Include School Norfolk

School progress monitoring inspection report

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Include Schools Norfolk 27 Hurricane Way, Norwich NR6 6HE

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Main inspection findings

Part 1. Quality of education provided Paragraph 3, 3(a), 3(b), 3(c), 3(d), 3(g), 3(h)  At the time of the previous inspection, some staff did not have high expectations of what pupils should achieve. Too often, teachers did not use assessment information to plan or adapt activities so that they met pupils’ needs. Teachers did not always correct pupils’ misconceptions or errors in their use of spelling, punctuation and grammar quickly enough. Pupils had infrequent opportunities to write at length in a range of subjects and, too often, were not confident enough to work independently of adult support.  Leaders undertook to review the use of assessment, improve feedback on pupils’ work, identify and close gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding more effectively, give pupils more opportunities to write at length, improve pupils’ presentation of their work and the accuracy of their use of spelling, punctuation and grammar, and provide good-

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Main inspection findings

quality training opportunities for subject teachers.  Leaders have recently introduced a change to the school’s assessment system. This aims to help teachers to plan activities that close gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding. This work is at an early stage. Too often, pupils struggle because teachers move them on to new tasks before their knowledge is secure enough.  Sometimes, teachers are slow to spot pupils’ errors or misconceptions. Teachers’ feedback to pupils, although typically clear on the strengths of their work, is often insufficiently precise about how they can improve it. Many pupils continue to make the same mistakes.  Some teachers’ expectations are not high enough. Sometimes, teachers do not ensure that pupils catch up with work that they have missed while absent. These pupils are moved on to new learning instead, which they often struggle to get to grips with.  The extent to which pupils have enough opportunities to develop their ideas fully by

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Main inspection findings

writing at length in different subjects remains too uneven. This limits the progress that some pupils can make, particularly the most able. Some pupils told inspectors that the work they are asked to do is often too easy.  Teachers are inconsistent in the extent to which they require pupils to engage in learning. Too often, teachers do not challenge pupils effectively when they present their work poorly or fail to complete it. As a result, some pupils choose to do little. At other times, staff provide pupils with so much help that they do not get the chance to try hard, learn from their mistakes and try again. Although many teachers reinforce the need for pupils to use spelling, punctuation and grammar accurately, some do not, and pupils’ errors persist.  Some teachers do not respond to instances of poor behaviour in ways that encourage pupils to alter their conduct swiftly and positively. This interrupts pupils’ learning and

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Main inspection findings

limits their progress.  There are many examples of very effective teaching. In English, for example, where expectations are high, pupils are often very keen to work hard and they respond to the feedback teachers give them by making the necessary changes.  Some teachers give teaching assistants very precise guidance about what individual pupils know and do not know. Teaching assistants use this information to help pupils catch up or move further forward during lessons. They usually do so without limiting pupils’ opportunity to work independently and find things out for themselves.  Teachers are starting to benefit from regular, subject-specific training sessions. These are helping to ensure that all teachers understand the required curriculum content and how to teach it. This is of particular help to recently appointed staff. Pupils are also benefiting because teachers are starting to share effective resources and techniques more

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Main inspection findings

systematically.  This standard remains unmet.

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Main inspection findings

Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils Paragraph 7, 7(a), 7(b)  In March 2019, this standard relating to safeguarding was met.  Since the previous inspection, the school’s safeguarding and child protection policy has been updated to reflect the most recent legal guidance. This policy is accessible via the school’s website. Recent training has ensured that staff have up-to-date knowledge about what to do if they have a concern about a pupil.  There is a culture of safeguarding at the school. Staff are swift to pass on any concerns that they have about pupils. Pupils appreciate the care that staff show them. They told inspectors that ‘teachers go out of their way to help us when we need it.’  Leaders work well with external agencies, including social services and the police, in order to protect pupils who are vulnerable. Staff know pupils’ individual circumstances well and take action that helps ensure that they get the right support.

