Avenue Centre for Education

Inspection of Avenue Centre for Education Cutenhoe Road, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 3NJ

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Good 6 and 7 February 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy to attend this school and appreciate the work of all the staff team. It is a caring school, where staff make sure all pupils are valued and respected. The support that pupils get helps them to regain an interest in learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school have high ambitions for all pupils to achieve. The carefully adapted curriculum enables individuals to succeed. This contributes towards pupils achieving well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils receive help to understand their emotions. Pupils are taught how to regulate their behaviour for themselves. This ensures that pupils’ behaviour is calm and orderly. They respect staff, their peers and are tolerant of differences. Pupils are confident that their school is a place of safety. Leaders and staff deal with any issues, such as bullying, swiftly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from guidance for the next stage of their lives through careers information provided by the school. This helps the older pupils to make decisions for their future.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the breakfast and lunches provided and the downtime from lessons with organised activities such as cricket, game of pool or a quiet area to reflect. This helps them to be ready and focussed for their lessons.

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better?

Pupils enter the school at various times of the year. They are initially assessed so the school can put in place appropriate individual provision to ensure they meet pupil’s needs.

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better?

The school have implemented a well-designed, ambitious curriculum. They have ordered the curriculum content so that pupils build on what they know. The school ensure staff understand the challenges of those in Key Stage 3 on short-stay provision. This means they are able to accurately identify what pupils need to learn and support them to make good progress and successfully return to mainstream schools.

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better?

The school have carefully chosen the broad range of alternative providers they use to match the interests of pupils. This helps to ensure that pupils can have an education which helps them to succeed. The school check pupils’ progress well. This shows leaders the gaps that pupils have in their learning. They address these quickly. This is also the case for those pupils being educated in alternative provisions.

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better?

The established reading curriculum is seen throughout the school day. Reading is prioritised and practiced regularly in small groups or one to one, where required. Pupils progress well through the reading curriculum because the school provide 6 and 7 February 2024

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stimulating texts and books which are suitable for pupil’s ability. They are taught well and often. They provoke interesting debates and enthusiasm for pupils. The impact of this is widely seen in pupil’s confidence to read out aloud and in written work, for example, imaginative stories or writing about a topic they are studying.

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Teachers focus on planning and adapting the curriculum providing individualised support, for example teaching pupils in small groups. Teachers have secure subject knowledge and know what to teach and when. They are fully trained and confident in understanding each pupil’s particular needs. As a result, all pupils continue to make progress through the curriculum.

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The school have established a behaviour curriculum where pupils learn about the school’s values - honesty, aspiration, respect and kindness. They happily hand in their mobile phones in the morning and are fully aware of the distraction phones are to learning. Pupils are fully focused on their teachers in lessons and complete the work that is expected because of this. On occasions, pupil’s behaviour does not meet the standards expected. Staff quickly address these occurrences and enable pupils the time to reflect. This results in pupils calmy returning to their learning.

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The school have planned some wider enrichments for pupils such as careers guidance. However, they do not yet have a regular programme in place for some areas of the curriculum that leaders intend. As a result, pupils do not always get the personal development to build character and learn beyond their normal daily life to support pupil’s own values and builds confidence.

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Leaders have high expectations for all, including staff. Leaders are reflective and have identified the appropriate priorities for development. Staff feel that leaders take their workload into account and that their well-being is prioritised.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The personal development programme in the wider curriculum builds character, helps pupils with their confidence as learners and in life after school. This is in the early stages of its full implementation. As a result, pupils do not fully benefit from opportunities to give them different experiences. Leaders should ensure that the intent of the full curriculum is implemented consistently well enabling pupils to learn to grow as responsible and active citizens. 6 and 7 February 2024

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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’ 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). 6 and 7 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date(s) of previous inspection 12 and 13 October 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection there has been a change in governance with a new chair of governors who started in September 2023.

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Information about this school

 The school provides for pupils who have been permanently excluded or are at risk of permanent exclusion. A small number have an education, health and care plan.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector(s) carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.  Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors met with a range of leaders, including senior leaders and the management committee, including the chair and a parent representative.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics and art. An inspector looked at a range of documents from construction and beauty therapy. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject 6 and 7 February 2024

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leaders and head of schools, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils, about their learning and looked at samples of their work.  Inspectors visited some intervention practices.  Inspectors took account of responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  A range of documentation was considered, including the school’s improvement plan, the school’s self-evaluation and curriculum documents. This included information relating to pupils’ behaviour and their wider development.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took into account the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which leaders had created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector spoke to seven alternative providers on the telephone about safeguarding and the progress of pupils.

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Inspection team

Suzanne Thrower, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Fiona Webb Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 February 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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