pupils’ attitudes to learning. Pupils are well supported to understand their feelings and manage their behaviour choices.  The curriculum is well planned to meet pupils’ needs. The key stage 2 curriculum, however,

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

does not enable pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding in subjects other than English and mathematics.  Leaders have improved the school’s assessment procedures. Teachers monitor pupils’ progress well and work effectively with a range of professionals to meet pupils’ individual learning targets. Pupils are well supported to achieve a range of qualifications.  The use of questioning to extend and challenge pupils’ learning has improved. Nevertheless, this remains inconsistent and is not yet a common feature of all lessons.  Senior leaders’ vision for the school is shared by all staff. Improvement plans identify the right priorities to develop the school further. However, middle leaders are new to their roles. Their work to raise the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes in their areas of responsibility is in the early stages of development.  Although pupils are encouraged to read, the teaching and assessment of reading are

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

insufficiently focused on developing skills, including comprehension.  Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school’s work. Many describe the school as ‘life-changing’. They are delighted with the improvements in their children’s progress.

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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 effectiveness of leadership and management, by ensuring that: – the work of middle leaders is developed so that these new leaders can support senior staff in raising the quality of teaching and improving pupils’ outcomes in their areas of responsibility – the key stage 2 curriculum in subjects other than English and mathematics is consistently well planned and sequenced in order to deepen pupils’ knowledge and understanding.  Improve pupils’ outcomes and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, by: – sharing the strongest practice that exists within the school to ensure that the use of questioning to challenge pupils’ learning is consistently of the highest quality – enhancing the teaching and assessment of reading so that pupils have consistently good opportunities to develop their skills and make even better progress from their starting points.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 As a result of the strong and determined leadership of the headteacher and his deputy headteachers, the school has improved since the previous inspection. The managing director, together with other board members, has ensured that leaders’ actions have had a positive impact on pupils’ learning and well-being. Park View now provides pupils with a good standard of education.  Senior leaders are highly ambitious for the school. Pupils’ best interests are at the heart of all their actions and decision making. Senior leaders understand the difference the school makes to pupils’ chances in life and, as a result, are always looking for ways to improve the school. They have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development.  Leaders have the full support of staff. Responses to Ofsted’s staff survey were extremely positive. Teachers and other members of support staff are highly complimentary about

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

the changes that have taken place over the past two years. They feel well supported by leaders and can see how leaders’ actions to improve teaching and learning are having a good impact on pupils’ outcomes.  Senior leaders monitor the quality of teaching and learning well. They visit lessons to observe practice and provide feedback to staff to help them to improve. Leaders use their findings from lesson observations to develop staff training sessions so that specific aspects of teaching and learning continue to improve. For example, leaders have worked effectively to improve behaviour management strategies and use of the school’s feedback policy and to upskill staff in understanding autism spectrum disorder.  The school is now in a position where teaching has improved and strong practice exists in different parts of the school. However, as leaders acknowledge, some staff are new and others are developing their teaching skills, as shown by some unevenness in the use of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

questioning to challenge and extend pupils’ learning, for example.  Since the previous inspection, the headteacher has worked effectively to establish a staff team that shares his vision for the school’s future. A new team of middle leaders is now in place. These leaders oversee teaching and pupils’ learning in each key stage. Although they work well as a team and show determination to succeed, they are new to their roles. They have not yet had support, guidance and professional development opportunities to equip them to support senior leaders in raising the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes in their areas of responsibility.  Overall, the school’s curriculum is well planned to meet pupils’ needs. English, mathematics and information and communication technology (ICT) are taught by specialist teachers throughout the school. They ensure that the functional skills curriculum is well planned to meet the wide range of pupils’ needs in each key stage.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Pupils and students in key stage 4 and post-16 respectively are well supported to choose from a variety of courses and qualifications. These include courses in construction, science, music and media technology, expressive and creative arts, careers and experiencing work, and independent living skills.  Pupils in key stages 2 and 3 follow a curriculum that comprises discrete subjects including science, history, geography and ICT. In key stage 2, subjects other than English and mathematics are not always well sequenced. This means that planned activities do not offer pupils consistently good opportunities to deepen their knowledge and understanding.  All staff are aspirational for pupils, particularly their future lives and careers. They demonstrate this in their day-to-day discussions with pupils and through the well-planned programme of assemblies and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

