Camden Primary Pupil Referral Unit

Inspection of a good school: Camden Primary Pupil Referral Unit Robson House, Netley Campus, 74 Stanhope Street, London NW1 3EX

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 September 2023

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Outcome

Camden Primary Pupil Referral Unit continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils join the school having had difficulties in managing their behaviour and emotions in previous settings. Nevertheless, pupils settle quickly. This is because warm and nurturing relationships exist between pupils and staff at this school. Pupils know that staff expect them to do their best and to uphold the school’s high expectations for behaviour and learning. This helps pupils feel secure and safe. Staff provide pupils with the time, space and skills to deal with any issues. Pupils are taught effective strategies to manage their own behaviour, including using a calm space when needed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils arrive at school in the morning happy and eager to learn. They take pride in the school environment, which is lively, engaging and well looked after.

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What is it like to attend this school?

On the rare occasion that bullying occurs, leaders are thorough in their response. Staff support those involved to reduce the likelihood of it happening again.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ well-being is at the heart of all that the school does. For example, the school’s fitness programme makes sure that pupils are ready to learn before lessons start.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils have opportunities to participate in activities that they would otherwise not experience. This includes singing at The Royal Albert Hall.

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

Before a pupil joins the school, staff work with the pupil’s family and previous school to build a current and accurate understanding of their needs. Staff develop high-quality, detailed plans to address all aspects of these requirements.

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

Governors and leaders have an ambitious vision for what pupils should learn. They want to give pupils every chance to achieve across a broad range of subjects. The school has taken care to ensure that the curriculum supports pupils with their social and emotional needs. Within each subject, leaders have set out clearly the key content that they expect 26 and 27 September 2023

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pupils to be taught. This is especially clear in English and mathematics. However, sometimes staff are not clear enough about what the school wants them to teach and the order they should teach this.

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The school provides targeted support for pupils who are at an early stage of reading. Staff are trained to use age-appropriate interventions to help pupils read fluently and confidently. Reading for pleasure has a high profile in the school. Pupils clearly enjoy the books that have been carefully selected for them to read in class. They read with confidence, accuracy and fluency.

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Daily briefing and debriefing meetings provide all staff with the opportunity to share information and to reflect on practice. This ensures that staff are able to consider each pupil’s needs.

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Work on pupil behaviour is a major strength of the school. Potential incidents are often avoided because staff are so highly attuned to pupils’ feelings and anxieties. Parents and carers are pleased with the school’s approach to behaviour. This extends to the provision of support with behaviour at home. Parents told inspectors that they appreciate this help because staff never let them feel they are doing anything wrong.

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The school’s work to support pupils’ personal development is remarkable. The social and emotional aspects of learning underpin everything the school does. Staff help pupils to become more confident in different social settings, starting as soon as pupils join the school. This prepares them well for the future.

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Despite challenging circumstances, attendance for all pupils is significantly improved from their attendance at their previous schools. This is because leaders routinely review each pupil’s absence and work closely with parents to remove any barriers.

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Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They feel well supported by leaders. Relationships between staff members are strong. They provide effective support for one another, particularly around dealing with challenging behaviour. Staff know they are really making a difference to the lives of pupils and their families.

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Governance is a strength. The school and its outreach provision are respected by mainstream schools and valued by the local authority.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, the specific content that should be taught and the order it should be taught is not clearly understood. As a result, some aspects of the curriculum are 26 and 27 September 2023

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inconsistently implemented. The school needs to make certain that staff are supported to deliver the curriculum as intended so that pupils learn more of the planned content.

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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 March 2015.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 26 and 27 September 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15 May 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 All pupils at the school have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The primary area of need for most pupils is social, emotional and mental health.  The school uses no alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and history. Inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited lessons, reviewed pupils’ work, met with pupils to discuss their learning and met with teachers. Other subjects were also considered as part of this inspection.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered 26 and 27 September 2023

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the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils, and they observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at breaktimes and lunchtimes.  Inspectors spoke with a range of staff about behaviour and their workload. Inspectors also looked at the responses from staff and parents to Ofsted’s surveys.

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Inspection team

Francis Gonzalez, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Joanna Tarrant Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 September 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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