Progress Schools - Gorton

Progress Schools - Gorton

Address: Hideout Youth Zone, 1 Queens Avenue, Manchester, M12 5PX Unique reference number (URN): 148542

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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. Insufficient evidence: Inspectors were unable to gather sufficient evidence to judge whether safeguarding standards are met.

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Achievement Expected standard

Many pupils arrive in the school low in confidence and with little faith that education has anything to offer them. Leaders prioritise ensuring that pupils feel at ease in school so that they can begin to engage more fully with learning. In addition, leaders rapidly provide support to address any gaps in pupils' reading, writing or numeracy knowledge. Pupils typically make steady progress from their starting points in each subject.

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Achievement Expected standard

Most pupils gain a range of qualifications at the end of Year 11, including GCSEs. Leaders also emphasise helping pupils to learn to communicate effectively and appropriately in different contexts. This sets pupils in good stead for their next steps in education, employment or training.

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Achievement Expected standard

Some pupils only attend the school for short periods of time. The support, care and education that they receive helps to reset their relationship with education, so that many successfully transition back into mainstream schools.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

The school caters for pupils who have struggled to access education in mainstream settings. All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities and many have experiences of trauma. Leaders have successfully established a nurturing culture in which individuals are known and feel valued. This creates a sense of belonging which, over time, means that most pupils want to be in school. Leaders monitor pupils' attendance closely. Any absence is followed up promptly and, when appropriate, additional support is provided to pupils and their families. Most pupils increase their rates of attendance, some considerably so from their starting points.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

The school is a calm and orderly place where the importance of being respectful to others is commonly understood. As a result, pupils do not worry about bullying. They trust staff to resolve any issues that might arise. Classrooms are usually quiet and purposeful. Most pupils want to learn and are attentive to staff. When pupils struggle to conduct themselves in accordance with leaders' expectations, staff skilfully support them while gently maintaining firm boundaries. Older pupils, in the role of peer mentors, work with pupils who are newer to the school, helping them to understand the benefit of making positive behaviour choices.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders provide an ambitious curriculum. Pupils in key stage 4 study towards qualifications, including GCSEs, which help them to access next steps in training, employment or education.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teaching is typically effective. Leaders keep a close eye on the quality of teaching and provide support accordingly. For example, leaders help to develop staff's subject knowledge so that they feel confident teaching a range of subjects. Staff regularly check whether pupils have missed any learning. A process for revisiting learning is built into the school's weekly routine. However, some checks on pupils' understanding do not closely match what they have been taught. At times, this hinders staff from identifying any gaps in pupils' knowledge as precisely as they could.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff benefit from regular training that helps to ensure that they have suitable expertise to meet pupils' needs. Nevertheless, at times, some staff do not make the most effective use of strategies intended to help pupils to access learning. As a result, a few pupils do not learn as successfully as they could in some subjects.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

When pupils first join the school, leaders check whether they have any gaps in their knowledge of reading, writing or number. Pupils receive focused support that helps them to secure the basics.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Pupils join this school with disrupted, and often negative, experiences of education. From the moment they arrive, leaders invest time in getting to know and understand them. The positive relationships that pupils build with staff help them to feel safe and cared for in school. These relationships are pivotal in re-engaging pupils with their education and encouraging them to attend school more regularly. Leaders' approach to reducing barriers to pupils' wellbeing is particularly effective. Over time, most pupils are ever more able and willing to engage with learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders take a thorough approach to identifying, and closely monitoring, each pupil's barriers to wellbeing and learning. This includes identifying any previously undiagnosed special educational needs and/or disabilities that pupils may have. Thoughtful support is provided by well-trained staff. That said, on occasion, there is variability in how effectively staff use strategies to reduce barriers to pupils' learning. This hampers how successfully some pupils access the curriculum.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders make judicious use of alternative provision to enable a few pupils to access vocational courses linked to their interests or future aspirations. This gives pupils the opportunity to gain qualifications that help them to access their chosen next steps in education, employment or training.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The proprietor has set a clear and ambitious vision for the quality of education and care that the school should provide. Stable and effective school leadership has helped to ensure that this vision is delivered and that the independent school standards are met over time. Pupils' best interests are permanently at the forefront of leaders' minds. Pupils who have struggled to access education in other settings become settled and confident here. This is testament to how well supported pupils are.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have an astute understanding of the school's context, including the changing needs of pupils. Leaders provide a suitable programme of professional development that reflects this context and helps to ensure that staff have the expertise needed to support pupils successfully. Staff are incredibly positive about their experiences of working in the school, including the care and support that they show for each other. They particularly appreciate that leaders are considerate of their workload and wellbeing. For instance, staff are entitled to occasional wellbeing days if needed.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have created a safe and nurturing environment in which pupils feel valued and understood. Parents and carers particularly value the difference that the school has made to their children. Many parents noted that their children have developed a positive view of education and have become more ambitious for their futures.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have given careful thought to how they equip pupils with the knowledge, skills and experiences to enable them to feel confident in different settings and when interacting with people from varied backgrounds. To this end, pupils participate in a plethora of trips and engage with a wide array of visitors to the school. For instance, pupils go on trips to the theatre, museums and places of worship. They meet with visitors of different faiths and from an assortment of careers. Through these opportunities, pupils are encouraged to be curious about, and respectful of, others. They learn how to conduct themselves appropriately in different contexts so that they develop the confidence to feel at ease in new environments.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders provide comprehensive curriculums for citizenship and personal, social, health and economic education. Pupils develop an understanding of, and appreciation for, fundamental British values. Most can explain the process through which laws are made and the ways in which they, as citizens, can help to bring about change. Pupils also learn about how to minimise risks in their own lives, both when online and in the local community. They learn about healthy relationships and the meaning of consent. Most pupils develop an age- appropriate understanding of this important information.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils relish multiple opportunities to try new activities and explore different interests. For instance, some pupils have discovered a talent for boxing, while others enjoy learning to cook healthy and nutritious meals or unleashing their creativity by writing and performing music. All pupils participate in these activities, which help to develop their resilience and self-esteem.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders ensure that pupils receive useful information about possible pathways into education, employment or training. Drawing on pupils' interests, leaders tailor the careers support, information and opportunities that they provide. Together with highly effective pastoral care, this helps to ensure that pupils feel increasingly confident about, and ready for, life beyond school.

