London East Alternative Provision

Inspection of London East Alternative Provision 21 Tollet Street, Stepney, London E1 4EE

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Sixth-form provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good 25 and 26 June 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils settle into life at London East Alternative Provision quickly. This is because dedicated staff care deeply about them. As a result of the school’s nurturing culture and high and consistently applied expectations, relationships and behaviour are extremely positive. Pupils recognise that staff are fair and manage behaviour effectively. This contributes significantly to pupils feeling safe and emotionally secure at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s broad and ambitious curriculum impassions pupils. Attitudes to learning are very positive. During the inspection, for example, pupils created high-quality art, rehearsed mixing and rapping techniques, and practised their reading and comprehension. This is typical of the effort pupils put into their work and helps them to achieve well from their different starting points. During induction, pupils’ needs are swiftly ascertained. This helps to ensure that the curriculum is precisely targeted to address misconceptions and fill any gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Along with ongoing assessment, this means pupils are well supported to return to their home school or start at new provision.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy and benefit from a carefully designed programme of enrichment. Pupils can access clubs and additional lessons after school. The curriculum is enhanced by a programme of visits, including to museums and galleries.

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better?

The curriculum is carefully designed to ensure pupils build step by step on what they know. Opportunities are provided for pupils to revisit and practise the most important subject knowledge. This means pupils learn and remember more and are well placed to tackle more complex ideas. The curriculum is well implemented. Teachers think carefully about what motivates pupils and use this to design interesting and engaging tasks and discussions. Given many important concepts are connected to key words, teaching focuses on the vocabulary that matters most. Pupils learn and use terminology well.

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better?

The school places a high priority on improving pupils’ reading. Staff understand how to teach phonics well. Early assessment is used effectively to identify the areas pupils need help to improve. Pupils are given effective support, both within lessons and through additional sessions. Reading is well promoted across the school. For example, the ethos of pupils and staff reading aloud across the curriculum drives oracy and confidence, as well as fluency and comprehension. Systematic approaches across subjects help pupils broaden and deepen their vocabulary. For instance, through ‘word of the week’, pupils learn much more than simply definitions. They remember prefixes such as ‘anti’, their meaning and other words which also use the same prefixes.

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better?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive very strong and targeted support. The insights of a range of specialist services, including 25 and 26 June 2024

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educational psychologists and speech and language therapists, help to further strengthen provision. Staff knowledgeably adapt learning activities where appropriate. Staff make important and often nuanced adjustments to their interactions to support the social communication needs of pupils with autism. As a result, pupils with SEND achieve the aims of the school’s ambitious curriculum.

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The support for pupils’ behaviour is sophisticated and very effective. Information about supporting each pupil is precise and shared appropriately. It includes potential triggers, therapeutic support to aid self-regulation and strategies to help with any early childhood trauma. This enables staff to develop strong bonds of trust. Pupils feel safe, well cared for and enjoy their learning. Attitudes to learning are consistently very positive. Pupils have opportunities to reflect on their behaviour. A sixth-form student said, summing up the views of many, ‘We talk it through the next day so that any problems don’t continue.’ Many pupils are rightly proud that their behaviour has improved since they joined the school.

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Leaders have equally effective systems in place to manage attendance. Staff know that being in school helps keep pupils safe and achieve the qualifications and skills they need for their preferred careers. Pupils who need to improve their attendance are swiftly identified and monitored. The school works closely with families and external services to ensure these pupils are well supported to attend school each day and on time.

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The provision for pupils’ wider development is exceptional. The curriculum for personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education helps pupils to learn about important issues. This includes what constitutes respectful relationships, and raising awareness of the risks associated with gang affiliation, knife crime, exploitation, and drugs and alcohol. Visitors to the school help emphasise the important messages in the curriculum. This includes a recent talk from medical professionals about the potential long-term impact of knife injuries.

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Pupils receive helpful advice and guidance about their future education and careers. For example, past pupils have returned to speak about their employment successes. A range of work experience opportunities help prepare pupils for the world beyond school. For instance, the school has links with West Ham United Football Club, the NHS and construction companies. Pupils in the sixth form have benefited from an additional year to secure the qualifications and gain the social skills they need for future college courses and apprenticeships.

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Leaders have created a school culture worthy of sharing with others. The school ethos ensures a relentless focus on excellent behaviour support, keeping pupils safe, and enabling pupils to achieve the best possible outcomes. This means pupils are exceptionally well prepared to move on to their future destinations, and well placed to achieve success. Staff feel well supported with their workload, and that their well- being is prioritised. Teachers particularly value the opportunities leaders provide for their professional development. 25 and 26 June 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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). 25 and 26 June 2024

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sixth form

Appropriate authority The governing body

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sixth form

Chair of management committee Alasdair MacDonald

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection 16 January 2018

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Information about this school

 The school uses no alternative provision.  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 inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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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 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, other senior leaders and a range of staff.  The lead inspector met with members of the management committee, including the chair.  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 culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English (including early reading), mathematics, and personal, social, health and PSHE, including citizenship. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum,

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visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The views of pupils, staff, and parents and carers were considered through discussions and considering their responses to Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Barney Geen, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Tom Canning 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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