lessons. Careers guidance is effective throughout the school. Pupils in key stage 2 enjoy talks from different visitors in order to learn about the world of work. Pupils in other key stages and post-16 students receive impartial and effective careers advice. They learn about going to university and different routes into employment and have good opportunities to undertake work experience. Post-16 students are very well supported to access work experience each week, such as in a local charity shop and in a car mechanics workshop.  The ‘nature through nurture’ programme is a particularly effective feature of the curriculum. Pupils in all key stages enjoy weekly sessions at the school’s allotment, where they put their skills to good use in planting and growing vegetables. They learn to work collaboratively and understand the importance of caring for the environment. Performing arts form another strong part of the school’s offer. Pupils of all abilities have opportunities

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

to perform. ‘Park View Productions’ has seen pupils sing, read aloud and perform in front of an audience. Parents are particularly proud of this part of the school’s work. They told the inspector that, before joining this school, their children would never have had the courage or opportunity to take part in such events.  The school’s highly inclusive ethos incorporates a variety of opportunities for pupils to learn about the world around them. They are taught about equality and diversity and to respect others. Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  All staff, and particularly senior leaders, have developed strong and trusting partnerships with parents. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about how well the school has helped their children. Parents speak of their children’s difficulties in previous settings, including

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

exclusions and a range of other factors that have affected their children’s schooling. Parents compliment the work of all staff in giving their children a chance to succeed. All speak of the strong progress their children are making. Their comments include: ‘I have got my little boy back,’ and, ‘This school has changed my son’s life for the better.’

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Governance

 The proprietor, together with the executive board members, ensures that the school meets all the independent school standards.  The managing director, who is also part of the executive board, visits the school each week to support and challenge leaders. Board members meet regularly to discuss all aspects of the school’s work. They bring a wealth of expertise, including in special education, and use this very effectively to ensure that leaders’ work continues to improve. The headteacher reports to the executive board each term and his actions are monitored closely.  Board members have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths. Minutes from their meetings demonstrate a clear commitment to improving the school further.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Leaders, including the designated safeguarding leader, ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. The school works closely with families and external agencies, such as police community support officers and social workers, to keep pupils safe from harm.  Senior leaders have a deep understanding of each pupil. Staff are well trained to identify the signs that a pupil may be at risk. Staff are confident in the school’s safeguarding procedures and feel confident to report any concerns they may have about a pupil’s welfare. Safeguarding is on the agenda of every staff briefing so that pupils’ needs are always considered and understood.  Record keeping is robust. All incidents and records of concerns are logged meticulously.  Personalised risk assessments for each pupil are understood by staff. These are used effectively to keep pupils safe in school and on educational visits.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teaching is very well adapted to meet pupils’ individual needs. Much thought goes into timetabling, staff deployment and the use of rest breaks to ensure that pupils are well prepared for learning. As a result, lessons run smoothly and pupils focus well.  Teachers and other staff work together effectively to identify gaps in pupils’ learning. Leaders have improved the use of assessment since the previous inspection. This means that they now have an accurate understanding of pupils’ starting points and an effective system to measure their progress over time. This helps pupils to make good progress.  All pupils have education, health and care plans. Leaders ensure that all staff understand each pupil’s strengths and needs when they first join the school. Short- and medium-term targets are set for pupils and these are reviewed regularly. Other professionals, such as therapists and educational psychologists, are used effectively to support pupils’ specific

