A THURROCK school for alternative provision has been rated as “Inadequate” by government watchdog, Ofsted.
The Olive Academy was inspected in January 2017 at its base in The Culver Centre in South Ockendon. The school which opened in its present guise is due to move to Tilbury in April.
It was formerly known as the Pupil Referral Unit.
Ofsted made the following observations:
1. Safeguarding is inadequate. Leaders have not ensured that essential safeguarding practices and safety checks are systematic, robust and effective. Consequently, leaders do not have a clear understanding of the effectiveness of their work in keeping pupils and staff safe.
2. Staff turnover and changes in leadership have meant that, until recently, actions to improve the quality of provision for pupils have been unsuccessful or, when effective, have not been sustained. Too many pupils do not attend, behave, learn or achieve well enough.
3. A considerable number of pupils do not re- integrate back into a full-time mainstream school in a timely enough way. Despite efforts by leaders and the trust, there are too often occasions where pupils are ready for next-step provision that is not being found in the locality. This is especially true of a significant minority of pupils who require specialist provision.
4. Leaders have not ensured that the funding that they receive for disadvantaged pupils is having enough of an impact on pupils’ attendance and achievement.
5. Leaders have not been able to secure a suitable learning environment for pupils in the primary provision. Pupils, many of whom have special educational needs and/or disabilities, use poor-quality indoor and outdoor space which does not meet their various complex needs.
6. Despite efforts by the trust and leaders, there is a lack of shared clarity between the trust, local authority and other stakeholders about the purpose of the school. As a result, too many pupils are placed on roll when they do not meet the criteria for admission.
There are significant numbers of Year 11 pupils who came to the local area recently and are on the school’s admissions register, but who attend other local schools on a full-time basis. Leaders and the local authority could not explain the rationale behind this decision; nor is it clear how the safety and well-being of these pupils are being appropriately monitored in the locality”.
Ofsted do point to a number of strengths
1. The recent appointment of a permanent headteacher has started to bring about much- needed stability in the provision.
2. The new headteacher has recruited a senior leadership team who have been quick to create more secure systems and procedures to start to address the inadequacies in the school.
YT has invited Thurrock Council to respond to the report.
http://www.yourthurrock.com/2015/05/12/new-academy-opens-up-in-thurrock/
Personally, I think the teachers at the Olive AP Academy understand and help the children more than what the teachers do in mainstream schools because they recognise and most importantly of all, like mentioned above, they understand why the children display the behaviours they do.
Mainstream can not cope with Special needs children therefore, permanently excluding them is an easier option than making sure the subject teachers follow strategies given to them by SENCO staff, making sure they have the time to engage the special needs pupils in their class and knowing the difference between complex Disabilities rather than keep sending them out of class and escalating their behaviours.