The Young Women's Hub

Inspection of The Young Women’s Hub Brownhill Road, Catford, London SE6 1AU

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Good

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils get a fresh start at the Young Women’s Hub. Most have had a difficult time in mainstream education. Typically, they feel lucky to have this opportunity. Pupils enjoy being part of a small and nurturing community. This helps them to feel safe. Pupils appreciate the respectful relationships they have with staff. They can concentrate on their work and make better progress. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ work and behaviour. They adapt their teaching to fill gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils improve their attendance and punctuality. They behave well. Pupils stated that there was no bullying at the provision. If a pupil said something rude or unkind, teachers would tackle it. Pupils could speak to any member of staff about friendship issues. Pupils learn how to be resilient. They can better manage difficult situations with staff and their peers. They develop confidence and self-esteem. In most cases, this helps pupils return to mainstream school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers help pupils to prepare for their next steps. Older pupils have an impartial careers interview. They take part in work experience. They learn about financial literacy, for example by planning meals on a budget.

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better?

Pupils improve their attitudes to learning because they are helped to complete the work that teachers set. Teachers tell them not to give up too easily. Many pupils have been reluctant to attend school in the past. Typically, their punctuality and attendance improve from low starting points.

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better?

Leaders provide a broad curriculum. Pupils complete functional skills qualifications in English and mathematics. Priority is also given to science, the humanities, physical education, expressive arts and digital skills. Leaders assess pupils in English and mathematics when they begin their six-week placement. They meet with parents and carers, a representative from the feeder school and the pupil. On occasions, the information provided by schools lacks specific detail about the pupil’s academic and pastoral needs.

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better?

Teachers plan a curriculum that is relevant to pupils’ future lives. Teachers make the curriculum more challenging over time as pupils gain confidence. For example, in mathematics, pupils studied tally charts and frequency. They moved on to read graphs before drawing their own. In English, pupils have written short emails for different purposes and audiences. They have built up to extended writing about their own lives, based on the study of autobiographies. Pupils learned to improve the accuracy of their writing.

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better?

Teachers check that pupils have understood and remembered their learning. They go over topics they have taught before. Staff teach important vocabulary that pupils need to know. They play games that help pupils to recall knowledge. Teachers pick 24 to 26 May 2022 up on gaps in pupils’ learning. As a result, they adapt their lessons. Pupils value the assessments they complete at the end of each topic. They can see that they are making progress. However, they do not habitually respond to teachers’ suggestions for improvement.

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better?

Often, pupils arrive at the provision having missed a great deal of schooling. On occasion, pupils have undiagnosed special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff work with feeder schools to identify and meet these needs. Teachers provide adapted resources, such as sentence starters in English. They deploy teaching assistants to help pupils with SEND. Teachers prioritise reading. They encourage pupils to read aloud in lessons. Pupils have chosen new books for their school library.

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better?

The school prioritises pupils’ personal development. The personal, social and health education curriculum is an important part of this. Pupils learn about topics such as healthy relationships, including consent and sexual harassment. Pupils know how to keep themselves healthy. Teachers cook a balanced meal for lunch each day. Staff and pupils eat this together. Leaders provide for pupils’ cultural and spiritual development. They celebrate events such as Black History Month and Pride. Recently, pupils went to a local mosque to learn about Eid. They visited the Greenwich Museum. Pupils also attended a knife-crime workshop. They planned their own Platinum Jubilee tea party. Pupils managed the budget and prepared the food themselves. Pupils receive impartial careers advice from the local authority. Staff support older pupils with apprenticeship and college applications and interviews.

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better?

The proprietor has ensured that the provision meets the independent school standards. The building provides a comfortable environment for the young women it serves. The proprietor has improved the quality of education since the previous inspection. She has sought advice from local schools on curriculum planning and delivery. Staff are proud to work at the school. They said that leaders consider their well-being and workload. However, more work is needed to ensure that teachers get high-quality training to develop their subject knowledge and confidence.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders provide staff with regular training on the latest safeguarding challenges. These include child sexual and criminal exploitation as well as county lines. Staff liaise closely with their feeder schools on any safeguarding concerns. They work with the police, social services and child and adolescent mental health services, among others. They quickly identify pupils who may be at greater risk of harm. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe in the community and while using social media. Leaders carry out the appropriate checks on staff to ensure that they are safe to work with pupils. 24 to 26 May 2022

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The school works effectively with referring schools to assess pupils’ needs. On occasion, the pastoral and academic information provided by schools could be more detailed. This would enable leaders to better work together to set specific targets for each pupil. Leaders should work with schools to improve the quality of this information. It would help them to personalise their offer further and better measure the impact of their work.  Leaders have started to work with local mainstream schools to develop the expertise of teaching staff. They must ensure that teachers are given high-quality training to develop subject knowledge and confidence. This will ensure that pupils get a consistently strong experience of the curriculum in all subjects.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the provider and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 24 to 26 May 2022

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School details

Unique reference number 146277 DfE registration number 209/6005

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School details

Inspection number 10226761 Type of school Independent school and alternative provider for secondary-aged girls School category Independent school

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School details

Date of previous inspection 25 to 27 June 2019 24 to 26 May 2022

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Information about this school

 The Young Women’s Hub is a small independent school and provider of alternative provision for girls in the London Borough of Lewisham.  The school provides an alternative secondary programme to girls who have typically experienced a disrupted education. The majority attend on a dual-roll arrangement with their mainstream schools, while a small number are placed at the school permanently by the local authority.  The number of pupils on roll has slightly decreased since the previous full inspection.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school’s last standard inspection took place in June 2019, when its overall effectiveness was judged to require improvement.  In January 2020, the school was found to meet all the independent school standards.  The school meets the requirements of the Baker Clause, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information about approved technical

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Information about this school

education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection 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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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVD-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders, and has taken that into account in her evaluation.  The inspector met with the head of school, who is also the proprietor and designated safeguarding lead, the deputy designated safeguarding leads and a range of staff.  The inspector carried out deep dives in English, mathematics and science. She looked at curriculum plans, visited lessons, reviewed pupils’ work, met with pupils to discuss their learning and met with teachers.  The inspector also looked at the curriculum plans of the other subjects taught at The Young Women’s Hub. 24 to 26 May 2022  Through discussions with leaders, staff and pupils, the inspector considered the effectiveness of safeguarding.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys that had been completed by staff and parents and carers.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector toured the site. She scrutinised a range of documentary evidence to check on the statutory requirements of the independent school standards. This included checking the school’s admissions register, risk assessments, attendance information and safeguarding training.

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Inspection team

Lisa Strong, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 24 to 26 May 2022 regulates and inspects to 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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