Summerfield Education Centre

Summerfield Education Centre Auckland Drive, Smith’s Wood, Birmingham B36 0DD

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders have some awareness of the school’s weaknesses. However, their actions have not resulted in significant improvements in many aspects of the school’s work, including teaching, learning and assessment, the curriculum and outcomes for pupils.  Governors are committed to improving pupils’ outcomes. However, recent efforts to challenge and support the school’s leaders have not yet had an impact on improvement.  The pupil premium funding is not used well enough to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.  The quality of teaching is weak. Work is not consistently matched to meet the differing needs and abilities of pupils.  The curriculum is too narrow, and careers advice is weak. Pupils have limited access to academic subjects, which reduces their choices in the next stage of their education.  Pupils’ outcomes are too low, especially for those in alternative provision. Too few pupils achieve an appropriate accreditation in English

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

or mathematics.  Incidents of poor behaviour are high. Lessons are continually disrupted, and learning time is lost.  The use of fixed-term exclusions and physical restraint is high and is not significantly reducing over time.  Attendance is low and persistent absence is high, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. The actions taken by leaders this year have not made a significant difference to pupils’ attendance.  Safeguarding procedures are ineffective. Leaders do not assure themselves that pupils in alternative provision are well cared for and safe.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Senior leaders have brought some stability to the school. Staff value the support given to them by leaders.  Some pupils in the centre are beginning to improve their reading age.

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Full report

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management, safeguarding procedures and the outcomes for pupils by: – ensuring that pupil premium funding is effectively targeted, monitored and evaluated to ensure that disadvantaged pupils make better progress – ensuring that leaders systematically evaluate the information they collect and take the appropriate action to bring about improvement – enhancing the curriculum so that it provides pupils with sufficient opportunities to gain qualifications, including GCSEs, appropriate for them to progress in the next stage of their education, training or employment – ensuring that all pupils have access to independent careers advice and guidance to prepare them well for the next stage in their education – improving the opportunities to achieve appropriate accreditation in English and mathematics – routinely monitoring alternative provision to ensure that pupils are consistently

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

receiving a good quality of education and are safe and well cared for.  Improve teaching, learning and assessment so that it is at least good by: – making certain that teaching and learning activities are well matched to the differing needs and abilities of pupils – ensuring that teachers use questioning consistently well to help pupils deepen their knowledge and understanding – ensuring that all teachers help pupils understand how to improve their work during lessons – effectively deploying teaching assistants so that they support pupils’ learning better.  Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by: – ensuring that pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those who attend alternative provision, attend school regularly – improving the attendance of pupils who are persistently absent – providing more consistent behaviour management strategies to reduce the use of exclusions and the need for physical restraint

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– giving pupils more opportunities to develop the skills they need to manage their own behaviour – developing strategies to reduce the use of inappropriate language by pupils.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of the school’s use of pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to ascertain how this area of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 In the summer term of 2017, the local authority conducted a review of the school. The review raised concerns about the effectiveness of safeguarding, the lack of leadership capacity, including in governance, weak teaching and poor outcomes for pupils. The inspection showed that significant issues remain in many aspects of the school’s work.  The school had undergone a period of instability, with a number of interim headteachers coming and going and a large turnaround of staff.  A new headteacher and assistant headteacher were appointed in September 2018 and along with the remaining deputy headteacher they formed a new leadership team. Staff value the support they get from the senior leadership team and say that the atmosphere in the school is now more positive. However, while the leadership team has brought more stability, staff turbulence has not been resolved. For instance, the shortage of teaching assistants restricts the support available for pupils in the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

classroom.  The senior leadership team is committed to the school and has some awareness of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. However, its actions have failed to effectively address the weak teaching, poor behaviour and low attendance which have resulted in low outcomes for pupils. Leaders are not analysing information systematically enough to secure sustained improvements. For instance, attendance information is not analysed separately for those pupils in the centre and for those in alternative provision. This restricts leaders’ ability to evaluate how well the alternative provision is meeting pupils’ needs.  Senior leaders have implemented a number of improvement strategies, such as the introduction of a reading scheme which has led to the enhancement of some pupils’ reading ages. However, significant improvements in pupils’ progress are yet to be seen.  The school’s curriculum is too narrow, with an imbalance of academic and vocational

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

subjects. The lack of opportunity to study subjects such as science and humanities is restricting pupils’ options when they move to the next stage of their education.  Leaders’ action plans for the use of pupil premium funding lack detail and analysis. Therefore, leaders are not able to identify whether the spending is having a positive impact on pupils’ outcomes. Disadvantaged pupils are not making enough progress.  Leaders’ use of alternative provision is ineffective. A disproportionate number of pupils attend alternative provision. Pupils’ attendance is low and their outcomes are poor. As a result, pupils are not prepared well enough for the next stage of their education.  The school’s building has been neglected and is in a state of disrepair. Budgetary restraints on the school are restricting the opportunities for repairs to be made. For example, at the time of the inspection, an additional dining room space was out of use

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

due to a leaking roof. The local authority plans to move the school into different accommodation next year.  The school may not appoint newly qualified teachers.

