StreetVibes Media Academy

Inspection of StreetVibes Media Academy 6 Eltham High Street, London SE9 1DA

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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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 settle quickly in this nurturing and inclusive environment. They feel cherished and well supported in overcoming any barriers. Individuality is valued and celebrated. Pupils acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and personal qualities to thrive. The school goes above and beyond in taking every step possible to keep pupils safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The environment is calm and orderly. Pupils are polite. They learn to use a range of strategies to manage their own behaviour. They respect and follow clearly defined boundaries. Pupils demonstrate empathy towards each other. Working relationships are built on trust. Pupils feel comfortable that trusted adults would help should they need it.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the extensive range of bespoke experiences that enrich the curriculum. This helps pupils to learn about the importance of observing cultural and social differences, for example during the Year 11 visit to Barbados. Pupils have many opportunities to be creative and express their emotions and feelings through the music technology and production curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff encourage pupils to develop their social, self-control and self-management skills. Pupils appreciate the care and support adults provide in preparing them with the readiness to return to mainstream schools or colleges. They are well prepared for the next stages of education or employment.

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better?

Staff have high ambitions for all pupils to succeed. Leaders think creatively in facilitating a curriculum that is bespoke to the individual needs and context of each student. The school’s curriculum builds pupils’ knowledge and skills in a coherent and systematic way. In music production, for example, pupils learn how to use digital technology to record different instrumental and vocal tracks when producing their own compositions. In some subjects, the knowledge that pupils need to know is not distinctly defined. This limits pupils’ deeper subject-specific knowledge and understanding.

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better?

Teachers have secure subject knowledge. Leaders have prioritised professional development to build staff’s teaching knowledge and expertise. As a result, staff feel well supported and appreciated.

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better?

The school actively promotes reading for pleasure. Pupils enjoy selecting books from the school libraries. Leaders provide timetabled opportunities for pupils to practise and build confidence in reading. However, structured opportunities for pupils to read across the curriculum are not secure. This limits pupils’ development of their comprehension skills and vocabulary. 23 to 25 January 2024 The school has a robust process for inducting pupils. Leaders communicate effectively with parents and carers and external professionals in gathering a wealth of information before pupils’ admission. This includes the identification of special educational needs and/or disabilities and social, emotional and mental health needs. Staff carefully personalise the support and strategies for each pupil. Teachers use a variety of resources to find the gaps in what pupils know and remember.

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better?

Pupils keenly participate in discussions in class. They feel comfortable sharing their views and asking and responding to questions. Staff deal skilfully and sensitively with pupils who become distracted. Adults effectively guide pupils in re-engaging quickly with their learning. The school is effective in improving the attendance of pupils, some of whom were reluctant school attenders. This is because the staff create a positive atmosphere where pupils want to attend.

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better?

The school supports pupils’ personal development through an extensive range of programmes. Leaders invite representatives from several approved organisations to support the delivery of the personal, social and health education. The school places a strong emphasis on promoting pupils’ positive attitudes, including their educational journeys and future trajectories. Reintegration into mainstream schools is effective. Staff encourage pupils to develop a strong sense of self and cultural identity. Pupils are taught to build resilience.

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better?

Leaders identify pupils’ interests and talents which informs the personalised approach to the curriculum and wider development opportunities. Pupils learn about criminal law. They explore and debate the common law and risks of ‘joint enterprise’. They understand that an individual can be jointly convicted of the crime of another. Pupils know that all choices have consequences. Staff inspire pupils to think about their goals and aspirations for future careers.

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better?

The proprietor is extremely committed to and involved in the life of the school. The school’s site is fit for purpose. The proprietor ensures that all the independent school standards are met. The school promotes equality of opportunities for all as required by schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. Pupils demonstrate an awareness of gender issues, including the rights of gay and transgender people, preventing violence against girls and women in the world of work. Pupils, staff and parents are proud of the school and how it has positively changed the lives of many young people.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 In some subjects, the key knowledge and skills pupils needs to know and remember are not distinctly defined. This means that in these subjects, teaching does not develop pupils’ subject-specific understanding securely. The school 23 to 25 January 2024 should ensure that all subjects’ content, knowledge and skills are explicitly defined and consistently delivered.  Sometimes, structured opportunities for pupils to develop their reading across the curriculum are not securely in place. This means occasionally some pupils are not appropriately supported in strengthening their comprehension skills and vocabulary development. The school should continue to develop the whole school literacy strategy and implement a structured approach to reading across the curriculum.

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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. 23 to 25 January 2024

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School details

Headteacher Will Conn (Headteacher) Orlando Clement (Executive Headteacher) Annual fees (day pupils) £19,500

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26 to 28 November 2019 23 to 25 January 2024

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Information about this school

 The school is an alternative provision situated in Eltham, South London. The school caters for pupils who may have a history of disrupted education or are at risk of exclusion from a mainstream school. Some pupils may also have social, emotional and mental health needs.  The school is registered for pupils aged 11 to 19 but currently caters for pupils from ages 11 to 16. The post-16 provision at the school is called the SV Academy and is funded through the Education and Skills Funding Agency. These pupils are reported on separately. The last inspection for the SV Academy took place from 12 to 14 October 2022 and was judged as good.  The school has a curriculum specialism in music technology and production.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  The school is registered to admit up to 40 pupils.

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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

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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 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 proprietor, the executive headteacher, the headteacher, senior leaders and a range of staff.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, history and personal, social and health education. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, met with teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and considered pupils’ work.  Inspectors considered the curriculum in other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive

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Information about this inspection

culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors considered the views of parents, pupils and staff, including through 23 to 25 January 2024 Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Lascelles Haughton, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

David Lloyd Ofsted Inspector 23 to 25 January 2024 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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