The Hope Service

134870 Unique Reference Number Surrey Local Authority 294193 Inspection number 6 December 2006 Inspection date James Bowden Reporting inspector

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

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Worplesdon Road School address Special Type of school Guildford Pupil referral unit School category GU2 6RS 11 °18 Age range of pupils 01483 517190 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01483 564925 Fax number 25 Number on roll (school) Ms Judith Sherington Headteacher The local authority Appropriate authority Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 294193 6 December 2006 11 °18 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Opened in April 2005, but only fully up and running since January 2006, Hope provides for young people who have complex needs involving mental health, education and social care. It operates throughout the year. Placements are usually for six months and numbers vary as young people start and leave at different times. Most placements are part-time and some young people remain on roll at a mainstream school. However, many are not on a school roll and future educational placement is uncertain. Provision, which is part of a unique countywide service, is through a multi-agency approach consisting of the National Health Service, including the Child and Adolescent Mental Heath Service (CAMHS), Surrey Children's Service and the Education Service. Three levels of provision are offered: a structured day programme, community and outreach service and placement stability service. Hope has a multi-disciplinary team of staff

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Description of the school

including nurses, social workers, specialist medical staff, teachers, therapists and activities workers. The young people come from a variety of social and economic backgrounds. Gender balance varies throughout the year. Currently all are of White British origin. Many have had significant periods away from mainstream school thus their attainment on entry is generally well below that expected for their ages. Three young people have a statement of special educational needs. Four are in foster care or looked after by the local authority. At the time of the inspection there were no young people following post-16 courses. Hope has not been inspected before.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Hope, Guildford, 6 December 2006

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Grade: 2

Although Hope, being cautious for its first inspection and aware of the unique nature of its provision, considers the quality of education it provides to be satisfactory, it is, in fact, good. The centre provides well for vulnerable young people and is effective in meeting its aim of making a significant difference to the quality of their lives. The unique multi-agency approach has resulted in an excellent partnership that provides a clear sense of purpose, particularly in the good quality of care, guidance and support for young people and their good personal development. Teachers and other adults working at the centre provide a wide range of professional expertise that benefits not only the youngsters but also their parents and carers. A young person commented, 'This has been a fantastic journey for me and I have to say the staff have been really great'. Young people say they feel safe at Hope, enjoy what

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Grade: 2

is provided for them and appreciate the guidance and support they receive. Prior to their placement many have had negative experiences of mainstream school and poor attendance. However, their attitudes and motivation improve during their time at Hope. A parent commented, 'Hope gave my daughter a new start and she is now at a further education college'. The centre is effective in supporting and including each young person through the production of good quality personal learning plans. However, there is a lack of rigour in the monitoring and evaluation of progress made by young people towards their educational targets. Hope works closely with local schools and professional colleagues speak highly of the quality of its provision and the positive impact this has on the lives of those who have placements there. Achievement and progress are good. The young people, often beginning from a low starting point, are enabled to reintegrate into mainstream school or other specialist

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Grade: 2

provision as well as progressing to further education or taking up employment. Their complex needs are catered for well and, as a result, they are enabled to remain in the local community. Attendance rates whilst on placement at Hope show an improvement over their previous records. The quality of teaching and learning are good. Teachers are aware of and sensitive to young people's needs and capabilities. They and other activity leaders ensure young people know what is expected of them at the start of lessons and ensure, when appropriate, that they are praised and reminded of their personal targets. Although information and communication technology (ICT) is used effectively to support teaching and learning in all areas of the curriculum, teachers do not formally assess young people's competencies in its use. The good curriculum offers breadth and an interesting range of activities, many of a therapeutic nature, which helps motivation further. There

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Grade: 2

is a good focus on support for literacy and numeracy skills across all subjects and activities. Leadership and management are good. As a result of the multi-agency partnership, leadership and management roles are complex. However, the appointment of a head of Hope to coordinate the work of the three section leaders has provided a clear sense 2 Inspection Report: Hope, Guildford, 6 December 2006 of direction and purpose for provision. Improvement planning is now more focused and there is a secure awareness of what elements are strong and what needs to be improved. The new leadership and management structure, and Hope's developing track record of success with young people, shows that there is good capacity for further improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Assess young people's competencies in the use of ICT in order to accelerate their progress and skills. • Sharpen the use of monitoring and evaluation of the academic progress made by young people.

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Grade: 2

Standards on entry vary but many start at Hope with attainment that is well below average. They arrive with a history of poor attendance and negative attitudes towards education. Consequently, they have to work hard if they are to catch up. Most are on roll at a mainstream school and the centre works closely with them to support reintegration either to the home school or another. Whilst at Hope young people make good progress in their learning and, as a result, many are enabled to successfully return to mainstream, special schools, further education or successfully gain employment.