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Governance of the school

 The management committee has been in place since December 2018. Its members are aware of the challenges that the school has faced over time and of many of the issues that remain.  Governors are committed to the school and ambitious for pupils’ outcomes. They are beginning to act as a critical friend to the school. For instance, they have recently challenged leaders about the quality of information on the school website and the meaningfulness of assessment information. However, so far, their actions have not significantly helped to bring about the needed improvements.  Governors were unaware of some of the serious concerns identified by inspectors regarding the use of alternative provision. However, they were aware that protocols and procedures for alternative provision generally needed improving.

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Safeguarding

 Safeguarding is inadequate. While the arrangements for safeguarding in the school are compliant, safeguarding is ineffective as the school lacks robust procedures to ensure that pupils in alternative provision are well cared for and safe.  Staff training is up to date, and staff are clear about whom to refer concerns to.  Leaders carry out appropriate checks on staff during the recruitment process and keep accurate records. However, not all tutors in alternative provision have had the appropriate checks recorded and it is unclear if these have occurred.  Pupils’ records are securely stored. Leaders work well with external providers to support pupils who are at risk or who are the subject of a multi-agency plan. The designated safeguard lead follows up concerns with children’s services diligently.  Through the curriculum and workshops, pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe. For instance, pupils recently had a workshop on the risks associated with child

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Safeguarding

sexual exploitation.  A number of pupils do not access full-time provision, either at the centre or at alternative provision, and this puts their well-being and safety at risk.  Leaders fail to ensure that the needs of those pupils in alternative provision are being met. They have not visited all of the sites used for alternative provision to ensure their suitability. Some of these provisions are unregistered with the Department for Education. In addition, leaders do not have effective procedures in place to ensure the routine monitoring of the quality of education and care pupils are receiving during these placements.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 The quality of teaching over time is weak. Teachers do not take full account of pupils’ abilities and individual needs when planning lessons. As a result, the progress made by pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is poor.  High rates of staff absence mean that the staffing of teaching groups changes frequently. This hinders the continuity of pupils’ learning.  Teachers’ assessments are inaccurate. Although the assessment information gathered by leaders suggests that most pupils are making good progress, this was not matched by what inspectors saw in pupils’ work, with very little evidence of progress over time. Work was frequently unfinished, with lack of care and attention to detail. Work in mathematics books showed a lack of challenge. For instance, when pupils were continually answering every question correctly, no adjustment was made by the teacher to extend their knowledge. This is holding some pupils back.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Too few opportunities are provided to develop the quantity and quality of pupils’ writing. Pupils often complete worksheets which do not require them to extend their writing or develop an ability to write independently.  Teachers’ feedback is not consistently in line with the school’s assessment policy. In most subjects, feedback from teachers does not help pupils to improve their work. Too often, feedback focuses on effort and presentation of work, with little consideration given to how feedback could be given to help pupils improve the quality of their work. This limits pupils’ progress, as they do not know how to improve the standard of their work. When guidance is used effectively, for example in art, the improvement in pupils’ work over time is evident.  When teaching is most effective, pupils are engaged and motivated to do well. For example, in music, the purposeful relationships that formed between adults and pupils

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

meant that pupils had the confidence to demonstrate their practical skills. Effective peer teaching, as well as modelling by the teacher, resulted in pupils successfully mixing increasingly complex beats.  The quality of teachers’ questioning is not consistent across subjects. Too often it is used in lessons to recall knowledge, and teachers miss opportunities to deepen pupils’ understanding. For instance, in mathematics, pupils were asked what type of number some digits were, but they were not always asked to explain their answers. In lessons where questioning is used well, teachers probe pupils’ responses and challenge their thinking. For example, in English, skilful questioning by the teacher resulted in pupils thinking more deeply about human rights and what this meant to them in their lives.  While they offer support to pupils for their emotional well-being, teaching assistants are not used consistently well in lessons to support pupils with their learning.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate.  Pupils are taught about fundamental British values and how they can successfully contribute to a cohesive society. However, pupils’ conduct at school indicates that pupils do not fully embrace these values. The school’s work to dev elop pupils ’ spiri t ual, moral, social and cultural development is underdeveloped, as pupils regularly use inappropriate language and make derogatory remarks to each other.  Careers guidance in most year groups is limited to activities in the wider curriculum, for example practising writing their curriculum vitae or taking part in role play to practise interview techniques. Next year, there are plans to further develop the careers programme to include, for example, work experience for Year 11 and trips for key stage 4 pupils to local careers events.  Leaders do not routinely monitor the well-being and progress of pupils who attend

