Schools & FE · Independent school inspection

Brian Jackson College

Inspected 17 Jun 2009 · published 11 Jul 2009 · URN 132732

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Summary

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Inspection date verified
17 Jun 2009
Name on report verified
Brian Jackson College of Open Learning
URN verified
132732

Page 1 of 10

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Tone of the report

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−39Criticalmore positive than 7% of reports of this type

Reads more critically than most reports of this type.

Praiseeffectiveenjoymenteffectivelyoutstandingextremelytrusting relationshipsclearlysupportive

Criticismpoorinadequatefailsnot alwaysinsufficientlylimitedyet tonot effective

How the report reads, start to finish

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FindingsAbout the inspectionWhat needs to improve positive critical

Findings1597w−41
What needs to improve414w−18

Strengths

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Appropriate levels of support are provided to each class and on the Heckmondwike site classroom assistants work effectively with teachers to help students settle quickly and work effectively throughout their lessons. p.4

Concerns

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Next steps

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Pages: 10
Words of findings: 1,994; about usual (typical 1813)
Reading level: Hard; Flesch 39, typical 49
Average sentence: 20 words
Next steps: 2; typical 8
Hedged sentences: 13%; “some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 68%What needs to improve 18%About the inspection 15%

Full report text

For use from April 2009 Brian Jackson College of Open Learning

p.1

Independent School

DCSF Registration Number 382/6026 Unique Reference Number 132732 Inspection number 342473 Inspection dates 17 June 2009 Reporting inspector Terence McKenzie

p.1

Independent School

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended. 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.

p.1

Independent School

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404040 www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.2

Purpose and scope of the inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

p.3

Information about the school

Brian Jackson College is an independent special school occupying two sites in the district of Kirklees, West Yorkshire. The original site in Huddersfield, known as Brian Jackson House, has been partly replaced by Vision House that is a more modern facility in the town of Heckmondwike seven miles away. The school is registered for up to 64 boys and girls aged 14 to 16; currently there are 35 students on roll, 15 attending part time. Three students have statements of special educational needs relating to social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The school is owned by The National Children’s Centre charity and it works closely with the local authority to provide education for students who have been excluded or are at risk of being excluded from their mainstream schools. The school aims to provide an alternative education for students to help them to obtain basic qualifications and educational skills. The school was last inspected by Ofsted in 2007.

p.3

Evaluation of the school

Brian Jackson College is led by an experienced headteacher and staffed by a dedicated team of adults all of whom clearly desire the best for the students. However, there are significant differences in the quality of education provided at the two sites. In Heckmondwike good facilities and a modern building encourage students to attend more regularly and engage productively with the staff and here, students are improving their attendance and experience success in education. In Huddersfield, however, the shabby and uninviting accommodation and facilities have the effect of discouraging some students from wanting to come to school and a few exhibit poor behaviours when they do attend. The school thus meets most of its aims and complies with most regulations at Heckmondwike but often fails to do so in Huddersfield. On both sites basic assessments are undertaken on admission so that an appropriate individual curriculum pathway through the remainder of Key Stage 4

p.3

Quality of education

The overall quality of education is satisfactory. On both sites teachers work hard to provide lessons that match students’ interests and needs and generally students make satisfactory progress in their learning. The local authority is very supportive of the school and views it as a valuable facility. At Heckmondwike students stated that the school has done much to improve their chances of gaining qualifications and help them to move on to the next stages of their lives.

p.3

Quality of education

The school maintains an appropriate range of curriculum policies and schemes of work ensuring that most lessons, particularly at Heckmondwike, are supported by appropriate lesson planning. The curriculum is mainly linked to the Entry Level Certificate system of external accreditation and is matched to the needs of the students. On both of the sites some students have gained qualifications under the Adult Literacy and Numeracy scheme at Levels 1 and 2; the school is starting to consider how to offer opportunities in vocational education and training. Although the curriculum provides for most subjects, including personal, social, health education and citizenship (PSHCE) on both school sites, it currently fails to include the statutory requirements of scientific and technological education. The curriculum is also unbalanced in that too much of the timetable is devoted to English, mathematics and physical education and not enough to other subjects such as

p.4

Quality of education

humanities and art. Furthermore, the school does not provide full-time supervised education to almost half of the students. When considered as a whole the curriculum is inadequate.

p.4

Quality of education

Students receive help to prepare for their future economic well-being through the attention to literacy and numeracy on both sites and a few have opportunities to undertake work experience. All students have access to the Connexions careers service.