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

needs.  Pupils are usually taught in small groups, with high levels of adult support. Staff support pupils well in lessons. They use praise appropriately and know how to promote pupils’ independence. Pupils are happy to ask for help and respond well to staff questions and instructions. Over time, this high-quality support enables them to see the importance of learning and to value their ongoing achievements.  Classrooms are positive learning environments where pupils’ work is displayed and celebrated. Relationships between staff and pupils are good and these contribute to pupils’ positive attitudes to learning. Staff use what they know about pupils’ interests to make learning engaging. Occasionally, work is not sufficiently challenging for some pupils. Sometimes, pupils are asked to wait before moving on to more challenging tasks, and this leads to them losing concentration.  Teachers provide good opportunities for pupils to work collaboratively. Furthermore,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

teachers incorporate a range of activities that require pupils to investigate and work practically. Pupils are particularly keen on the cookery sessions and those that involve science and mathematics experiments.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is generally good. The use of questioning to challenge pupils’ learning has improved since the previous inspection as a result of staff training. Nevertheless, this is not of the highest quality in all lessons as some teaching does not use questioning well to deepen and extend pupils’ learning.  Pupils enjoy their English lessons. The teaching of writing is effective and pupils learn to write for a range of purposes, using and applying grammar, spelling and punctuation rules well.  Teachers provide pupils with opportunities to read in different lessons, and often. Pupils are encouraged to read aloud to the others in the class. Staff are developing the school’s

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

library in order to improve pupils’ enjoyment of reading for pleasure. However, the teaching of reading skills is not highly effective. Opportunities to develop pupils’ decoding and comprehension skills are not consistently of the best quality throughout the school.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils say they feel safe in school. Although they say that bullying hardly ever happens, they demonstrate a good understanding of the different forms that bullying can take. They demonstrate an age-appropriate understanding of how to stay safe when using the internet. Pupils know the potential risks of using social media and online gaming and know not to give their personal details to strangers.  All staff care deeply about pupils’ well-being, education and future. The way in which leaders monitor and support pupils’ well-being is a strength of the school. Leaders use a range of approaches that support pupils’ emotional well-being. These include, for example, regular, well-planned meetings with individual pupils. Good use is made of the school’s bespoke assessment procedures which continually assess pupils’ health,

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Personal development and welfare

attendance, achievement, engagement, behaviour and social factors. Over time, pupils understand that staff listen to, and care about, their views. This work strongly supports pupils to make positive decisions and engage with education and learning.  The healthy schools leader, who is also the chef, works closely with other staff well to promote pupils’ physical health and understanding of nutrition.  The introduction of the student ambassador award has been well received by staff and pupils. Pupils are encouraged to work through bronze, silver, gold and platinum awards which recognise a range of achievements, including their attainment, attendance, attitudes, and efforts in volunteering. This not only raises the profile of good citizenship but has a positive effect on pupils’ views of themselves and others.  Leaders have worked hard to show pupils that their views are listened to. The introduction of the school council and the ‘you said, we did’ display are examples of this.

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Personal development and welfare

In response to pupils’ suggestions, leaders have increased visits to the allotment, provided further work experience opportunities and access to construction courses, and established individual toy boxes in key stage 2.  Parents compliment the way in which their children’s self-esteem and confidence have improved since joining Park View. The school’s performing arts work is a strength. Pupils enjoy the drama and arts sessions very much. Staff make sure that all pupils are involved, in some way, in the end-of-year productions, such as ‘Cinderella’.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils follow instructions well and listen to adults with respect.  The school is calm, routines are established and pupils know what is expected of them. Pupils say that behaviour is usually good and that staff deal with any problems well. Pupils appreciate the way in which staff know about their needs and deal with any incidents sensitively.  Leaders’ expectations are shared by all staff. This means that behaviour is managed consistently well throughout the school. The school’s behaviour management specialist works effectively with other members of staff to support pupils’ learning. For example, he meets with individual teachers each day to discuss how well pupils are doing.  Each pupil has an individual plan which incorporates targets for their behaviour. Staff work effectively with their colleagues and other professionals to keep these targets under review. As a result of this good work, pupils’ behaviour improves over time.

