CAMHS Phoenix School

Inspection of an outstanding school: CAMHS Phoenix School CAMHS Phoenix Unit, Wokingham Hospital, Barkham Road, Wokingham, Berkshire RG41 2RE

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Inspection dates: 30 and 31 January 2024

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Outcome

CAMHS Phoenix School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are positive and engaged learners in this nurturing and calm school. Pupils’ medical needs influence the length of their stay here, with many placements lasting for a short period of time. Staff very quickly get to know and understand pupils from the moment of arrival. As such, from day one of their placement, they receive highly individualised and specialist support for their medical, personal and educational needs. Relationships between pupils and staff are built on the highest levels of mutual respect and care. Pupils know that this is a safe environment for them and that adults will be patient and sensitive to their needs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit hugely from the high aspirations that staff have for what they will achieve. Staff are committed to making sure pupils will leave here with ambitious goals for their futures. Pupils’ tailor-made plans and targets are precisely and expertly designed to help them have the knowledge and confidence they will need to be ready for their next steps when they leave.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A culture of inclusion and support pervades the school. Every aspect of pupils’ needs is extremely well considered and planned for by staff. This means that behavioural incidents rarely occur in the school, but are responded to expertly by well-trained staff if they do.

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

The curriculum here is extremely individualised and flexible. The school works closely with home schools prior to a pupil starting to share important information about them. As a result, the curriculum created by the school for each pupil is highly bespoke and ambitious. It is precisely matched to their individual needs. The school adeptly sequences the small steps of knowledge pupils will learn for each subject they will study during their time here. 30 and 31 January 2024

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Teachers are extremely knowledgeable and skilled educators. They use their in-depth knowledge of pupils to plan high-quality learning activities. These activities not only capture pupils’ interests but also help them to achieve extremely well.

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The school is determined that all pupils will develop a love of reading. Leaders have carefully selected a range of texts to enthuse and motivate pupils. Well-planned reading lessons give pupils meaningful opportunities to talk about books and what impact those books have.

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Every part of the provision is calm and purposeful. Pupils’ behaviour is consistently exceptional. This is because staff use their specialist knowledge of the pupils to set up the right learning environment for them. There is a deeply embedded therapeutic approach in place to support pupils with their behaviour. Pupils’ attendance is extremely high. They are motivated to come to school and have the most positive attitudes towards their learning.

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Pupils’ personal development is intricately woven through all aspects of school life. Staff make time to fully understand what each pupil needs to be ready for their next steps. From this, well-designed individual life skills programmes are put in place.

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The school has established an extremely personalised careers programme. Staff work individually with pupils to explore career and training options. This includes practice for interviews, virtual visits to colleges and universities and support with application forms. Staff sensitively and expertly help pupils to consider what their hopes for the future are.

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Intelligently crafted personal development lessons also teach pupils about life in modern Britain. They learn that people believe in different things and how to be respectful of that. Pupils celebrate various religious and cultural events together as a school community. Pupils here are listened to and heard. They value their community meetings and have ample opportunities to share their views. These meaningful opportunities provided by the school help pupils to understand the positive contribution they make to the world around them.

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Staff work together as a closely knit team. While they do a challenging job, they are immensely proud to be doing it. They trust that leaders around them have their well- being at heart. Governors and school leaders share the same moral imperative to provide the best quality education. The pupils who attend here are truly at the centre of everything they do.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 30 and 31 January 2024

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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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This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be outstanding in May 2013.

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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). 30 and 31 January 2024

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Chair

Date of previous inspection 17 October 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 CAMHS Phoenix School provides education for pupils aged between 11 and 18 years who have been admitted to CAMHS Phoenix Unit at Wokingham Hospital.  Admission to CAMHS Phoenix School is by NHS referral only.  The CAMHS Phoenix unit is a Tier 4 NHS day hospital for young people who are experiencing a variety of severe and enduring mental health illnesses.  The number of pupils on the school’s roll fluctuates. While most placements are for 12 weeks, some attend for longer or shorter periods of time, depending on their needs.  The school caters for secondary-age and post-16 pupils. Pupils are dual registered. This means that they remain on the roll of their home school while being educated at CAMHS Phoenix school.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of any alternative provision. 30 and 31 January 2024

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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.  The inspectors met with the headteacher and other members of the leadership team. They also met with the chair and four other members of the management committee.  The lead inspector also met with representatives from the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: English, science and physical, social, health and economics education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour around the school and in lessons. They also

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Information about this inspection

spoke to pupils in lessons and during recreation times.  The inspectors considered a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluations of the school, their school improvement plan and minutes from management committee meetings.  The inspectors took account of the views of staff through conversations and the responses to the online staff survey.  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 the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Nina Marabese, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Felix Rayner Ofsted Inspector 30 and 31 January 2024

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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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