p.4

Quality of education

Teaching and assessment is satisfactory overall, but there is variation in the quality between the two sites. Most of the good teaching takes place at Heckmondwike where, in the best lessons, teachers make use of clear lesson objectives and learning targets. In these lessons behaviour is good thus allowing students to remain engaged in their work without distraction. Here too students’ enjoyment of lessons is demonstrated by their willingness to participate in oral work. However, this is not the case at the Huddersfield site where students sometimes exhibit extremely challenging behaviour and demonstrate poor communication skills. Here also there is little willingness to contribute to lessons and to the life of the school. Together with the poor quality of the building, these factors at Huddersfield prevent satisfactory teaching and learning from taking place in some lessons.

p.4

Quality of education

The adults know the students well and in the main are able to match work to students’ levels of ability. Whilst the assessment framework complies with the regulations, assessments are often restricted to reading and spelling tests and the recording of the completion of units of work at Entry Level. Thus, planning of lessons is not always based on accurate assessment of students’ learning and this means that further tasks can be insufficiently challenging and do not always enable students to meet their full potential in class. Appropriate levels of support are provided to each class and on the Heckmondwike site classroom assistants work effectively with teachers to help students settle quickly and work effectively throughout their lessons. At the Huddersfield site this support is sometimes ignored or rejected by the students.

p.4

Quality of education

Students’ progress in lessons and learning is satisfactory at Huddersfield and good at Heckmondwike. These standards are reflected in students’ work books and folders and in the main the Heckmondwike students are proud of their achievements. Students’ performance in lessons at Huddersfield is less effective and their unsatisfactory quality of their written work evidences this. Generally, students’ progress is satisfactory throughout the school.

p.5

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

The social moral spiritual and cultural development of students is inadequate. This is because the poor accommodation at Huddersfield discourages students from wanting to attend school and behave in lessons. At Heckmondwike students have opportunities to develop social skills with the support of the adults and they develop good relationships with each other and with staff. At Huddersfield the adults try hard to encourage students to adopt acceptable standards, but there is little evidence of students’ social and moral development because of their very poor attendance and unsatisfactory behaviour.

p.5

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

Both school sites deliver aspects of religious education through PSHCE, but this is quite limited in what it can achieve because there are few visits to places of worship or visitors into the school to talk about religion. The school recognises the nature of its own multiculturalism and sometimes celebrates festivals and events from a range of religions and cultures but neither site provides adequate opportunities for cultural education or for suitable community cohesion training or experiences to occur.

p.5

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

At Heckmondwike students clearly demonstrate enjoyment of lessons and they achieve well in their studies. Here they make good contributions to lessons and to the life of the school. However, even at this site attendance is very low. When the students are absent without authorisation the school cannot always be certain that they are safe.

p.5

Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

The provision for welfare health and safety of students is satisfactory overall because of the appropriate care and support that they receive when they attend; this is particularly effective at the Heckmondwike site. The required systems are in place for safeguarding students’ well-being including having key policies to show how the school protects their interests. The students at Heckmondwike comment that they are looked after well and this view is supported by the local authority. However, at Huddersfield a few students report that they do not always feel safe. All staff working in the school have received appropriate training in child protection matters and first aid. Risk assessments are employed for off-site education. Students form trusting relationships with staff at the gymnasium, this encourages them to attend more regularly thus providing better opportunities for the school to improve their

p.5

Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

On both of the sites lessons in PSHCE and physical education address issues of healthy eating, the need for exercise and healthy lifestyles. Students are timetabled to receive in excess of two hours of physical activity each week. The school has complied with the need to provide fire risk assessment for each of the sites and there are suitable arrangements for students who become ill during the day. The school has yet to produce the required three year development plans for each site that meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (2002). The attendance registers at both sites are not completed correctly.

p.6

Suitability of the proprietor and staff

The school has all of the necessary processes in place for checking staff and others to ensure their suitability. It has constructed a single central register that meets all of the requirements of the regulations.

p.6

School’s premises and accommodation

At Heckmondwike the site provides a stimulating environment that promotes learning and social development, however a health and safety issue was brought to the attention of the school’s senior managers. At the Huddersfield site, the school fails to meet a number of regulations relating to the quality of the building and accommodation. It is not clean and tidy and the standard of decoration is poor. Proximity to the railway station and the resultant noise levels prevents the opening of windows for ventilation and this makes it difficult for staff and students to concentrate in lessons. Furthermore, in order to aid ventilation ceiling hatches in the classrooms have been removed and this compromises the health and safety of the students. Neither of the school sites has adequate provision for the teaching of science and technology in the curriculum.

p.6

Provision of information for parents, carers and others

The school meets all of the requirements and makes an adequate range of information available in the prospectus.

p.6

Procedures for handling complaints

The school has a complaints policy that fully meets the regulations.

p.6