Pilgrim Pathways School

Pilgrim PRU co The Darwin Centre Inspection report

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134765 Unique Reference Number Cambridgeshire Local Authority 328975 Inspection number 17 March 2009 Inspection date Susan Aldridge Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Pupil referral unit Type of school Pupil referral unit School category 4–18 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 44 School (total) 8 Sixth form 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The local authority Appropriate authority Mrs Nora Oakes Headteacher 14 March 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection c/o Darwin Centre for Young People School address Block 19 Darwin Site Fulbourn Cambridge CB21 5EE 01223 885863 Telephone number

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4–18 Age group 17 March 2009 Inspection date 328975 Inspection number 01223 885851 Fax number

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4–18 Age group 17 March 2009 Inspection date 328975 Inspection number .

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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. 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Pilgrim PRU co The Darwin Centre, 17 March 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors who evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues

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Introduction

■ Whether the PRU could demonstrate through its monitoring and evaluation the impact of improvements since the last inspection ■ The effectiveness of the management committees in meeting statutory requirements

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Introduction

■ How well the PRU promotes community cohesion.

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Introduction

Inspectors gathered evidence by observing lessons, looking at pupils' work, records of assessments, school policies and plans, discussions with pupils, staff and a representative of the management committee. Other aspects of the PRU's work were not investigated in detail, but inspectors found no evidence to suggest that PRU's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation form, were not justified and these have been included, where appropriate, in this report.

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Description of the school

The Pilgrim Pupil Referral Unit is based on two sites although it contains four distinct centres owned by the appropriate health authorities. On the Darwin site is the Darwin Centre which caters for adolescents with acute psychiatric disorders, the Croft Centre that provides assessment for pupils from four to 13 and the Phoenix Centre which is for pupils with eating disorders. The second site is at Addenbrookes Hospital. Because of their medical needs, almost all pupils are residential, although the Pupil Referral Unit is not responsible for this provision. Pupils stay for varying lengths of time, for some a matter of days or weeks and for others up to a year. Numbers vary on a daily basis. At the time of the inspection there were no children present in any of the centres who were in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Almost all pupils are White British and from a range of socio-economic groups. On entry their attainments vary but are

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Description of the school

broadly average. There were no students with a statement of special educational needs at the time of the inspection.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Pilgrim PRU co The Darwin Centre, 17 March 2009

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Grade: 1

The Pilgrim Pupil Referral Unit provides an outstanding quality of education and care. Pupils, students and parents are very pleased with the role it plays in enabling continuing education. Over half of parents returned completed questionnaires and several commented on the highly skilled and committed staff. Pupils and students who have left the unit often write gratefully to thank staff for the excellent quality of support they received, and many are successfully returned to their home schools. Its success results from excellent leadership and management, most successful liaison with medical staff and other agencies, and the considerable skills and commitment of staff. Pupils and students make outstanding progress and achieve very well while in the care of the Pupil Referral Unit because of the high quality support they receive in dealing with their difficulties and the excellent teaching. Standards, however, remain broadly average because

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Grade: 1

of the relatively short time the learners are at the unit. Since the last inspection there have been some important improvements. There is now an effective system for measuring gains made by most pupils while at the unit. Many exceed the examination grades predicted by their home schools, and younger pupils make impressive gains in a short period, such as a National Curriculum sub-level gain in six weeks or even a whole level gain. However, staff have not yet agreed amongst themselves what constitutes good or outstanding progress for groups of pupils with different needs. There is now a robust system of assessing pupils when they arrive so that teachers have a clear idea of what the next steps in learning are. This supplements well any information provided from home schools. Assessment information is used exceptionally well to provide tasks that are perfectly matched to pupils' and students' ages and abilities. This means that when students in Years 8 to 11 are taught