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Main inspection findings

 The curriculum helps pupils to understand a range of risks to their well-being and how they can manage these. Pupils have a good understanding of the risks of engaging in county lines drug and gang-related criminality.  All of the necessary pre-recruitment checks are carried out when new staff are recruited to work at the school.  This standard remains met. Paragraph 9, 9(b)  The standard relating to the effective implementation of the school’s behaviour policy was not met at the time of the previous inspection. Adults were not applying the policy consistently. Some staff were not managing pupils’ behaviour well. The use of derogatory language, for example, was not challenged effectively. Poor behaviour in lessons limited the progress that some pupils were able to make.  Leaders undertook to review the school’s behaviour policy, ensure that all pupils understand the school’s range of rewards and sanctions, celebrate pupils’ positive

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Main inspection findings

behaviour and achievements, and monitor the consistency with which staff apply the policy.  Staff and pupils understand the rewards, sanctions and procedures that are detailed within the school’s revised behaviour policy. Many pupils are motivated by the rewards that they receive for behaving well and by the school’s regular celebration of their achievements in assemblies. For some pupils, in the words of one, ‘It’s like a different school this year, with everyone working more as a group.’  However, teachers remain inconsistent in their application of the behaviour policy. Too often, pupils use derogatory language, refuse to complete work or put in the minimum of effort without this being challenged appropriately. As a result, these behaviours persist. A minority of pupils told inspectors that they are not motivated to work hard or behave well.  The standard remains unmet.

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Main inspection findings

Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools Paragraph 34(1), 34(1)(a), 34(1)(b)  The proprietorial body has not ensured that this standard remains consistently met. It was not met in the standard inspection in May 2017. The standard remained unmet in the progress monitoring and material change inspection in May 2018, and at the most recent standard inspection in March 2019.  This standard was not met at the time of the previous inspection because leaders’ self- evaluation was not precise enough. School action plans were not focused sharply enough upon school improvement priorities. Procedures for recording and analysing the progress made by individual pupils were not well enough understood by teachers. Not all assessments were accurate. Some leaders lacked the necessary training to make the necessary improvements to the quality of provision.  Leaders drew up an action plan after the previous inspection. This outlined their

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Main inspection findings

intentions to sharpen self-evaluation, prioritise improvements and set clear timelines within improvement plans, conduct regular audits of standards at the school, improve assessment procedures, strengthen strategies for boosting attendance and increase leadership capacity.  In July 2019, the action plan was evaluated and found not to be fit for purpose. Arrangements for implementing, monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of the action plan were not rigorous enough. Some of the timescales for the fulfilment of objectives were found to be too short.  Leaders are revising the school’s action plan. This is so that it reflects recent staffing changes and new ways in which senior leaders are taking forward improvements and monitoring standards. This work is incomplete.  Senior leaders are carrying out regular checks on different aspects of the school’s work. They are making accurate assessments of the quality of the school’s provision. Leaders

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Main inspection findings

have a clear understanding of what still needs to improve. They have taken difficult decisions when necessary to improve the effectiveness of teaching.  Leaders have recently introduced new assessment and feedback procedures. These are designed to ensure that teachers plan activities with an accurate understanding of what pupils already know and can do. They also aim to provide pupils with clear information about their strengths and how they can improve their work. The extent to which teachers are following these procedures is too uneven.  Teachers told inspectors that they value the clarity about what to teach that is contained within the revised curriculum plans. They also appreciate the subject-specific training sessions that they are engaging in, and the sharing of resources and effective teaching techniques that is taking place. This work is at an early stage.  Attendance at the school, although still too low, is increasing. This is because leaders are

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Main inspection findings

taking effective action to support and challenge individuals to attend more regularly.  The school’s leadership capacity is strengthening. Existing leaders’ roles have been adjusted. Two senior colleagues are working across each of the school’s three sites. They are starting to help staff to be more consistent in how pupils’ behaviour is managed and what they are taught. However, the impact of this work is limited because these changes are recent ones.  A new deputy headteacher has recently been appointed to lead improvements in teaching and the curriculum but has not yet joined the school.  This standard remains not met.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet the requirements of the schedule to The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements that were checked during this inspection, as set out in the annex of this report. This included the standards and requirements that the school was judged to not comply with at the previous inspection. Not all of the standards and associated requirements were checked during this inspection.

