Perryfields Primary Pupil Referral Unit

Inspection of an outstanding school: Perryfields Primary Pupil Referral Unit Glebe Close, St John’s, Worcester, Worcestershire WR2 5AX

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Outcome

Perryfields Primary Pupil Referral Unit continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Perryfields is ‘an intervention, not a destination’. The school never loses sight of its core purpose to support and nurture pupils so they can return to their mainstream setting, or if required, a more specialist provision. The high number of pupils who successfully transfer back into their home school is proof that the school achieves this goal.

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What is it like to attend this school?

When pupils join the school, they are often completely switched off from education. Staff work creatively to find ways to encourage pupils to re-engage. As a result, pupils develop positive attitudes to their learning, they experience success and are keen to learn more. This has a positive impact on their self-esteem.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Every morning, staff greet pupils warmly before they even enter the building. Pupils appreciate this and trust the staff, which makes them feel safe. Pupils enjoy school, which is reflected in their improved attendance.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff, supported by leaders, address any incidents of negative behaviour effectively by unpicking the root cause of the behaviour, so they can support pupils to make positive choices in the future.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are full of praise for the school. They say the school has given their child a second chance and made their children love learning again.

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

Leaders have designed a curriculum that mirrors a mainstream school curriculum to support pupils to transition successfully back into their home school. In every subject, the school has mapped out the knowledge and skills that pupils will learn in a logical order. Consequently, what pupils learn today builds on previous learning, and prepares them for what they will learn in the future. 25 and 26 June 2024

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Teachers and teaching assistants work together seamlessly to provide pupils with the best possible learning experiences. Staff have secure subject knowledge and explain new learning clearly in a step-by-step manner. Teachers plan learning activities that are closely matched to the individual needs and interests of the pupils. Staff constantly check pupils’ understanding and skilfully adapt their teaching if required. Due to the small classes, high staffing ratios and carefully considered adaptations, every teaching activity helps pupils to maximise their learning.

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Some pupils join the school with undiagnosed special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school is quick to spot these. Leaders and staff work well with the home school and external agencies so that need can be identified accurately and appropriate support put into place.

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Leaders have not lost sight of the importance of early reading as both a gateway to the curriculum and an essential life skill. Daily phonics sessions follow a set format with which pupils are familiar. Staff teach phonics well and have the confidence to try different approaches where required because they are well trained. The love of reading is fostered through the English curriculum, the learning environment, ‘reading nooks’, assemblies and special events. As a result, pupils who were reluctant to read are now reading with increasing accuracy, fluency and confidence.

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Pupils have a clear understanding of the school’s values, such as being ‘resilient’ and ‘reflective’. They speak confidently about how these values help them to manage their emotions, so they can focus on their learning and work alongside their class mates. Pupils speak positively about the wide range of trips that they experience, including the recent residential trip to Wales. In fact, second only to the staff, pupils say the trips are the best thing about the school. Pupils enjoy themed days, such as a celebration of ‘Chinese New Year’. However, it is the fortnightly visit to the farm that pupils look forward to most of all. Pupils enjoy taking part in events with other schools, such as the inclusion sport festival, which they won. Pupils appreciate and benefit from the wide range of visitors to the school. This year’s visitors included a chocolatier and a paralympic swimmer.

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Despite their already exceptionally high standards, school leaders are pursuing further improvements to make the school even better. In addition, they are sharing their expertise with the wider education community to support local and national schools to be more inclusive. The members of the management committee are right behind school leaders and the staff. They support and challenge in equal measure to help the school continue to maintain its very high standards for the benefit of the pupils who attend.

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Staff are immensely proud to wear the Perryfields badge. The team effort and sense of unity among staff is palpable. Staff work as one for the benefit of the pupils. In addition, staff value the visibility of school leaders, who are always at hand to help and listen if they have a concern or need help.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 25 and 26 June 2024

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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 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 outstanding in December 2014.

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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 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). 25 and 26 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority Management committee

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School details

Chair of management committee Andy McDouall

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 February 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school caters for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. Some pupils have an education, health and care plan.  Some pupils attend the school for a six-week intervention programme to support their reintegration back into their home school. Some pupils who have been excluded from their previous school will spend longer at Perryfields while the local authority secures a permanent school placement in another school.  The headteacher and one of the deputy headteachers are part of the national Behaviour Hubs Programme, which aims to promote and support inclusion across the country.  The school does not use any 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. 25 and 26 June 2024

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 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 this into account in their evaluation.  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.  The lead inspector met with the headteacher, both deputy headteachers, three members of the management committee, including the chair, and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors held meetings with a range of leaders to discuss safeguarding, specialist provision, attendance, behaviour and the school’s outreach work.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics,

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physical education and personal, social, health and economic education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  Inspectors spoke to groups of pupils formally and informally about their learning and experiences at school. A group of two pupils accompanied the lead inspector on a personal development learning walk around the school.  Inspectors were unable to consider responses to Ofsted Parent View, due to the small number of responses received, but they considered the free-text response received during the inspection. Inspectors spoke with parents at the start and end of the school day.  The lead inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentation. This included the school’s self-

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evaluation form, school improvement plan, school policies, curriculum documents, SEND records, attendance records and behaviour logs.

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Inspection team

Wayne Simner, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Janet Lewis Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 June 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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