Chaselea Alternative Provision Academy

Chaselea Alternative Provision Academy

Address: Avon Road, Cannock, Staffordshire, WS11 1LH Unique reference number (URN): 146272

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Strong standard

Pupils make impressive progress from their starting points across the curriculum, including in the core subjects of English and mathematics. Pupils develop detailed knowledge and skills. They produce high-quality work that is reflected in their workbooks.

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Achievement Strong standard

Pupils join the school after periods of significantly disrupted education. Pupils have gaps in their knowledge and often have poor attitudes to learning. Leaders quickly turn this around. For example, in 2025, all pupils gained GCSE English and mathematics at the end of key stage 4, as well as other academic and vocational qualifications. When leaving the school, almost all pupils secure sustained destinations.

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Achievement Strong standard

Outcomes demonstrate the school’s success in re-engaging pupils with education and preparing them for positive next steps. This is both in academic and personal achievement. As a result, pupils are well prepared for their next steps, be that in college, training or employment.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Leaders have high expectations for attendance. They have an astute understanding of the barriers that pupils face to regular attendance. They use this insight to help remove these barriers successfully. For example, leaders have ensured the school's uniform policy does not discourage pupils from attending school. All pupils join the school with a history of non- attendance. Leaders work quickly with pupils to ensure that they understand the school's expectations. Leaders and staff have created a ‘soft start’ to school each morning, which helps pupils to settle into school calmly and to receive pastoral support if needed. This ensures that pupils are focused and ready to learn. Leaders work proactively with parents and carers to promote pupils' attendance and punctuality at school. For example, they contact parents promptly where needed to ensure that pupils arrive at school on time.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Many pupils have experienced exclusion from school in the past. However, at this school, staff provide pupils with a warm welcome each day. Pupils develop positive relationships with staff. These relationships help staff to understand pupils' individual needs and worries. Staff are experts at supporting pupils to manage their own behaviour. Through careful planning, known in school as ‘icebergs’, all staff understand and provide the support that pupils need to help them to maintain positive behaviour. Pupils appreciate this careful planning. As a result of the successful support that they receive, pupils' behaviour improves significantly during their time at the school.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Pupils are firmly of the view that bullying and discrimination are extremely rare. However, they know that if pupils do fall out, staff deal with this quickly and effectively so that it is not allowed to escalate.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Pupils arrive at the school after their placements in other schools have broken down. From the moment pupils join, school staff spend time getting to know them so that they understand and can meet their specific needs. In many cases, this involves identifying and addressing special educational needs and/or disabilities. Once these needs are identified, effective support is put in place and pupils begin to learn well. Leaders and staff rigorously monitor the progress of the pupils, especially taking into account their social barriers and gaps in learning. This helps them to make changes to teaching and provide support if necessary.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Staff know and meet the needs of pupils with other vulnerabilities, such as those known to social care and those who are disadvantaged. Staff identify the individual barriers to learning and work with the pupils to overcome these. Leaders make wise use of additional funding to ensure that these pupils receive the full support they need in order to succeed.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The school's pastoral support is very well-tailored to pupils' individual needs. Leaders ensure that the systems for academic support and for pastoral care work well together in pupils' best interests. Staff are highly knowledgeable about emotional regulation and the impact of trauma. They adapt their teaching successfully to meet pupils' needs. Pupils who have experienced disrupted education are successfully re-engaged into learning and wider school life.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders are aspirational. Their highly effective work is driven by clear values. Decisions are rooted in what is in the best interests of pupils at the school. Leaders have established a culture of inclusion, safeguarding and ambition where pupils and staff thrive. Staff regard leaders as visible, supportive and highly responsive. They are proud to work at the school and appreciate leaders' consideration of their wellbeing and workload.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Since the last inspection, leaders and the trust have made many improvements, for example, to the quality of education that pupils receive. Pupils, parents, carers and staff are full of praise for the improvements that leaders have made to the school. Leaders are fully committed to ensuring that pupils leave the school with the skills and confidence to be able to flourish.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders, including trustees and governors, share a passion for improving the life chances for pupils in the school. They understand the school and its context clearly, and they evaluate the school's effectiveness with insight and accuracy. Governors and trustees hold leaders effectively to account for their work. This helps them to make sure that the school keeps improving even further.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders and the trust have developed high-quality professional learning for staff that meets the specific needs of the school. Leaders work closely with other schools and external agencies, for example, to share positive practice with each other.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The school's programme for personal development is carefully designed to take account of pupils' social, emotional and mental health needs. This programme of wider opportunities helps pupils to develop resilience, confidence, aspiration and independence. All pupils are included in these opportunities. Leaders carefully monitor and analyse the impact of the school's personal development programme. This helps them to provide further opportunities linked to individual pupils' needs. For example, pupils may receive additional teaching on drugs awareness or relationships, health and sex education if needed.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupils demonstrate maturity and the ability to think reflectively. They have a strong understanding of personal safety. Pupils learn about issues of equality and about respectful relationships. They learn how to be a valued member of society through well-considered activities that promote their awareness of fundamental British values. Pupils have opportunities to develop highly effective leadership skills. For example, the junior leadership team gives pupils a real voice in school life. Elected representatives from each form meet regularly to share ideas and to help shape improvements. This helps pupils to feel listened to, empowered and part of a supportive community.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Careers education is aspirational, personalised and highly responsive to individual needs. Pupils explain powerfully about how the school improves their confidence, emotional wellbeing and future aspirations. Pupils benefit from a range of additional enrichment opportunities, which help them to prepare for adulthood.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupils are proud of their achievements, whether through the school's extensive careers programme, securing college places or the development of hobbies and interests. Pupils are equally proud of their academic achievements, which frequently exceed their own expectations. Overall, they are extremely well prepared for future education, employment and independent living.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have an accurate understanding of the quality of teaching and the curriculum across the school. The curriculum is ambitious, carefully ordered and well adapted to meet the needs of pupils. Teaching nurtures pupils while providing them with clearly structured, challenging lessons. Staff are adept at making adaptations to teaching, where needed, to help pupils to overcome barriers to learning. Learning is purposeful and engaging. This usually supports pupils to focus well and to succeed.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff have secure knowledge of the subjects they teach. They use subject vocabulary well and make learning interesting for pupils. Staff have high expectations for pupils' achievement. Pupils take pride in their work, and workbooks are well presented.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders ensure that assessment is generally used well across the curriculum. For instance, information from assessments of pupils’ learning helps leaders to make further refinements to the curriculum, teaching and learning so that pupils learn well.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have prioritised the teaching of core knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics. Staff know that pupils often join the school having missed some of this important knowledge. Staff generally address these shortfalls successfully through bespoke and well-planned interventions. However, very occasionally, the learning that teachers provide does not take full account of pupils' starting points. When this happens, pupils do not secure the foundational knowledge as quickly as they could before moving on to new learning.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Chaselea Alternative Provision Academy is a very special school where pupils thrive. Many pupils arrive at the school after significant periods of disrupted education, including previous exclusions. Staff know and understand this so they take the time to get to know the pupils individually. They get to know their strengths and celebrate these. Pupils develop strong and trusted relationships with staff. They know that staff care genuinely for them. All pupils said that the school, ‘gets them’ and that they are supported from the moment they arrive. A typical comment from a pupil was, ‘Here, teachers are our family.'