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Personal development and welfare

alternative provision. As a result, pupils’ outcomes are considerably weaker than those who attend the centre.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is inadequate.  Fixed-term exclusions are high and are not significantly reducing over time. The use of fixed-term exclusions is not having a positive impact on improving behaviour, and too much learning time is lost.  Behaviour management is ineffective. While recorded and used appropriately, the use of physical restraint is high, reflecting the high number of challenging incidents of poor behaviour. Actions taken by leaders have had little success in improving this challenging behaviour for a significant number of pupils.  Restorative practice is used to support pupils to manage their own behaviour. However, the consistently high number of incidents of poor behaviour indicates that this is having little impact.  Attendance is low and persistent absence is high, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. While case studies show that some pupils improve their attendance from very low

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Behaviour

starting points, leaders’ actions this year have failed to make the necessary improvements to overall attendance rates.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Pupils’ examination results in 2018 were poor. The proportion of pupils who achieved a qualification in English and mathematics was low. Too few pupils achieved qualifications at GCSE level. This is restricting their opportunities to succeed from post-16 education, training or employment.  Leaders’ assessment information is inaccurate. The information indicates that pupils at the centre are making good progress in all subjects. However, the poor standard of work in books and pupils’ low attendance do not support this judgement.  Pupils’ progress in art is stronger than in other subjects. The teacher’s secure subject knowledge, coupled with the precise feedback given to pupils on how to improve their work, has resulted in positive outcomes for pupils. Two pupils last year secured a good pass in their art and design GCSE examination.  The introduction of a reading scheme for pupils is being used well by staff to improve

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

the reading ages of some pupils. However, the number of pupils accessing the scheme is limited due to pupils not attending the centre full-time.  Outcomes for pupils in alternative provision are weak. The majority of pupils do not achieve well enough to go on to appropriate post-16 provision. Predictions for this year show a similar picture.  Leaders do not routinely monitor and evaluate the progress made by pupils in alternative provision. As a result, effective action is not taken for those pupils falling behind. This contributes to their weak outcomes.  The lack of detailed evaluation and analysis of the spending of the pupil premium is contributing to disadvantaged pupils’ poor outcomes.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Website www.summerfieldec.solihull.sch.uk

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School details

Email address 509office@summerfieldec.solihull.sch.uk

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was appointed to the school in September 2018.  The school is an 11–16 pupil referral unit that provides education for pupils who have been permanently excluded from their mainstream school.  There are more boys than girls on roll.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well above average.  A small number of pupils this year have been reintegrated back into a mainstream school.  Twenty-five pupils attend alternative provision on a full-time or part-time basis. Some of this provision is commissioned by the local authority. The alternative providers include Heart of England Training, Learnfit (Educ8), Nova Training, Riverside Education, Riverside Vocational College, Second Chance Training, TLG, Solihull College, Trident Tuition, Dare to Dream and Silverbirch School.  Many pupils have SEND. Most pupils undergo an assessment for an education, health and care plan while they are at the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the headteacher, other senior leaders, middle leaders and members of the management committee.  An inspector visited two alternative providers.  The lead inspector spoke to a representative from the local authority on the telephone.  Inspectors observed learning in lessons and conducted a work scrutiny.  Inspectors asked pupils their opinions about the school. Inspectors observed pupils at breaktimes, lunchtimes and as they moved around the school.  Various documents were evaluated, including the school’s action plan and self- evaluation, safeguarding information and policies. Information about attendance, behaviour and safety was also analysed. Inspectors checked the school’s website and the single central record, which contains information on safeguarding checks made on staff.  There were no responses from staff or pupils to Ofsted’s surveys. There were no responses from parents and carers to the online survey, Parent View. Inspectors

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Information about this inspection

considered responses from a staff and pupil survey conducted by the school. Inspectors also considered a small number of parents’ opinions about the school, collected over the telephone by the school.

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Inspection team

Lesley Yates, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Linda McGill 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

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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Inspection team

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

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open- government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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