Camp Hill Education

Inspection of Camp Hill Education The Bordesley Centre, Stratford Road, Camp Hill, Birmingham B11 1AR

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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 Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a time of positive change at Camp Hill Education. Expectations have been raised. The motto ‘preparing for the wider world’ is a call for action. Staff are working hard to respond and fulfil this for all pupils. However, further improvements are required to ensure pupils get the most from their time at Camp Hill.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate that Camp Hill Education provides them with a space where they can feel safe. Some pupils have had difficult experiences at previous schools in the past. All have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Some have emotional and mental health needs that have affected how much they have attended school in the past. When pupils attend this school, they often are focused on their learning. Caring staff listen to pupils and act when they need more support. Staff work hard to spot the signs if a pupil is at risk of bullying in school or the community. They act swiftly when needed to intervene.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Hiking around Sheldon or Licky Hills country parks and visiting the library or having golf lessons enrich the pupils’ life experiences. Understanding how to stay safe and the dangers of crime, drugs and alcohol are central to the school’s work.

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better?

Since the last inspection, staff have worked hard to improve all areas of the school’s work. There is a new curriculum and a drive to ensure pupils learn new knowledge to help them succeed. However, systems for support and challenge for staff from the proprietorial body are underdeveloped. This has affected capacity and the pace of improvement for the quality of education. Equally, it has limited leaders’ ability to enhance their understanding of what a quality curriculum and lessons should look like.

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better?

Over the last two years, all staff have worked hard to meet the independent school standards. The headteacher has developed robust systems to ensure these standards are regularly monitored and do not drop.

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better?

Lessons provide opportunities for the youngest pupils to the oldest students to learn about a broad range of subjects and from different opportunities. Leaders have planned a series of lessons to give the pupils the knowledge they need to be ready for the next stage of education, training, or employment. For example, students complete employability, personal development, mathematics, English and computing qualifications in the sixth form. However, lesson sequences do not always help pupils build on what they have learned in the past or fill gaps in their knowledge. Opportunities to recap on prior learning are not always included. This limits how successfully pupils can commit learning to their long-term memory.

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better?

Pupils start at the school with various additional needs, including needs with learning and cognition or communication and interaction. Staff work hard to provide the proper support for these needs. However, while staff spot when pupils need 13 to 15 June 2023 help, systems to fully understand these needs are underdeveloped. Access to specialist services such as educational psychologists or speech and language therapists has not been utilised to give a detailed understanding of what each individual pupil needs to overcome the barriers to learning. This has limited how precisely the provision meets the needs of pupils.

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better?

Pupils have varying abilities when reading different texts. Some start at school confident to read and decode words well. Others have difficulties with reading various texts and understanding different vocabulary. Leaders have recently invested in various books to support pupils’ reading. Reading intervention has helped some pupils to develop their comprehension of different types of books and reading materials. However, this intervention has not happened frequently enough for some other pupils, meaning that they find it more challenging to understand what they have read.

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better?

What pupils achieve at school varies a great deal. For some pupils, their learning across all subjects has been positive and helped them to learn, understand, and do more. However, for other pupils, there are gaps in what they have learned. This can be because they have not attended school regularly enough, or the lessons they have received have not helped them build their knowledge. For some pupils, interventions to help them catch up have not been regular enough or focused on what they need at that time. This means that these pupils are not as ready as they could be for the education, training and employment stage that comes next.

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better?

Lessons are often calm, and pupils work hard. When low-level disruption happens, staff are quick to act to refocus pupils on their learning. Parents and carers are positive about the communication around their children’s needs and behaviour. This means that the school and home combine to support the pupils to better engage with learning. In the past, some pupils have not attended enough. Leaders have shown tenacity that has helped to get some pupils to attend more often, although not enough is done to help some of these pupils catch up with what they have missed.

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better?

Helping pupils to be ready for life in modern-day Birmingham is a priority. Trips to carefully chosen restaurants and gyms, and boxing lessons, allow pupils to develop healthy lifestyles. Lessons in personal, social, health, and economic (PSHE) education create an understanding of different cultures and faiths within the city. Independent careers advice and guidance are now in place and support pupils to understand and explore potential careers in the future. Work experience, for example, at a local farm, garage or pharmacy, provides opportunities to develop an understanding of the workplace.

