The Key Education Centre

Inspection Report Quayside Education Centre

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133778 Unique Reference Number Hampshire LEA LEA 282383 Inspection number 9 November 2005 to 9 November 2005 Inspection dates William Geoffrey Robson AI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Mill Lane School address Special Type of school Gosport Pupil referral unit School category PO12 4AF 11 to 16 Age range of pupils 02392528653 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02392 529748 Fax number 53 Number on roll Mr David Retter Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Linda Alderson Headteacher 9 November 2005 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282383 9 November 2005 - 11 to 16 9 November 2005 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one additional inspector.

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Description of the school

Quayside Education Centre is a pupil referral unit (PRU) on three sites for girls and boys. It was first registered as a PRU in September 2002 and has not previously been inspected. It offers four related services. The main Quayside Centre in Gosport provides for pupils aged 11-16 who have been permanently excluded or are at risk of permanent exclusion from secondary schools. This centre was the main focus for inspection. A second centre caters for the needs of emotionally vulnerable (EV) children of secondary school age who are unable to attend mainstream school. During the inspection this EV unit was in the process of relocating to a new site in Fareham so it was not possible to speak to pupils or observe teaching there. In addition, individual tutors based at the Quayside Centre provide one-to-one tuition for pupils aged 5-16 who are at home for a variety of reasons. A behaviour support team is based in a local primary school

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Description of the school

in Bridgemary. It works with teachers from 57 primary schools, pupils and parents to help them to deal with children's behavioural difficulties and avoid any need for exclusion.During the inspection there were 53 pupils on roll but numbers change frequently as some pupils, especially in Years 7 to 9, return to mainstream school and new ones are admitted. Nearly all are from white British backgrounds and boys outnumber girls by about three to one. The majority of pupils have special educational needs and six pupils have a statement of their particular need, mostly related to social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Quayside Education Centre, 9 November 2005 to 9 November 2005

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Grade: 2

The inspection shows that the PRU rightly judges its overall effectiveness to be good. Pupils come to the PRU experiencing severe social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and for many it represents their last chance to achieve educationally. Teachers establish excellent relationships with pupils very quickly. Good care, guidance and support enable pupils to grow in confidence and self-esteem. However, pupils would benefit from more opportunities to reflect on how well they are reaching their targets for improving behaviour. Many begin to overcome their problems because good teaching enables them to achieve well. Some leave the unit as the first in their family to gain qualifications. Often pupils' attendance improves significantly when they are admitted to the PRU. The curriculum is well organised to provide for pupils' needs and interests but the Quayside Centre does not offer the full time education to

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Grade: 2

which excluded pupils in Years 10 and 11 are entitled. Data held in the centre illustrates that the PRU's behaviour support unit works effectively with primary schools to support children who are at risk of exclusion. Overall, the PRU provides good value for money.Since the PRU opened in 2002, its role has expanded to meet the needs of an increasing number of pupils. This expansion has been well managed and is a sign of the PRU's good capacity to improve. The centre manager has identified important areas for further development. Among these is the need to improve the analysis of data, so that the management committee can evaluate the PRU's overall effectiveness more precisely.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Increase the number of teaching hours for pupils at the Quayside centre so that pupils can benefit from full time education;* Involve pupils more in the assessment of their own progress towards targets for improving their behaviour;* Improve the analysis of data so that the management committee can evaluate the overall effectiveness of the PRU's work.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enter the PRU at different stages of their education depending on their personal circumstances. Most have standards that are well below those expected of their age because of their poor attendance in mainstream schools. In particular, those who attend the Quayside site have previously experienced consistent disruption to attendance because of exclusion from school linked to their social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. As a result, they are well behind with their schoolwork. Pupils achieve well during their time in the PRU, even though many continue to experience severe difficulties. This is partly because of their improved, more regular attendance, but also because they feel safe and have very good relationships with their teachers. When pupils reach Years 10 and 11, a decision is usually taken that ensures they continue to study in the PRU, rather than attempt to return to mainstream school.

