Gillford Centre

Inspection of a good school: Gillford Centre Upperby Road, Carlisle, Cumbria CA2 4JE

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Inspection dates: 19 and 20 January 2023

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Outcome

Gillford Centre continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils told inspectors that the Gillford Centre is a safe place where staff look after them well. If pupils have any worries, they know that an adult will always help them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The large majority of pupils enjoy coming to school. Pupils benefit from the positive relationships that they have with their teachers and support staff. Teachers help pupils to learn more successfully and to improve their behaviour when they join the school. Leaders and other staff expect pupils to work hard and behave well. Most pupils meet these expectations, which helps them to achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour in class and around school is mainly good. Sometimes, pupils misbehave, which is typically because of their needs. This can result in their learning being interrupted. However, teachers have effective ways of managing pupils’ behaviour and calmly bringing them back to their work again. Bullying sometimes happens. When it does, leaders are good at sorting it out.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have opportunities to enjoy many activities that help to broaden their experiences. For example, they visit places of interest, such as a local fire station or a Buddhist temple. They can take part in competitive sport when they play football against neighbouring schools. They also enjoy hikes in the nearby countryside.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have designed a broad curriculum with a range of subjects that meet pupils’ needs and interests well. Across most of the curriculum, leaders have considered what they want pupils to learn and when it will be taught. However, in a small number of subjects, leaders have not thought clearly enough about the knowledge that pupils need or the order in which they will learn it. Consequently, in these subjects, pupils do not build their learning as strongly as possible. 19 and 20 January 2023

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Teachers have secure knowledge of the subjects that they teach. Those teachers who are not specialists in a subject receive helpful support from those teachers who are. There are effective ways of assessing pupils’ knowledge and understanding. Leaders and teachers check how much pupils know when they first join the school. Usually, new pupils have missed out on substantial amounts of learning. Teachers identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and plan teaching to help pupils acquire the knowledge that is missing. Teachers frequently check how much pupils have remembered in their lessons. They also test pupils formally at regular intervals. Most pupils improve in their learning as they make their journey through the school.

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Leaders focus on improving pupils’ behaviour and their attitudes to learning, as well as providing knowledge and skills to support pupils to access the next steps in their education, training or employment. Most pupils successfully return to a mainstream school after a period at the Gillford Centre. Others complete key stage 4 at the centre and achieve qualifications at different levels, including GCSEs in English, mathematics and science. These qualifications enable most pupils in Year 11 to progress to employment, apprenticeships or further education.

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Leaders regard reading as highly important. The reading curriculum is well organised. There are daily phonics sessions for pupils in key stage 1. Older pupils who need support with learning phonics also receive daily support. Most pupils read with good fluency and accuracy, which enables them to access the rest of the curriculum. However, a few pupils for whom reading is difficult find their reading books too hard. This is because the books that teachers have given them do not match these pupils’ knowledge of phonics. As a result, these pupils do not read fluently.

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Leaders identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. They have a wide range of ways of adapting the teaching of the curriculum to ensure that most pupils can learn as effectively as possible. Pupils who need extra help receive it promptly. Leaders work well with parents and outside services, such as educational psychologists and mental health specialists. Most pupils with SEND achieve as well as possible because of these strategies.

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Pupils’ needs result in occasional misbehaviour. Staff manage pupils’ behaviour with calmness and assurance. There is little disruption to the learning of the curriculum. This is because teachers are adept at bringing pupils back round to their task when their behaviour causes them to lose concentration.

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Leaders provide a wide range of activities that go beyond pupils’ formal learning and help to develop pupils as fully as possible. For example, pupils raise money for charity and collect food for a local food bank. Pupils receive high-quality advice and information about careers.

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Members of the management committee who are responsible for governance know the school well. They have an effective approach to holding leaders to account. They understand their roles and statutory responsibilities. Teachers comment that senior leaders are considerate of their welfare and workload. 19 and 20 January 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have strong systems and processes that reflect the safeguarding policies that are in place. Leaders provide staff with appropriate safeguarding training. Staff promptly report and record concerns about pupils. Leaders respond quickly to these concerns.

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Safeguarding

Leaders give pupils the help they need. They make referrals to outside services, such as the local authority’s children’s social care team, when required. Leaders know the proper procedures to follow in the event of any allegations against members of staff.

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Safeguarding

Leaders provide pupils with the information they need to keep themselves safe. For example, pupils find out how to stay safe on the internet and learn about healthy relationships.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, leaders have not been clear enough in deciding what pupils will learn and in which order they will learn it. As a result, pupils do not build up their knowledge as strongly as possible. Leaders should ensure that the knowledge that pupils need to acquire in these subjects and the order in which staff will teach it are carefully designed so that pupils’ learning develops securely.  A few pupils for whom reading is difficult find their reading books too hard to read fluently. This is because teachers have not provided these pupils with reading books that match their knowledge of phonics. Leaders should ensure that teachers give these pupils reading books that are aligned more closely to their phonics knowledge so that they can become fluent and accurate readers.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually, this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2013. 19 and 20 January 2023

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How can I feed back my views?

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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 19 and 20 January 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10241764 Type of school Pupil referral unit

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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Information about this school

 The Gillford Centre is a pupil referral unit, which is situated in Carlisle. It provides education for pupils aged between five and 16 who have been permanently excluded, or are at risk of permanent exclusion, from mainstream schools, mainly in Cumbria. Many pupils have social, emotional and mental health needs. Some pupils are dual registered with their referring mainstream school.  A new headteacher has been appointed since the last inspection.  Leaders make use of two unregistered alternative provisions for a small number of pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke with representatives of the school’s management committee who are responsible for governance, the headteacher, other school leaders and a representative of the local authority. 19 and 20 January 2023

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 Inspectors conducted deep dives in these subjects: English, including early reading, mathematics and personal, social, health and economic education. In each subject, they met with the subject leader and teachers. They visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and talked with pupils about their learning. The lead inspector listened to pupils reading to members of staff. Inspectors also spoke with subject leaders about the curriculum in other subjects.  Inspectors examined the school’s safeguarding policy and related policies and documentation. They talked with staff and pupils about safeguarding and about pupils’ wider experiences of school. They looked at a range of other documents related to pupils’ welfare and their education. They observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school.  An inspector conducted visits to alternative providers and to the school’s other site, the Assessment Centre, which is situated a few miles away from the school at Unit M,

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Ladybank, Kingmoor Industrial Estate, Carlisle CA6 4SP.  The lead inspector analysed responses to Ofsted Parent View and Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Mark Quinn, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Elaine Mawson His Majesty’s Inspector 19 and 20 January 2023

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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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