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Grade: 1

science together, for instance, the same topic is adapted expertly so that the demands are different for each one. Skilful questioning means that older ones have more challenging questions to answer and the sharing of information about expected outcomes means that pupils and students have a very good idea of what they need to do to reach a particular level and what they need to do to progress further. The mixture of ages enables them to learn from one another too. Excellent working relationships and skilful management of pupils and students ensure that lessons are calm and purposeful, and they proceed at a good pace. New technology is used well to promote learning, although there are difficulties with intermittent internet access at the hospital site. Many older students are highly motivated and work industriously during private study periods. Because teachers have such good subject expertise in English, mathematics

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Grade: 1

and science they are well able to deepen pupils' and students' knowledge and understanding by answering their questions. They have the highest expectations of what pupils and students might achieve. Teaching assistants play an important role by monitoring individuals and intervening quickly to support them when they are having a bad day. All these factors contribute to the outstanding progress that pupils and students make in lessons. Although teaching establishes challenging targets or learning objectives for pupils, these are not yet used to measure and evaluate the progress of those who stay for a short period and therefore make no level or sub-level gains. Staff do not get the most out of the data they have, because they do not collate and analyse this to show, for instance, the proportions of pupils and students who exceed predicted grades each year. Nonetheless, monitoring and evaluation are good, as they enable staff to identify areas of strength and relative weakness. Self evaluation

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Grade: 1

is accurate. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Pilgrim PRU co The Darwin Centre, 17 March 2009 The accommodation has improved at the Darwin Centre, which has been refurbished so that it provides a good quality learning environment that offers plenty of space for group teaching as well as individual study. Although there has been some improvement to the accommodation at the Phoenix Centre, space remains limited so that individual study has to be done in rooms where group teaching is taking place. There is a marked shortage of storage space, making the environment cramped. There are no specialist rooms, which limits what can be provided for secondary and post-16 students. At the hospital site, there is a classroom for primary pupils but not for secondary ones, who are taught on the ward, and this is expensive of teachers' time. There is very little space for teachers to prepare work or store resources. The management committees meet the current government requirements on safeguarding. It

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Grade: 1

is actively pursuing further improvements to the accommodation. They have been instrumental in securing further funds and keep all the unit's work under review through their meetings, by receiving detailed reports from the headteacher. There is an awareness of the need to visit sites to check first-hand on what is going on at each. Pupils' and students' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Most enjoy their time at the unit and attend well. Most often, behaviour is excellent. There are opportunities for pupils and students to shine and for their successes to be recognised, which are effective in building self-esteem. Those that are gifted and talented have suitable opportunities to take part in workshops, such as philosophy and critical thinking. Close and effective collaboration with medical staff and many other agencies secures the necessary support for pupils and students so that their well-being is greatly

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Grade: 1

improved. They are steadily encouraged to lead much healthier lifestyles. Outside agencies provide considerable enrichment and expert guidance on matters such as road safety, alcohol use and sexual health so that pupils and students are very well informed on matters relating to personal safety. Staff are creative in their use of resources in the community to provide opportunities that are not available on site. Visits to places of worship, talks from organisations such as Fair Trade and Amnesty International, themed weeks, art and literature all provide excellent opportunities for pupils and students to learn about cultural diversity, rights and responsibilities. The commitment to promoting community cohesion is evident in the effective encouragement of positive attitudes towards diversity, particularly through personal, social and health education. Racism and homophobia are all challenged and pupils and students are

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Grade: 1

most tolerant and accepting of one another's difficulties. They have a strong voice in the unit and contribute beyond this through fund raising and recycling. Where appropriate, staff organise work related learning opportunities and enterprise activities, such as making jewellery for sale to raise funds for charities. Whatever the next step, pupils and students are very well prepared for this and most return successfully to home schools or further education. This is facilitated by the excellent arrangements to support those making the transition out of the centres.

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Grade: 1

Students benefit greatly from the outstanding quality of education provided at the Pupil Referral Unit. The unit does all it can to provide subject specialists for the courses that students are following. Skilled teaching combined with students' generally high motivation and capacity to learn independently ensures that they make excellent progress in their time here. Most exceed the expectations of them by achieving higher A level or AS level grades than those predicted. Close liaison with home schools makes it possible for them to continue with coursework, and even those who are not in education when they arrive at the unit are drawn 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Pilgrim PRU co The Darwin Centre, 17 March 2009 into the activities provided. Parents appreciate the 'normality' that daily education provides and students enjoy pursuing their particular interests. The Connexions service is closely involved

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Grade: 1

in providing guidance about moving on to further or higher education.