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

Mutual respect and positive relationships are at the heart of this school community. Following disrupted experiences of school previously, pupils typically do not value education when they first arrive. Yet, with patience, care and humour, staff help pupils to feel safe, welcome, understood and cherished. Pupils develop a deep sense of belonging to the school, which they describe as a family. They know that staff will not give up on them and, over time, many strive to make staff proud. Pupils are particularly proud of the diversity of the school community. They embrace opportunities to celebrate each other's cultures and backgrounds. For instance, at a recent 'culture day', pupils shared information about their cultural heritages and enjoyed sampling food from different countries. This appreciation of difference helps pupils feel free to be themselves. Bullying is rare and dealt with swiftly.

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

Pupils all have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Their needs are well understood and careful thought has been given to creating routines which help to reduce barriers to their wellbeing or learning. For instance, a daily walk helps pupils to manage the transition between lunchtime and lessons. In the main, pupils receive the support they need to engage in school and learning. Effective teaching ensures that most pupils progress through the curriculum well from their starting points. Many pupils successfully move back into mainstream education.

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

As pupils come to appreciate all that the school provides, they typically begin to attend more regularly and to try their best in lessons. Some are eager to give something back by helping others. For example, peer mentors work with pupils who are new to the school and help them to understand the value of making positive behaviour choices. Others take pride in representing their peers as student representatives and helping to shape future changes to the provision. Pupils become more confident and resilient which prepares them well for the future.

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Next steps

Leaders should continue to refine their approach to assessment to ensure that checks on pupils’ knowledge align closely to what they have been taught, so that any gaps in pupils’ understanding are swiftly identified and addressed. Leaders should continue to strengthen staff’s expertise to reduce barriers to pupils’ learning, so that pupils are supported to access the curriculum consistently well.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this standard inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, and checked the school’s compliance with the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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About this inspection

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

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, the chair of the proprietor body, other leaders and staff. An inspector also spoke with a representative of the local authority.

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About this inspection

The school is part of the Progress Schools group of schools.

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Independent school standards

Independent school standards are either met or not met for each category. The chair of the proprietor body is Charlotte Charnley, who is known as Charlotte Barton.

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Independent school standards

The school offers short and long-term alternative provision placements. All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities, including social, emotional and mental health needs.

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Independent school standards

The school currently uses 2 unregistered alternative provisions.

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Independent school standards

The fees currently charged are £19,294 to £38,746.

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Independent school standards

The school's email address is gortonps@progress-schools.co.uk

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Independent school standards

1. Quality of education provided Standards met

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Independent school standards

2. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils Standards met

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Independent school standards

3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils Standards met

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Independent school standards

4. Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors Standards met

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Independent school standards

5. Premises of and accommodation at schools Standards met

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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6. Provision of information Standards met

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35

7. Manner in which complaints are handled Standards met

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8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools Standards met

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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.

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Insufficient evidence

Inspectors were unable to gather reliable enough evidence to grade an evaluation area. This is rare and normally only happens if there are no pupils on roll at the school.

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Insufficient evidence

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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Insufficient evidence

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Insufficient evidence

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Insufficient evidence

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

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