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Grade: 2

2 Inspection Report: Quayside Education Centre, 9 November 2005 to 9 November 2005 This added stability means that they also begin to achieve well over time. Some make good progress in GCSE courses and achieve higher than expected grades. Others gain unit awards towards entry-level qualifications so that nearly all Year 11 pupils leave with some qualification. An increasing number of pupils have gained qualifications each year since the PRU opened, despite their very significant learning needs. There are no significant differences in the progress of different groups of learners.

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Grade: 2

The centre evaluates pupils' personal development as outstanding because teachers see impressive changes in pupils' attitudes during their time in the unit. Inspection evidence shows personal development to be good. Most pupils respond very well to the opportunities that skilled teachers provide for them to make a fresh start. Year 11 pupils agreed that, Teachers aren't soft but you come here and it changes you. You get the attention you need. They trust adults, feel safe and turn to them for support and guidance. For some, the transformation in attitudes is remarkable. Behaviour is good in lessons even though there are occasional angry outbursts from some pupils, which teachers deal with well. Often pupils work well together and enjoy lessons. They take part in articulate discussions expressing their views about difficult issues such as human rights confidently, listening carefully to one another. This growth in confidence

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Grade: 2

and ability to establish relationships is a sign of pupils' good spiritual, moral and social development. Although rates of attendance are still below national figures in mainstream schools, the great majority attends regularly. This is because the PRU does a considerable amount to encourage attendance and most pupils enjoy their education. Many pupils at the Quayside centre have been excluded from schools for drug and substance abuse. Overall, they begin to adopt healthier lifestyles during their time in the unit, especially through their involvement in activities such as canoeing, climbing and sailing. Some pupils are involved in fund-raising activities. However, they have few opportunities to contribute to their own community, or the wider community overall. Pupils develop their literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) skills well. Practical and vocational courses in the centres and local

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Grade: 2

colleges also develop their skills for life after school.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good. A real strength lies in teachers' excellent relationships with pupils. They control classes very well and base this on the trust that they establish with previously disaffected, vulnerable pupils. They avoid confrontation skilfully to enable pupils with challenging behaviour to return to work with the minimum of fuss. Teaching assistants support teachers very well in managing this challenging behaviour because there is real teamwork between staff. All staff benefit well from professional development opportunities offered by the behaviour support team and 3 Inspection Report: Quayside Education Centre, 9 November 2005 to 9 November 2005 other providers. Teachers know their pupils well and pitch work at the right level to enable them to learn quickly. They provide good support for individual pupils so that all can succeed. In class discussions, teachers involve all pupils and enable them to

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Grade: 2

contribute confidently. They mark pupils work helpfully and assess their progress accurately. All pupils in the Quayside centre have individual targets, many of which relate to behaviour. However, teachers do not refer to these often enough and pupils are unable to say what their targets are. This means they are not as effective as they could be because pupils are given reward points without knowing exactly why they have received them.

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Grade: 3

The PRU provides a satisfactory curriculum. In Years 7 to 9 the emphasis is on the National Curriculum to give pupils every chance of returning to mainstream schools. In Years 10 and 11, good links with several further education colleges enable the PRU to provide effectively for pupils' individual needs through a good range of vocational courses. These links also encourage many pupils to move into further education and training after the age of 16. Teachers at the PRU respond very well to pupils' interests by offering courses towards unit awards in a wide range of subjects. Pupils with one-to-one tuition experience a curriculum restricted mainly to English and mathematics for one hour a day. Discussion with the one-to-one coordinator shows that teachers liaise well with curriculum leaders in the PRU, to devise work that meets these pupils' needs as well as possible. However, the Quayside Centre does not provide sufficient

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Grade: 3

hours to enable pupils to have the full time education to which they are entitled. It provides distance learning packages to increase teaching time but work on these is difficult to enforce. Even with these packages, the PRU is unable to provide more than 20 hours of education.A course in personal and social education reinforces information on what constitutes a healthy, safe lifestyle. It includes work on citizenship. Opportunities for work experience are limited and cannot be provided for all pupils who would benefit from this. The PRU is unable to provide a full course in physical education because of a lack of facilities. However. pupils enjoy a range of outdoor activities, such as kayaking, sailing and climbing one afternoon each week. The new Fareham site for emotionally vulnerable pupils offers much improved accommodation, including better ICT facilities that are intended to improve the quality of learning for