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Grade: 2

Provision is sometimes needed at Addenbrookes Hospital when Reception age children are admitted. The needs of all children, some of whom are very unwell and suffering from the effects of medication, are met using a skilled and sensitive analysis of those needs. Records and case studies show that although they are initially anxious and afraid, children are given well planned learning opportunities and excellent support, both of which encourage them to participate in both individual and group activities. As a result, their confidence, self esteem and trust in others is seen to develop during their stay. However, because there were no children present and records provide insufficient evidence of progress there was not enough evidence to make judgements about children's progress and personal development. Leadership and management are good. Staff have undergone suitable training, and following the advice of the local authority adviser only address three of the six areas of learning:

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Grade: 2

communication, language and literacy, problem solving, reasoning and numeracy and knowledge and understanding of the world. These areas allow links to be made with numeracy and literacy elements of Key Stage 1 allowing some group work to take place. Limited accommodation restricts learning opportunities and there is a lack of storage for larger resources. However this has been partially addressed by a developing links with the therapeutic play team with whom the teaching staff co-ordinate the use of large play equipment and are beginning to work alongside to enhance the range of play-based activities.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Strengthen the evaluation of pupils' and students' progress by

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What the school should do to improve further

agreeing what constitutes good or outstanding progress for different groups, collating and analysing assessment information currently available, making use of targets and their achievement to measure progress made by short-stay pupils and students.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ In conjunction with the appropriate health authorities, improve the accommodation at the Phoenix Centre and the hospital site to address the weaknesses identified in this report 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Pilgrim PRU co The Darwin Centre, 17 March 2009 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Pilgrim PRU co The Darwin Centre, 17 March 2009

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Inspection judgements

16-19 School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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meeting the needs of learners?

Yes Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection 1 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well being? 2 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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IE 2

How well do children in the EYFS achieve?

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IE 2

How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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Achievement and standards

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

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Achievement and standards

1 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. 2 IE - denotes that insufficient evidence was available to inspectors for a judgement to be made. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Pilgrim PRU co The Darwin Centre, 17 March 2009

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well-being of the learners?

The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 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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full range of learners' needs?

2 2 How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 1 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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achievement 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 leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Pilgrim PRU co The Darwin Centre, 17 March 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

18 March 2009 Dear Pupils and Students Inspection of Pilgrim PRU, IDA Darwin Site, Fulbourne, CB21 5EE We would like to thank you all for making us welcome when we visited the four different sites that make up the Pilgrim Pupil Referral Unit, especially those who talked to us about their work. We greatly enjoyed our day. We were most impressed with the work being done and we judge that the Pilgrim does an outstanding job. We noticed that many of you agree with this as we were able to read some of the letters of thanks from those who have left. Those parents who returned inspection questionnaires were also delighted with the provision that the unit makes for all of you. The very skilled teaching that takes place, and the excellent way that staff work with other professionals who care for you, helps you to make excellent academic progress while you are at the unit. You are also encouraged very well to adopt healthier lifestyles and develop a strong

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

awareness of how to keep yourselves safe. It is a good thing that staff consult you and enable you to contribute by recycling and raising funds for charities. We were impressed with the way that diversity of many kinds is accepted and understood by all of you. It is clear that you grow to appreciate your rights and responsibilities within our society as well as the wider world. The reason that the PRU is outstanding is that it is exceptionally well led and managed. Staff know what is going well and what needs to be improved. We have asked them to do two main things to maintain and improve the work currently being done. Firstly, they need to improve the way that they evaluate the progress made by different groups of pupils and students. Secondly, there is a need to improve the accommodation at the Phoenix Centre and at Addenbrookes Hospital so that it is more conducive to learning. We wish you all the very best for the future.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Yours sincerely, Susan Aldridge Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Pilgrim PRU co The Darwin Centre, 17 March 2009

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