The Venn Boulevard Centre

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

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Mr Amraz Ali Executive Headteacher The Boulevard Centre 172 Boulevard Kingston upon Hull Hull HU3 3EL

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

Following my visit to the school on 9 July 2019 with Tudor Griffiths, 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 your predecessor school was judged to be outstanding in January 2014.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

This school continues to be outstanding.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

The leadership team has maintained the outstanding quality of education in the school since the last inspection. There have been considerable changes to your school. Your school is now part of the Venn Academy Trust. Neither you, the executive headteacher, nor the head of school were in post when the school was last inspected.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

At the time that Venn Academy Trust took over the school, leaders recognised that standards of education had slipped from the previous outstanding level as described in the last inspection report. They took effective and swift action to make sure that the quality of the curriculum and pupils’ behaviour returned to the level previously noted. Pupils now focus extremely well on their learning. Most notably, however, is the way in which you and your staff ensure that pupils’ individual social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs are recognised. You ensure that your staff do their very best to meet pupils’ individual needs.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

Your school has changed its intake somewhat. In the past, many pupils attending the Boulevard Centre were pregnant pupils or young mums. Now, places at your school are also taken by more vulnerable boys and girls who need extra support to engage in their learning and to come to school. You and your team have managed these changes well. Since your approach is focused on meeting the needs of each individual pupil, the school’s effectiveness has remained strong, even though pupils’ needs have changed. You and other senior leaders know your school well. You know where the quality of education is strongest. You are also keen to ensure that any relative weaknesses are dealt with quickly and effectively. Plans to further develop the quality of education are both sensible and precise. Systems to check the quality of teaching are strong. Associated professional development to help to ensure that provision is

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

the very best that it can be works well. Middle leaders are increasingly effective in helping teachers to be the best that they can be.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

Pupils at your school feel safe. They told inspectors that they really value the way in which they feel respected at your school. They value the way in which you and your staff make everyone feel included. They talked to us about the way in which you and your staff celebrate difference and help to make everyone feel valued. Inspectors saw first-hand the way in which your staff spoke to pupils with compassion and respect.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

Teaching at your school is characterised by positive relationships between members of staff and pupils. In classrooms, pupils focus hard and respond well to any advice and guidance that is given to them. Teachers and teaching assistants work hard to ensure that pupils are ‘nudged’ in the right direction in lessons. They consider pupils’ emotional well-being deeply and give them space when they need to refocus. At other times, they push them forward in their learning very effectively.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

The most striking aspect of your school is the way in which you plan to support pupils’ individual needs. An SEMH curriculum runs through the heart of your school. All pupils benefit from targets to help them to develop their social and emotional skills and to build a level of resilience. Pupils are given chances to reflect upon this through ‘life books’ where observations are made, and improvements praised.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

Transition is an example of a module within this curriculum. Before coming to school, you and other leaders work hard to understand the needs of individual pupils. You seek to identify any triggers which cause pupils to behave erratically and you work towards eliminating these. Once at school, the life coach works with individuals to help them to deal with any anxieties that they may have. At this point, the SEMH curriculum is shaped to meet the needs of individuals. The work of the life coach can include one-to-one work in addition to positive thinking strategies, mindfulness and aromatherapy, for example.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

Members of the local governing body (LGB) are effective. They bring a variety of skills to their roles. They reflect about how well they are doing in helping the school to move forward. For example, they have changed the structure of the LGB so that it can better support the school. They are clear that the school has improved significantly under the leadership of the trust, yourself as executive headteacher and the head of school.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

You are not at all complacent. You are aware that the effect that you are having on pupils’ SEMH needs is striking. However, you are also aware that there is a need to ensure that individual teachers’ craft continues to improve by working with schools across the trust to share the very best of practice. In addition, although you track the progress that pupils make and the standards that they reach effectively, there is a need in vocational subjects to make sure that pupils deepen their understanding of the subject, in addition to widening their knowledge. This is currently a little inconsistent. Nonetheless, you and your staff continue to have a life-changing effect on the pupils in your care.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

You and your leaders ensure that there is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. Records are comprehensive and of high quality. Leaders have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. They carry out all checks to make sure adults working with children are suitable, for example.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

What is more, the systems and structures that you have put in place ensure that pupils feel safe at school. You are very proactive to this end. For example, you have made sure that members of staff have been trained in specific themes to help them to support pupils, such as in attachment and trauma. Within classrooms, teachers reward positive behaviours consistently. This system, which also allows pupils to earn rewards trips, is very much appreciated. A time of ‘reflection’ at the end of the day allows pupils to consider how they have performed at school and helps them to focus on their attitudes and behaviours.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

Your inclusion manager, life coach, and special educational needs coordinators all work together to support pupils’ individual needs. They are very effective in doing so. As a result of this sterling work, there is little need to use fixed-term exclusions as a sanction. The use of physical intervention to keep pupils and others safe is rare.