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Grade: 2

The young people's personal development is good. This is as a result of the Hope's ability to improve their motivation and self-esteem. Spiritual, social, moral and cultural development is good. Behaviour at Hope is good. The young people get along together well and with their teachers and other adults they work with. At a communal lunch, prepared by two youngsters with adult support, all behaved sensibly and enjoyed the social occasion. The two young chefs also made sure all dietary needs were met. Attendance is good and compared to their previous attendance there is substantial improvement. The young people enjoy the education they receive and appreciate the personal support they are given. They feel safe and say they have someone to talk to should they have the need. One commented, 'Staff listen to you and you have chill-out time if necessary'. There are planned opportunities for physical activities but some are

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Grade: 2

reluctant to take these up. However, through their involvement in preparing lunches, young people are developing well their awareness of healthy eating. Their views are sought throughout and at the end of their placement. All participate in group meetings at the start of each day and, through the young persons forum, they express their views and contribute to the running of the centre. 3 Inspection Report: Hope, Guildford, 6 December 2006 Young people are developing skills for their future economic well-being as a result of opportunities for work experience, independent life skills sessions and the support of outside agencies.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Teachers and other professionals use a non-confrontational approach and are very sensitive to the young people's individual needs. In a mathematics lesson, strong working relationships between the teacher and the young people and a sensitive approach underpinned the quality of learning. As a result, they were improving their knowledge and understanding of estimating measurements. Planning for learning is well focused. Learning aims are shared with the young people at the start of lessons thus they are fully aware of what is expected of them. The provision of a range of short focused activities and teacher and other adult support enables the young people to remain on task. This was particularly effective in a 'stay cool' session where the focus was on developing their capabilities of identifying their own particular strengths. The quality and consistency of marking of work is variable and the young people are

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Grade: 2

not always being told what they need to do to improve the quality of their work. Teachers and other adults use ICT well to support learning but young people's competencies in its use are not formally assessed.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and provides a framework for the young people to develop so that they can rejoin mainstream education and progress to further education or work. There is a good focus on supporting the key skills of literacy, numeracy and ICT across all subjects and other activities. The curriculum has good breadth and also offers a wide range of activities to support young people's personal development and improve their self-esteem. The focus on personal, social and health education is particularly useful in this respect. Activities include practical as well as therapeutic such as formal morning communal meetings, art therapy, drama therapy and 'stay cool' sessions. All the young people, including the most vulnerable, benefit from these sensitive arrangements. ICT is used effectively to support teaching and learning in all aspects of the curriculum. 4 Inspection Report: Hope, Guildford, 6 December 2006

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Grade: 2

The centre provides a strong caring and supporting environment where young people feel safe, develop their personal qualities and make good progress towards the targets set for them. A parent commented, 'The care and support provided by Hope to help my daughter return to school has been outstanding'. The unique multi-agency arrangements provide a holistic ethos in the support and guidance for young people's individual needs. All staff are effective in their support for young people. Provision for ensuring health and safety is very strong. Child protection and risk assessment procedure are securely in place and all staff are very aware of their responsibilities. Assessment data from 'home' schools is not always available so when young people start their placement at Hope their academic and developmental needs are assessed. This helps teachers and other professionals plan lessons and activities to meet the

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Grade: 2

wide-ranging needs of young people. The centre provides good quality personal learning plans that are reviewed on a regular basis. However, the monitoring of academic progress is not as strong as that of personal progress. Young people are supported during their reintegration into mainstream school.

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Grade: 2

Despite its complex nature, leaders are aware of the strengths and areas for development of provision at Hope as a result of their overall monitoring and evaluation. The appointment of a designated head of centre to work with the three section heads and the Practice and Development Group has been pivotal in moving the provision forward. As a result, improvement planning is clearly focused as well as helping the service as a whole develop further. Monitoring and evaluation of Hope's performance, particularly teaching and learning is in place. A consistent framework for teaching and the delivery of other activities, with a clear focus on learning, has been developed. Plans are well advanced to have formal monitoring and evaluation of all other activities provided. There is good capacity for improvement. Indicative of this is the recent change in leadership structure as well as the good track record of its work with young people.

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Grade: 2

There is a strong ethos of fairness and equality of opportunity in which every young person really matters. There is an active management committee that works effectively as a critical and supportive friend. 5 Inspection Report: Hope, Guildford, 6 December 2006 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Hope, Guildford, 6 December 2006

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

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

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and interests of learners?

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

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 7 Inspection Report: Hope, Guildford, 6 December 2006

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: Hope, Guildford, 6 December 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You may remember that I visited you for a day recently. I saw some of you working in lessons, in other activities and I had a chat with a group of you to seek your opinions of the education provided for you. You made it clear that you appreciate what is provided for you at Hope. Thank you all very much for making me feel welcome and allowing me to join you and the staff for lunch. A particular thanks to the two chefs involved in preparing a really healthy meal. You all behave well, get along well with each other, your teachers and all other adults you work with. Your attendance is good and most of you are keen to learn. As a result you make good progress during your placement at Hope. At the end I prepared a list of what is good about your education and another containing a couple of things that could be better. Many things are done well: • all staff make sure you are safe and very well cared for • they have your best interests at heart and make every effort to ensure you will be able to

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

do well in the future • lessons and other activities are usually interesting and staff try to ensure you are all involved • there is a good range of subjects and activities that help your personal development and make your education interesting • the head of Hope has plans to make things even better for you. In order to make improvements staff should: • assess your computer skills to ensure you make even better progress • track in more detail the progress that you make. Once again, thanks for your help and all the best for your future. Yours sincerely, James Bowden Lead inspector 9 Inspection Report: Hope, Guildford, 6 December 2006

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