Riverside Virtual College

Virtual College

On 3 and 4 July 2024, Ofsted visited Riverside Virtual College as part of the Online Education Accreditation Scheme . Through this scheme, providers of full-time online education to school-age children in England can apply to the Department for Education (DfE) for accreditation.

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Virtual College

Ofsted visits providers to find out whether they meet the minimum standards for online education set by the DfE. This report sets out what we found during our visit on 3 and 4 July 2024. You can find out whether this provider is accredited by the DfE at Get Information about Schools .

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Key findings

◼ Riverside Virtual College meets all the minimum standards for online education. ◼ Leaders are ambitious for pupils who attend Riverside Virtual College. They aim to provide the best possible outcomes for their pupils, with a focus on returning them to face-to-face learning in a physical setting. Leaders regularly look at the work of other successful providers to help them to secure high-quality provision. ◼ Leaders’ collaboration with parents is a notable strength of the setting. Leaders have established close communication links and are highly effective at involving parents in many aspects of their child’s education. This includes liaising with parents to ensure that pupils receive a careers programme that is founded on their interests and helps to fulfil their potential. ◼ There are suitable schemes of work that cover all the areas of learning required by the Online Education Accreditation Scheme standards (the standards). They

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Key findings

consider the ages, aptitudes and needs of pupils and contain detailed specifications of the knowledge that leaders expect pupils to acquire. Pupils can work towards gaining recognised qualifications at GCSE and functional skills levels. ◼ Leaders work effectively with Birmingham City Council, the sole commissioner, to ensure that pupils are receiving suitable provision at Riverside Virtual College. For example, leaders ensure that they provide the local authority with detailed information on pupils’ progress at the annual review of each pupil’s education, health and care (EHC) plan. ◼ Governors carry out regular but informal checks on the work of leaders in the setting. Governors should now develop a formal system of holding leaders to account. This will help leaders to ensure that the standards are consistently and continuously met.

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Who is this online provider?

◼ Riverside Virtual College provides education for pupils aged 14 to 16 years with special educational needs and/or disabilities. All pupils have an EHC plan and are not accepted to study at the setting without one. All pupils receive their education at home. ◼ Riverside Virtual College offers a curriculum that is in line with the national curriculum for key stage 4. The curriculum includes English, mathematics and science, as well as art and design, computer studies, and personal, social, health and economic education. Leaders adapt the curriculum content and delivery to provide support for pupils’ needs. Pupils work towards acquiring recognised qualifications, such as functional skills awards and GCSEs, as appropriate to their needs and abilities. ◼ Riverside Virtual College is based in Birmingham. The proprietors also operate a registered independent school, Riverside Education (URN: 142338). ◼ Currently, four school-age pupils study with Riverside Virtual College full time, all

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Who is this online provider?

of whom have an EHC plan. All four of these pupils live in England. At the time of this accreditation visit, there were no children who are looked after by a local authority on the roll of Riverside Virtual College. Another four school-age pupils study with Riverside Virtual College part time.

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How are pupils taught at Riverside Virtual College?

◼ Teachers, some with qualified teacher status, teach pupils from home. Lessons are taught live, with some recorded content used to enable pupils to catch up if they are absent from a lesson. The timetable for pupils runs from 9.30am to 2.45pm each day from Monday to Friday. As well as curriculum subjects, the timetable includes tutorial and assembly periods. ◼ Teachers use questioning effectively to make regular checks on pupils’ understanding during lessons. They ensure that lessons are supervised with a combination of audio, video and secure online chat facilities. Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They have highly positive relationships with pupils and they manage behaviour in lessons well. At the start of all lessons, teachers remind pupils about the setting’s expectation that pupils must always show respect for each other. ◼ Teachers use the online environment effectively. Resources are of good quality

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How are pupils taught at Riverside Virtual College?