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Short inspection of The Boulevard Centre

Pupils who made their views known say that they feel safe at school. They liken school to a family. They welcome new arrivals with understanding and compassion. They make strides socially and emotionally. Your school helps them to become confident rounded young people.

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Inspection findings

 As part of the inspection, I wanted to find out how successful you have been in ensuring that the quality of education on offer at school has been maintained to an outstanding level. In January 2018, when you and the head of school were appointed you noted that some areas of school life needed to improve. You moved quickly to ensure that pupils’ behaviour and the progress that they make both socially and academically improved to the level as published in the previous inspection report. The way in which you and your staff support pupils’ SEMH needs is impressive and has a very positive effect on them.  Another line of my enquiry was linked to the curriculum and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. I wanted to know the extent to which provision continues to contribute to the long-term well-being of pupils. Your ‘life books’ are pivotal in this regard. They ensure a structured approach to

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Inspection findings

developing individual pupils’ social and emotional resilience. Pupils are given meaningful personal targets, and a variety of observations and reflections are used to check that progress is being made.  ‘Life books’ also track pupils’ personal, social and health education. You think carefully about the themes that pupils study in this regard. Pupils have recently reflected on their own personal safety, e-safety, international women’s day, the 75th anniversary of D-Day, and pride celebrations, for example.  I was interested to find out how successful you and other leaders are in ensuring that pupils in Year 11 and students leaving the sixth form continue to education, employment or training. Pupils are well prepared for their next stage by the time they leave The Boulevard Centre. The vast majority of pupils leave school with sensible and firm plans for the future.  I also wanted to find out the extent to which you are having a positive effect on

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Inspection findings

pupils’ development as learners. This is crystal clear. Pupils develop their resilience very well, enjoy school and focus on their learning.  I was interested to see if you are still helping pupils to increase their rates of attendance. You make a substantial difference here. The vast majority of pupils improve their rates of attendance markedly when compared to their previous setting. Indeed, many struggled to attend their previous school at all, and now attend very regularly. The support that you offer ensures that pupils feel safe to attend school.  In addition, for pupils who are pregnant the school midwife gives good advice. You make sure that reasonable adjustments are in place so that pupils can attend school for as long as possible. On returning from maternity, these pupils also have access to the on-site nursery and health advice for themselves and their babies. As such, you help to ensure that pupils’ practical needs are met, so that

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Inspection findings

they can focus on school where possible.  My final line of enquiry was linked to the standards that pupils reach when at your school. You have become adept at matching qualifications to the abilities of individuals at school. As a result, each year pupils leave Year 11 with more comprehensive evidence of their skills to support them in the next stages of their education, employment or training. This is mirrored for students in the sixth form. You are aware that in some vocational subjects there is a need to make sure that pupils deepen their understanding of the subject, in addition to widening their knowledge.  I also wanted to know how strong pupils’ standards of literacy and numeracy are when they leave school. Teachers and teaching assistants are effective in plugging gaps that pupils have in their learning. They make substantial progress from their starting points in English and mathematics so that they are better

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Inspection findings

prepared for life after school.  Although not a focus on this particular inspection, I note the progress that pupils make and the standards that they reach in art. Pupils’ work on display shows that they reach high standards. In addition, work as presented in their sketchbooks shows strong and sustained progress over time. It is clear that pupils have responded positively to the learning challenges presented to them by teachers. The GCSE work on display during the inspection was impressive.

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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

 teachers’ craft continues to improve by working with schools across the trust to share the very best of practice  in vocational learning, pupils deepen their understanding of the subject, in addition to widening their knowledge in that subject area.

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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 Kingston upon Hull City Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, we met with you and the chief executive officer of the trust as well as the head of school and other senior leaders. We spoke with members of the LGB, including the chair. We met with a group of teachers and other members of staff. We talked to those members of staff with responsibility for safeguarding, attendance and behaviour.

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Information about the inspection

An inspector spoke with a group of pupils formally. We talked informally to others across the course of the inspection. We observed teaching and learning with the head of school, and reviewed pupils’ work from different year groups and from a variety of subjects. We listened to some pupils read. You presented the school development plan, the school’s self-evaluation document and information detailing pupils’ progress and attainment. A variety of other documents were considered, including those relating to safeguarding and policies on the school’s website. I considered the 12 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.

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