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Grade: 2

The PRU judges the care, guidance and support of pupils to be outstanding. Inspection evidence shows that it is good but with some excellent aspects. The initial assessments of pupils' needs, through contact with schools, parents and outside agencies are comprehensive. They enable teachers to respond to pupils' difficulties quickly and efficiently. There are weekly reviews of progress for pupils in the centres and monthly reviews of those receiving one-to-one tuition. These ensure that teachers respond 4 Inspection Report: Quayside Education Centre, 9 November 2005 to 9 November 2005 very effectively to any changes in pupils' circumstances. The PRU maintains close contact with parents and carers.Staff are fully aware of child protection procedures and apply them rigorously. The PRU has established close working relationships with a wide range of external agencies. Data held at the centre show that the PRU's

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Grade: 2

behaviour support team provides effective support for mainstream primary schools. Very few primary school pupils are permanently excluded as a result. Good advice is available about careers and good links with colleges enable many pupils to move smoothly into further education.The PRU is investigating ways of encouraging pupils to take more responsibility for themselves and others but opportunities are limited at present. Some opportunities to get pupils to reflect on their own behaviour are missed. For example, teachers do not regularly ask pupils to evaluate for themselves how well they are meeting their behaviour targets. The behaviour reward system is partly linked to the award of sweets that do not provide a suitable incentive for pupils to adopt a healthy life style.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management of the PRU are good. The centre manager's good leadership has established a clear direction for all areas of the PRU's work. As a result, staff have a common purpose to raise pupils' achievement, support their personal development and provide equal opportunities for all to reach their full potential. Since its inception as a PRU in 2002, the number of pupils, staff and teaching hours has increased significantly. This expansion has been well managed, despite uncertainties such as the delayed move to new accommodation for emotionally vulnerable children. Staff have clear roles and responsibilities and manage their own areas very effectively. All are fully involved in planning and evaluating the PRU's work and, as a result, feel valued and work together closely as a determined team. Parents' and carers' views are also sought and most are happy that their views are taken into account. There is further

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Grade: 2

evidence of good self-evaluation through the monitoring of teaching to maintain its good quality. However, the PRU does not evaluate its overall effectiveness well enough. For example, the management committee does not set targets for success related to how well pupils achieve or how many return successfully to mainstream education. As a result, although data is available, it is not analysed sufficiently by the management team. This has been identified as an area for development and shows that there is good capacity for further improvement. 5 Inspection Report: Quayside Education Centre, 9 November 2005 to 9 November 2005 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Quayside Education Centre, 9 November 2005 to 9 November 2005

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA NA The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA No Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 4 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams Yes Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form Yes Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I very much enjoyed inspecting your centre. It is a well good place to learn. Many of you told me how you get on very well with the teachers and staff, enjoy learning and feel safe. You said that you get the attention you need. One of you said, The teachers aren't soft but you come here and it changes you.This letter is to let you know what your centre does well and how you can help to make it an even better place to learn. Of course, you can also ask your teachers to show you the full report. The main strengths of the centre are that:* You achieve well and improve your attendance a lot* Those of you who are going through a difficult time in your life are well cared for, guided and supported. You become much more confident and feel better about yourselves.* You get on very well with your teachers and they teach you well.To make your centre even better I have asked staff to improve three main things:* Increase the number of teaching hours available at

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

the Quayside centre so that you can benefit from full time education;* Involve you more in the assessment of your own progress. For example, some of you don't really know what your targets are, so you don't know if you deserve a reward or not. You can help staff to improve this by asking them to remind you of your targets. Then you can give examples of what you think you did well or not so well. * Work out exactly how well the centre is doing so that it can try to do even better.The teachers know what needs to be done and have got plans to do it. Very best wishes and well done for making the most of your opportunities at Quayside. Bill Robson, Lead Inspector

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