The Constance Bridgeman Centre

Inspection of The Constance Bridgeman Centre Loxford Lane, Ilford, Essex IG1 2UT

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 February 2025

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Inadequate 11 and 12 February 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate the opportunity that this school offers for them to have another chance to access their education. Many pupils have experienced negative experiences and/or considerable disruptions to their education. When pupils attend, they benefit from the support and guidance that the staff offer. Pupils learn to trust adults. They value that staff listen to them. Relationships between staff and pupils are respectful and interactions are positive. This helps pupils to feel at ease and safe in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school intends for pupils to do well. However, the current curriculum offer does not enable pupils to achieve as well as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know the school’s expectations for their behaviour. They understand that their actions lead to clear consequences and rewards. Some pupils’ behaviour disrupts the learning of others. However, pupils generally behave well. Although attendance is improving, too many pupils do not attend school regularly enough. This means that these pupils miss crucial learning opportunities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils receive an increasing range of experiences that go beyond the academic curriculum. For example, they enjoy visiting art galleries and learning how to snowboard. Pupils and staff value the time that they spend together socially, eating lunch prepared and served by pupils.

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

In recent times, the school has undertaken an extensive review of the curriculum to help raise expectations for pupils’ success. In some subjects, the school has thought carefully about the knowledge that pupils must learn and the order in which the content should be taught. For example, in mathematics, pupils learn to read coordinates and plot a graph from a linear function. In other subjects, the content and sequence of what pupils should know and remember is less well-defined.

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

Staff have identified that most pupils read at below their chronological reading age. However, the school has experienced some turbulence in the teaching of the English curriculum. The school is developing the provision in place to ensure that pupils develop their basic language and reading skills. Pupils enjoy the opportunities that they have to read.

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

The school’s systems for identifying pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities are under development. Increasingly, staff make use of the information that they have regarding pupils’ additional needs to prepare and deliver appropriate learning experiences. However, the curriculum is not suitably designed in response to pupils’ additional needs, starting points or personal interests. This means that some pupils do not access a curriculum that enables them to build a rich body of knowledge, given their starting points and needs. Staff lack the expertise to adapt teaching accordingly to pupils’ needs. The school is in the early stages of taking appropriate actions to address this. 11 and 12 February 2025

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The school identifies the barriers that prevent pupils from attending school regularly. Staff have worked diligently to improve attendance. However, the proportion of pupils who do not attend school routinely and on time, remains too high. This means that these pupils miss important opportunities to learn and lack access to supporting services.

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The school’s approach to relationships and sex education and health education help pupils to learn about important issues, such as healthy relationships and the dangers of drugs and alcohol. The school supports pupils appropriately to build resilience and tolerance. Pupils receive helpful guidance that supports them in making decisions about their next steps in education, employment or training.

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The school, together with the local authority and management committee, has navigated substantial turbulence and challenges well. The school has a strong understanding of the actions required to ensure consistent school improvement. New senior leadership arrangements are in place. This has strengthened the school’s capacity in tackling some urgent areas for school improvement. Swift measures have resulted in crucial changes that are having positive effects, in a short amount of time.

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Staff morale is high. They celebrate the positive impact that the introduction of the revised safeguarding procedures and behaviour policy have had on staff workload and pupils’ motivation to learn. The school has not provided sufficient training and development of staff. This means that staff lack the knowledge and expertise to deliver the curriculum in a way that meets pupils’ needs. Plans are in place to ensure that staff develop the skills and knowledge needed to improve pupils’ learning and achievement.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Curricular thinking in some subjects is not developed as well as in others. This means that the key content that pupils need to know is not as equally well sequenced over time across all subjects. The school should continue to put in place their plan of key actions and priorities to develop the curriculum. The school needs to ensure that in all subjects the progression of content and knowledge that pupils learn is well structured and embedded.  The curriculum offer is not suitably designed in response to pupils’ additional needs, starting points or personal interests. This means that pupils’ learning does not build from what they know. Pupils do not achieve well enough. The school should ensure that assessment accurately identifies pupils’ starting points and that staff have the right knowledge and expertise to adapt teaching across the curriculum to meet pupils’ needs. 11 and 12 February 2025

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 Too many pupils have high levels of persistent absence. Some pupils’ punctuality is not strong. Subsequently, these pupils miss valuable learning and wider opportunities that the school provides. The school should further refine and strengthen their systems and processes for punctuality and attendance to ensure that pupils attend school regularly and on time.  Staff have not received relevant training in developing their subject-specific and pedagogical knowledge. This limits teachers’ capacity to adapt teaching effectively, address misconceptions adequately and to teach pupils what they need to learn. The school must ensure staff have appropriate training to deliver the improved ambitions of the curriculum consistently and securely.

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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). 11 and 12 February 2025

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School details

Headteacher Tony Clayton Sam Walters (interim executive headteacher) Website www.constancebridgeman.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 16 and 17 July 2024, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school caters for pupils who have been either permanently excluded from a mainstream school or in danger of being permanently excluded.  The school does not use any 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. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 11 and 12 February 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  In accordance with section 13(5) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the interim executive headteacher, the chair and members of the management committee, representatives of the local authority, including the local authority designated officer, senior school leaders and a range of staff.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in mathematics, science, music and personal, social health education. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, met with teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and

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considered pupils’ work.  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 ex- tent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors considered the views of parents, pupils and staff.

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Inspection team

Lascelles Haughton, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Jo Jones Ofsted Inspector 11 and 12 February 2025

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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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