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Behaviour

 Staff deal with challenging behaviour effectively. Staff training is used well to promote good behaviour among pupils. Staff help pupils to reflect on their feelings and behaviours and to understand the consequences of their actions.  Leaders analyse all incidents meticulously, both for individual pupils and for different classes and groups. Leaders use this information well to make changes to the provision in order to meet pupils’ needs. A range of interventions is used to support pupils’ behaviour, including therapies and drama sessions.  Attendance has been variable over the past two years, although it has improved this year. Most pupils attend well. Leaders’ strategies to follow up pupils’ absences are well thought out and effective.  Very occasionally, pupils are distracted by low-level disruption in lessons. This usually happens when the work provided is not sufficiently challenging or when pupils are asked

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Behaviour

to wait unnecessarily before moving on to a different activity.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils often join the school having had difficulties in previous schools. Some have been excluded from other settings and others have had large gaps in their education. Many pupils have attended a number of different of settings before they join this school.  All staff, as well as the proprietor, share an unwavering determination to support pupils who have had such complex education backgrounds to re-engage with learning and gain appropriate qualifications that will help them to succeed when they leave school.  Pupils make good progress in their learning in a range of subjects. The improved use of assessment procedures means that staff are clear about each pupil’s next steps in learning. The work in pupils’ books and files demonstrates good progress from their starting points, particularly in writing and mathematics.  In key stage 4 and post-16, leaders’ high aspirations and the improvements in the quality

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Outcomes for pupils Good

of teaching have resulted in improved attainment since the previous inspection. Pupils and students are well supported to complete functional skills qualifications as well as work-related courses in catering and hospitality, construction, engineering, music technology, business, sports and leisure, and art. Pupils make strong progress in English, mathematics, science and ICT to attain well, including obtaining entry-level qualifications. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment.  Pupils make strong progress in their personal, social and emotional development. In addition, older pupils complete courses in alcohol awareness, sexual health, drug awareness and well-being. All pupils take part in ‘travel training’ to develop their ability to use public transport and get out and about independently.  While pupils make good progress in reading overall, the progress of some pupils is

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Outcomes for pupils Good

hindered by weak skills in decoding text and comprehension, which have not been given sufficient attention in the teaching of reading.  In key stage 2, pupils’ progress in subjects other than English and mathematics is inconsistent because the sequencing of topics insufficiently deepens their knowledge and develops their understanding.

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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

Annual fees (day pupils) £37,000 to £65,000

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School details

Date of previous inspection 1–3 March 2017

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Information about this school

 Park View Academy is one of three schools in the ALP schools group. All pupils have education, health and care plans. Most pupils have autism spectrum disorder and/or social, emotional and mental health needs.  Pupils are placed in the school from a range of local authorities. At the time of this inspection, pupils on roll were aged between eight and 19. The school does not operate a separate sixth-form provision. For the purposes of this inspection report, the provision for students between the ages of 16 and 19 is incorporated into each part of the report.  The school’s previous full standard inspection took place in March 2017, when it was judged to require improvement. In June 2018, a material change inspection took place. At that time, the inspector judged that the school was likely to meet all the independent school standards if the material change was implemented.  Some pupils attend another of the ALP schools, Pier View Academy, East Crescent Road,

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Information about this school

Gravesend, Kent DA12 2A as part of their courses in construction.  Additional off-site sports and enrichment activities take place at the following locations: – sports activities and physical education at Crook Log Leisure Centre, Bexleyheath DA7 4HH – swimming and sports activities at Allhallows Leisure Park, Rochester ME3 9QD.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection was conducted with one day’s notice.  The inspector observed learning in all classes and in a range of subjects. The headteacher accompanied the inspector to most lessons. The inspector joined key stage 2 pupils on a visit to the allotment.  The inspector spoke with pupils informally throughout the inspection and held two formal meetings with pupils from each key stage. He met with teachers and support staff to discuss the impact of their work on pupils’ outcomes.  The inspector held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteachers and middle leaders. He met with the managing director, spoke with the proprietor on the telephone and met with a member of the executive board as part of the inspection.  Meetings were held with the school’s designated safeguarding lead. The inspector spoke with a representative of a placing local authority.  The inspector considered 15 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector met with parents as they brought their children to school. There were very few responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, but the inspector considered the free-text responses submitted by parents.  The inspector looked at a range of documents, including policies and procedures, assessment information and records related to safeguarding and pupils’ behaviour.  The inspector toured the premises and considered a range of relevant documents to check the school’s compliance with the independent school standards.

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Inspection team

Gary Rawlings, 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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