Caradon Alternative Provision Academy

Inspection of Caradon Alternative Provision Academy West Street, Liskeard PL14 6BS

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Inspection dates: 28 February and 1 March 2023

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 28 February and 1 March 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils attend school having experienced disruption to their previous education. Over time, staff support pupils to help them re-engage with learning. Pupils appreciate how staff listen and understand their needs. They feel safe and well cared for. Pupils see improvements in their attendance and behaviour the longer they are in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff identify pupils’ needs quickly and accurately. However, the curriculum that pupils receive is underdeveloped in several subjects. Some pupils do not learn as well as they should. Pupils do not learn to read sufficiently well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Some pupils present with complex and challenging behaviour. All pupils have an assigned ‘key worker’ and benefit from dedicated tutor time. This allows pupils to build trusting relationships with staff. Adults reward positive behaviour with ‘commendations’ and ‘wowchers’. They deal with challenging situations calmly. Pupils say that unkind behaviour is rare. When it occurs, leaders deal with it effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders provide various experiences to broaden pupils’ personal development. These include talks about career options, discussing daily news, and visits to farms and wildlife centres. Pupils enjoy taking part in daily enrichment activities. These range from working out in the gymnasium to cooking.

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better?

Leaders are working determinedly on the right things to bring about improvements to the school’s effectiveness. For example, there is now greater capacity to lead on and have precise oversight of SEND. As a result, leaders are better able to use information from various assessments to identify pupils’ needs. This is helping staff to adapt the curriculum, so that pupils receive tailored support. Staff review progress regularly, including listening to the views of pupils and parents and carers. Staff value the support they receive to improve their practice.

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better?

However, leaders know that the school’s curriculum is still evolving. In the strongest subjects, such as mathematics, leaders have mapped out the exact content that pupils need to learn. Staff have the knowledge and expertise to help pupils thrive. They use assessment well to recap and revisit essential concepts, including during tutor time. Pupils enjoy learning mathematics. At the end of key stage 4, all pupils leave with a qualification, such as functional skills or GCSEs.

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better?

Leaders have not designed or implemented some other subject curriculums as well. For example, humanities subjects are in the early stages of development in key stage 3. Assessment in the wider curriculum, including for personal, social and health education (PSHE), is underdeveloped. Consequently, pupils do not secure or deepen learning across the curriculum well enough. 28 February and 1 March 2023

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Recently, leaders have revamped the approach to teaching phonics and early reading. They have effective systems in place to identify the gaps in pupils’ knowledge, including for weaker readers in key stage 3. However, the teaching of reading is not fully effective. Many pupils have poor attitudes towards reading. Despite training, some adults’ subject knowledge of phonics is not secure. This makes it difficult for pupils to catch up. Leaders know that staff need further support to develop their expertise. They have plans in place for this to happen. However, it is too soon to see sufficient impact.

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Staff are positive role models. This helps most pupils to engage well in school. They intervene when pupils become dysregulated. Staff reinforce expected behaviours by joining in with ball games and challenging inappropriate language. Pupils report that their behaviour improves over their time at the school. Leaders’ records confirm this.

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In PSHE, pupils learn the importance of not judging someone based on appearance, sexuality or gender. In assemblies, they learn about religions and cultural festivals, such as Judaism and Diwali. Pupils experience meaningful encounters with the world of work. They take part in volunteering, work experience and college taster days. This helps them to make career choices.

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The local governance monitoring hub has oversight of many aspects of the school’s work, for example pupils’ behaviour, attitudes and attendance. However, it does not yet have a strong enough understanding of the quality of education that pupils receive and how this prepares them for their next phase of education, including reintegration back into mainstream education.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have created an effective safeguarding culture. Staff understand the vulnerabilities of pupils. They receive regular training on important issues, such as consent. Leaders act quickly when staff notice or raise concerns. They work well with external agencies to minimise pupils’ risk of harm. Leaders do not hesitate to escalate concerns if required. Staff carry out checks to ensure that adults are safe to work with pupils.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to stay safe, including in their awareness of the dangers of radicalisation. Pupils can name trusted adults whom they can talk to if they have concerns.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not ensured that all staff understand and follow the school’s approach to phonics and early reading. As a result, pupils’ ability to develop their accuracy, confidence and enjoyment in reading slows. Leaders must provide staff 28 February and 1 March 2023

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with the support required to ensure that the early reading curriculum is implemented as leaders intend and then check on its effectiveness.  Leaders recognise that the breadth and depth of the curriculum that some groups of pupils study are too narrow. This means that these pupils are not well prepared for the next stage of their education. Leaders should continue with the plans they have developed, including assessment procedures, to ensure that pupils deepen their knowledge across a range of subjects, especially in key stages 2 and 3.

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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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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. 28 February and 1 March 2023

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School details

School category Academy converter alternative provision

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Website

www.wavemat.org/our- academies/caradon-academy-liskeard

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Date of previous inspection

18 and 19 January 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Caradon Alternative Provision Academy is part of WAVE Multi Academy Trust.  The school provides short-term education for pupils at risk of exclusion or who have been permanently excluded from mainstream schools. Pupils are either single or dual registered. The school supports pupils to reintegrate back into mainstream education or progress to further education or training.  All pupils attending the school have SEND.  There are currently no pupils in the key stage 1 provision.  The school uses one unregistered alternative provider.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 7 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships. 28 February and 1 March 2023

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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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 met with the principal, senior leaders and a range of staff. The lead inspector met with a member of the local monitoring hub and the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust. He also held a telephone call with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and PSHE. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors looked more widely at documentation in other curriculum subjects.  The lead inspector listened to pupils in Years 3, 4 and 8 read to an adult.

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Information about this inspection

 The lead inspector reviewed the school’s safeguarding documentation, including safeguarding checks carried out on staff working at the school. Inspectors talked to governors, staff and pupils about how the school keeps everyone safe.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  Inspectors spoke with a range of staff to discuss how leaders support their workload and well-being.  Inspectors considered responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including parents’ free-text comments, and responses to staff surveys.

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Inspection team

Dale Burr, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gill Hickling Ofsted Inspector 28 February and 1 March 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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