Hambleton/Richmondshire Pupil Referral Service

Inspection of Hambleton/Richmondshire Pupil Referral Service East Road, Northallerton, North Yorkshire DL6 1SZ

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement

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Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 1 and 2 July 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a time of change at Hambleton/Richmondshire Pupil Referral Service. A number of leaders are new, including the headteacher and the chair of the management committee. There is a shared ambition and increased expectations from leaders, staff, and governors that pupils achieve their best. They are committed to helping pupils prepare to return to mainstream education or to go on to further education, employment, or training. The school recognises there is more work to do to ensure that the curriculum meets pupils’ increasingly complex needs. Currently, pupils do not achieve as well as they could.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a warm and welcoming place. Pupils are happy and safe here and at the targeted mainstream provision (TMP), which a small number of pupils access. Pupils learn in small class sizes. Staff know pupils very well and they receive close guidance and support in lessons. Pupils value this. They enjoy positive relationships with staff. For example, at social times, they enjoy playing football together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour is beginning to improve. Most pupils behave well and understand the expectations for their conduct. However, at times, some pupils’ behaviour disrupts the learning of others. Too many pupils do not attend school often enough. This means that these pupils miss important learning and wider opportunities for personal development.

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

Pupils, including those at the TMP, learn a broad curriculum. In some subjects, such as mathematics, the school has identified precisely what pupils should learn and when. However, in some subjects it is less clear or is still being developed. Where this is the case, pupils have not acquired the depth of knowledge they need to succeed. Links to sports, such as boxing and outdoor education, enhance the curriculum. These opportunities motivate pupils.

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

In some subjects, pupils learn effectively. Teachers design purposeful activities that help pupils to learn the curriculum. For example, in catering, lessons include opportunities for pupils to apply their numeracy skills. However, this is not always the case. Pupils have increasingly complex needs, including special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff do not consistently adapt learning to meet pupils’ needs. This means that pupils’ progress through the curriculum is slower than it should be.

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

The school’s systems for identifying the additional needs of pupils are effective, including at the TMP. Some staff do not follow pupils’ individual learning or education, health, and care (EHC) plans consistently. As a result, pupils do not always receive the precise support they need to access the curriculum as well as they could.

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

The school has prioritised reading. The school has invested in high-quality texts that appeal to pupils’ interests. It has recently introduced suitable programmes to support pupils with their reading, including in phonics for those at the earliest stages. However, it is too soon to see the impact of this work. Pupils are not currently catching up as quickly as they need to. 1 and 2 July 2025

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Pupils’ behaviour is beginning to improve. The school has clarified routines and expectations for pupils’ conduct. However, staff’s management of behaviour is variable. Sometimes, poor behaviour is not addressed effectively. When this happens, it disrupts learning. Leaders recognise the need to track incidents more closely in order to strengthen consistency in how behaviour is managed and to provide more tailored support for pupils.

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While there are some signs of improvement in pupils’ attendance, the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent remains too high. These pupils are missing valuable learning opportunities.

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The school teaches pupils about healthy relationships, online safety, and careers successfully. Pupils have ambitious career aspirations. Pupils play an active part in their community by tending to public gardens and helping at local allotments. While the school promotes respect and tolerance for difference and protected characteristics, this work is not securely in place. Some pupils do not show respect for some diverse groups.

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Leaders have taken decisive action to begin bringing about improvements. The school is being held to increasing levels of accountability due to recent changes in how the management committee works. Most staff feel positive about the way leaders prioritise their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the school has not precisely identified the knowledge and skills that pupils should learn, or some curriculums, including reading, are new, so are not embedded. This means pupils do not have the depth of knowledge they need or the reading skills required to succeed. The school should ensure the curriculum consistently identifies the core knowledge that pupils should learn and that it is embedded so that staff have the information and expertise they need to support pupils to learn and achieve well, including in reading.  Adaptations to the delivery of the curriculum are not consistently well matched to the complex needs of the pupils, including those with SEND. Some pupils do not progress through the curriculum as well as they should. The school should ensure that staff develop expertise in a range of adaptive teaching strategies to meet pupils’ complex needs and that agreed support for pupils with SEND is implemented consistently.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not implemented a robust system to closely analyse information about pupils’ behaviour and any incidents that occur. This means that leaders do not have a sufficient understanding of emerging issues or identify the most effective strategies to meet pupils’ needs. The school should implement processes to analyse behaviour 1 and 2 July 2025

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records and ensure staff have the guidance and support they need to meet pupils’ individual needs consistently.  Some pupils do not attend school often enough. These pupils miss out on too much learning. The school should further develop its work, including with parents and carers and wider services, to improve pupils’ attendance and engagement in school.  Some pupils do not have good enough understanding of the fundamental British values, different world faiths and the protected characteristics. This means that pupils are not as well prepared as they could be for life in modern Britain. The school should ensure that teachers provide regular opportunities for pupils to develop an understanding of tolerance and respect for those who are different to them.

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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). 1 and 2 July 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority Management committee

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 June 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The current headteacher started at the school in September 2024.  The school uses one registered alternative provision and one unregistered 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.  The school has a targeted mainstream provision on a separate site. It caters for pupils with communication and interaction and social, emotional, and mental health needs.

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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. 1 and 2 July 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.  Inspectors met with various leaders from the school. The lead inspector met with the chair of the management committee and a representative from the local authority. Inspectors reviewed documentation relating to governance, including minutes from management committee meetings.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, design, and technology. 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.  Inspectors carried out activities in some other subjects.  An inspector visited the targeted mainstream provision.

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 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 met with groups of pupils formally during the inspection and spoke with them at social times and in lessons.  Inspectors met with groups of staff formally during the inspection and spoke with them throughout the inspection. Inspectors also considered the opinions expressed through the staff survey.  The lead inspector took account of responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey, including the free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Dan McKeating, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sacha Schofield Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 July 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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