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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

Email address Philip.Hinchliffe@catch-22.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous standard inspection 12–14 March 2019

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Information about this school

 Include Schools Norfolk is owned by the Catch 22 organisation. The school’s proprietor is a not-for-profit charitable organisation.  The school is an independent day school with three sites: one in Norwich, another in King’s Lynn and the third located in Great Yarmouth.  The headteacher has oversight of the provision across the three sites. He reports directly to the Catch 22 executive principal, who in turn is accountable to the board of trustees.  A curriculum learning lead is based in each centre to support the day-to-day operation of the school. The curriculum leaders work together with advocates, whose role is to champion the welfare needs of individual pupils.  The school is registered to provide education for 117 boys and girls between the ages of 14 and 16 years. Pupils are referred by the local authority, typically because they have been excluded from mainstream schools, special schools or pupil referral units. Most have

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Information about this school

had significant disruption to their education over time. A high proportion of pupils find it difficult to manage their behaviour.  A number of pupils have an education, health and care plan relating to social, emotional and mental health needs. Other pupils have additional learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism spectrum disorder.  The school receives pupil premium funding for almost two thirds of its pupils, including enhanced pupil premium funding for pupils who are looked after by the local authority.  The school uses alternative providers who offer part-time work-related education for pupils at the following centres: – The Vocational Learning Hub at The Short Stay School for Norfolk – St Edmund’s Society in Norwich – Open Road in King’s Lynn – Century Training Service in Great Yarmouth.  At the school’s standard inspection in May 2017, three of the independent school

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Information about this school

standards were not met.  Ofsted conducted a progress monitoring inspection in May 2018, commissioned by the Department for Education. The inspection included the proprietor’s request for a material change in relation to the premises. At the progress monitoring inspection, the school met most of the independent school standards identified as not met at the previous standard inspection (May 2017). The school did not meet three of the independent school standards in relation to the material change request regarding the premises.  The second evaluation of the school’s action plan on 18 January 2019, following the progress monitoring inspection in May 2018, deemed it not to be acceptable. It was the third evaluation of the school’s action plan since the standard inspection in May 2017.  At the school’s standard inspection in March 2019, three of the independent school standards were not met. The subsequent evaluation of the school’s action plan in July

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was carried out at the request of the registration authority for independent schools. The purpose of the inspection was to monitor the progress the school has made in meeting the independent school standards and other requirements that it was judged to not comply with at its previous inspection.  The inspection was the first progress monitoring inspection since the school’s full standard inspection in March 2019. It was conducted without notice.  Inspectors undertook a tour of each of the school’s sites and met with the headteacher, curriculum and learning leaders, and other school staff.  The lead inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority and with the Catch 22 executive principal.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentation related to teaching, learning and assessment, the school’s self-evaluation, policies, child protection records and the school’s single central record of pre-employment checks on staff.

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Information about this inspection

 Meetings and informal discussions were held with pupils. Inspectors also observed pupils’ learning in lessons and looked at work in their books.

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Inspection team

Jason Howard, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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The school does not meet the following independent school standards

Standards that were not met at the previous inspection and remain unmet at this inspection

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

 3 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that the teaching at the school-

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 3(a) enables pupils to acquire new knowledge and make good progress according to their ability so that they increase their understanding and develop their skills in the subjects taught;

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 3(b) fosters in pupils self-motivation, the application of intellectual, physical and creative effort, interest in their work and the ability to think and learn for themselves;

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 3(c) involves well-planned lessons and effective teaching methods, activities and management of class time;

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 3(d) shows a good understanding of the aptitudes, needs and prior attainments of the pupils, and ensures that these are taken into account in the planning of lessons;

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 3(g) demonstrates that a framework is in place to assess pupils’ work regularly and thoroughly and use information from that assessment to plan teaching so that pupils can progress; and

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 3(h) utilises effective strategies for managing behaviour and encouraging pupils to act responsibly.

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

 9 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor promotes good behaviour among pupils by ensuring that-

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

– 9(b) the policy is implemented effectively.

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

 34(1) The standard about the quality of leadership and management is met if the proprietor ensures that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school-

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

– 34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their roles so that the independent school standards are met consistently; and

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

– 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently. 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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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