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

The school has high aspirations for pupils, both academically and socially. Many pupils achieve beyond their own expectations. The vast majority of pupils leave here with qualifications they would not have achieved in mainstream settings. Pupils who are here for shorter periods of time leave with high levels of confidence and with the skills to succeed in their next setting. Pupils enjoy learning. Classrooms are calm and teachers are skilled in supporting pupils to learn. As a result, pupils achieve well.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils feel that they belong at this school. Pupils are safe and bullying is rare. Pupils are proud to say that racism and discrimination of any kind are not tolerated here. Pupils are kind to one another and care sincerely about each other. Older pupils are role models to the newer arrivals.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils benefit from a range of enrichment activities, visits and visitors. Leaders ensure that these benefit the specific pupils in the school and develop their understanding of the wider world. The ambitious careers programme ensures that pupils are prepared for their next steps, including understanding how to be successful in the wider community.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that teaching consistently takes full account of pupils’ starting points so that pupils secure the foundational knowledge that they need before moving on to new learning.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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Destinations after 16

Percentage of pupils staying in education or employment for at least 2 terms after the end of secondary school (key stage 4).

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About this inspection

This school is part of Manor Hall Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Philip Harrison, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by John Fitchett.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

During the inspection, inspectors spoke with the headteacher and other senior leaders. They also spoke with members of the local governing body, trustees and the headteacher of the virtual school. Inspectors also spoke to the CEO and other executive leaders of the trust.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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

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