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better?

Staff are positive about the school and the recent developments. They are proud to work at the school and know that their work makes a difference to these very special young people.

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better?

Leaders ensure that the school meets the requirements of Schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 and a suitable accessibility plan is in place. 13 to 15 June 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Several staffing changes have occurred over the last few years, but safeguarding training remains high profile, including for staff starting at the school. Training is comprehensive and ongoing. This means all staff know how to spot when pupils might be at risk. Recruitment processes are well organised and ensure that only staff prioritising safeguarding are appointed.

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Safeguarding

When needed, staff work with agencies such as youth justice or drug and alcohol services to provide specialised support to pupils who might be at risk. PSHE and relationships, health and sexual education lessons help to develop pupils’ understanding of sexual health and staying safe in the wider world, both on and offline.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The curriculum plans are not sequenced to allow pupils to revisit or deepen their understanding of chosen topics or themes. This means there are few opportunities for pupils to deepen their knowledge of the subject, fill gaps, or correct misconceptions. Leaders need to ensure that the curriculum is precisely planned to provide opportunities for pupils to revisit prior learning so that they have opportunities to catch up, deepen their understanding or practise their knowledge.  Staff do not provide sufficient intervention for pupils persistently absent from school. As a result, these pupils fall behind their peers and miss out on crucial learning. Leaders should ensure pupils receive the support needed to catch up quickly when they have missed days from school.  Processes and systems to accurately assess and understand pupils’ individual SEND are underdeveloped and do not utilise external support when needed. This

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

means that provision is often based on what the child cannot do rather than the reasons they cannot do it. Leaders need to ensure that they refine the systems for the accurate assessment of SEND to provide the most effective provision for each individual pupil.  Leaders’ capacity for further improvement is limited due to underdeveloped systems for the support and challenge of all staff. This limits the pace of change and progress in school improvement. Leaders and those responsible for governance need to ensure that all staff, including leaders, access regular support and challenge to further develop areas of weakness in the provision of the school. 13 to 15 June 2023

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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. 13 to 15 June 2023

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School details

Unique reference number 146999 DfE registration number 330/6049

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School details

Inspection number 10254695 Type of school Other independent school

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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School details

Email address camphilleducation@gmail.com

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 to 8 July 2021 13 to 15 June 2023

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Information about this school

 Camp Hill Education is a small school in Birmingham catering for up to 18 pupils. At the time of the inspection, there were no pupils in key stage 3 or 4.  The school was previously inspected on 6 to 8 July 2021. The school was judged to not meet some independent school standards at that inspection. Therefore the school has received a series of subsequent progress monitoring inspections. At the most recent in February 2023, it was felt that the school is now meeting all of the independent school standards.  The school is housed within a community centre, where it occupies a classroom and has use of a youth club room and a green open space at the back of the community centre.  All the students on roll have an education, health and care plan. The school caters predominantly for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs, although many also have other additional needs.  The school was registered by the Department for Education (DfE) in August 2019.

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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

 Prior to the inspection, school leaders submitted a material change request to the DfE to extend the age range from 11 to 18, to 11 to 19. The outcome of this part of the inspection is that the school is likely to meet all the relevant independent school standards if the material changes are granted.  The lead inspector held regular meetings with the headteacher.  Inspectors held meetings with leaders who are responsible for attendance, behaviour, personal development and careers education.  The lead inspector met with the chair of the governing board.  As part of the inspection, inspectors completed deep dives in English, mathematics, and personal development and employability education. They met with subject leaders and teachers to talk about the quality of education at the school.  Inspectors made visits to lessons. 13 to 15 June 2023  Inspectors spoke with pupils about their learning and experiences at school. They

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Information about this inspection

looked at pupils’ work in a range of different subjects to see how well the curriculum is implemented.  The lead inspector toured the school premises to check their suitability.  Safeguarding documents were checked, including the checks that leaders make on staff’s suitability to work with children, prior to employment. Inspectors checked that staff implement safeguarding policies and procedures effectively.  The lead inspector considered the free-text responses received during the inspection. There was a limited response to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, which meant it could not be accessed.

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Inspection team

Chris Pollitt, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 13 to 15 June 2023 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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