and support the learning well. For example, teachers use slide shows and videos effectively, and these are successful in making the learning clear for pupils. Teachers encourage pupils to engage with lessons and, as a result, pupils show interest, apply their knowledge and demonstrate effort in their learning. ◼ Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strong feature of lesson time at Riverside Virtual College and is supported by an extra-curricular enrichment programme. Pupils learn about fundamental British values, respect and tolerance for other cultures and religions, and the protected characteristics within the Equality Act 2010 during daily tutorial sessions, weekly assemblies and ‘pupil voice’ sessions. ◼ Leaders have demonstrated ambition by using the Gatsby benchmarks as their yardstick for the careers guidance that they offer pupils. They provide opportunities online for pupils to find out about workplaces and further or higher

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How are pupils taught at Riverside Virtual College?

education. Destination examples show the highly positive contribution made by the careers programme to pupils’ outcomes. All four pupils who have left the setting this year have secured places at face-to-face education providers, studying subjects that match their interests and aptitudes.

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for keeping children safe?

◼ Ofsted’s visits to online providers can give only a limited level of

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inspections of schools and other providers of face-to-face education

and training. However, we found that the arrangements for keeping children safe at Riverside Virtual College are appropriate. ◼ The setting has not had to deal with any safeguarding issues or allegations against staff and, currently, has no pupils on child-in-need or child protection plans. However, there are suitable systems in place to manage concerns effectively if they occur. ◼ The setting has suitable cybersecurity certification, and appropriate filtering and monitoring are in place for all devices. Monitoring reports are reviewed daily by the appointed lead and reviewed weekly by the senior leadership team. Leaders deal with any serious concerns straight away, making reference to the setting’s safeguarding policy. Staff respond to any trends identified in report results through discussions in tutorials or presentations during assemblies. Previous topics for discussion include the safe use of social media and the risks associated

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inspections of schools and other providers of face-to-face education

with cyber-bullying. ◼ The setting’s e-safety policy identifies the types of online abuse that may occur. It also sets out the code of conduct for staff and the acceptable user policy. It contains indicators of abuse and why some pupils may be more prone to online abuse. For example, some pupils may be more vulnerable because of their age, characteristics, gender or particular needs. All staff have mandatory e-safety training. ◼ Staff provide advice to parents and signpost them to further information to assist them in keeping their child safe online. It is part of the setting’s admission contract with parents that they must always supervise their child during online lessons. ◼ Leaders implement robust procedures for the safe recruitment of staff at all stages of the process, from vacancy advertising through to interviews and the completion of suitability checks. Leaders maintain a written record of these

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inspections of schools and other providers of face-to-face education

checks, containing the names of all staff, leaders and governors, as well as all other relevant information.

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Riverside Virtual College?

◼ Based on the findings of the online pupils’ survey, it is clear that pupils appreciate the help that teachers give them with their work and the careers advice that they receive. They enjoy attending Riverside Virtual College. ◼ Parental views are highly positive. Typically, parents feel that their child develops confidence and begins to re-engage with learning at Riverside Virtual College. This is in contrast to the difficulties that their child has had in learning in previous schools. ◼ In conversation with inspectors, one parent noted how well her child was now progressing, saying, ‘He has come on in leaps and bounds. Riverside Virtual College is working for him. Staff in mainstream education didn’t make time for him.’

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About the visit

◼ This is Riverside Virtual College’s first accreditation visit. Mark Quinn, His Majesty’s Inspector (HMI) was the lead inspector, accompanied by Kathryn Bell, Specialist Inspector, Unregistered Schools.

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education

This section reports on how well Riverside Virtual College meets the standards for online education.

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education

Riverside Virtual College meets all of the applicable standards for online education set out by the DfE (‘the standards’). The standards that are not applicable to Riverside Virtual College are listed below.

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education

The full list of standards can be found in DfE’s guidance on meeting the online education standards .

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The following standards do not apply to this provider:

◼ Standard 1.8 only applies where the provider has at least one full-time pupil of above compulsory school age ◼ Standards 5.11, 5.12, 5.13, 5.14, 5.16, 5.17, 5.18 only apply where the provider uses supply staff ◼ Standards 6.5, 6.10 only apply where a report on the provider has been published under the Online Education Accreditation Scheme at the time of the visit

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Address

First House, 1 Sutton Street, Birmingham B1 1PE

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DfE unique reference number

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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to

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DfE unique reference number

the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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DfE unique reference number

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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DfE unique reference number

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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