Inspecting alternative provision Sean Harford HMI National Director

Inspecting alternative provision Sean Harford HMI National Director, Education 7 June 2018 Slide 1

Session overview § Our AP surveys: 2011 and 2012 -2015 (of schools using AP) § Our current curriculum research – and curriculum in AP § Outcomes in AP § Questions? Slide 2

Ofsted’s surveys of AP In 2011, Ofsted published a survey about schools’ use of off-site AP. Too many pupils were in unsuitable placements, were not paid enough attention by their schools and were not achieving as well as they should. As a result, we followed this up with a three-year survey from 2012 -15, visiting 165 schools and 448 of the alternative providers that they used. In doing so, we found that… Slide 3

Ofsted’s surveys of AP …the overwhelming majority of pupils had positive comments to make about their enjoyment of the provision, what they were learning, how well they were supported, and the impact the provision was having on their behaviour, attitudes, attendance and outcomes at school. However…. QA, safety, curriculum gaps, registration… Slide 4

Ofsted’s survey of AP § § 5% of providers reported that the school had not visited at all, including prior to the placement being set up. 21% of schools relied wholly on the providers to brief pupils at the start of their placements on how to keep safe, without knowing first hand whether this was good enough. Laptops used at AP placements did not always have appropriate firewalls or filters to prevent pupils accessing inappropriate material. There were substantial gaps in some pupils’ timetables in almost 10% of the schools visited, with pupils missing key classes. Slide 5

Unregistered providers ‘A provider of alternative provision should be registered as an independent school if it caters full-time for five or more pupils of compulsory school age or one such pupil who is looked after or has a statement of special educational needs. ’ (Df. E, Alternative Provision, 2013) Registered = inspected separately Not registered = not inspected at all Slide 6

Unregistered providers § Throughout the surveys, HMI found schools that were sending their pupils to providers that should have been registered as independent schools. § Provision that should have been registered by a local authority as a pupil referral unit was also found. § A common issue was where a school was sending only one pupil to a provider, or was sending pupils only part-time, but had failed to check how many pupils from other schools were also attending the provider and on what basis. Slide 7

Unregistered providers § Schools too often assumed that the provider would have registered with the Df. E if they needed to, but this was not always the case. § Altogether, Ofsted referred 17 providers to the Df. E following survey visits, 14 of which the Df. E judged should have been registered as independent schools or pupil referral units. § These have all since closed, or registered and therefore will be inspected in the future. Slide 8

Curriculum – a working definition “The curriculum is a framework for setting out the aims of a programme of education, including the knowledge and understanding to be gained at each stage (intent); for translating that framework over time into a structure and narrative, within an institutional context (implementation) and for evaluating what knowledge and skills pupils have gained against expectations (impact/achievement). ” Slide 9

Curriculum in AP Better in 2015 than in 2011, but still needs improvement… § In 75% of schools visited, inspectors found that the curriculum offered to pupils attending AP included English and mathematics courses leading to accreditation and was broad and balanced overall. § But…there were substantial gaps in some pupils’ timetables in almost 10% of the schools visited, either with insufficient provision for English and mathematics, or timetables that included English and mathematics but were too narrowly focused on a very few activities across each week. Slide 10

Curriculum for pupils attending AP full time § Providers generally ensured that pupils had a similar breadth of curriculum as they would in mainstream education. § The curriculum was often supplemented with a range of counselling, advice and work-related experiences relevant to needs of pupils who often had some of the more complex and longstanding behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. § Smaller providers often had links with mainstream schools to access specialist resources, such as science or technology rooms. § However, not all schools that commissioned full-time provision checked adequately on the quality of the curriculum on offer. Slide 11

Curriculum for pupils attending AP full time In six of the schools visited where pupils were at AP full time, inspectors found key shortcomings including: § work was pitched at too low a level given the pupils’ capabilities § very narrow curriculum, for example wholly focused on literacy, numeracy and ICT, and missing out PSHE, sex and relationships education and physical education § little or no English and mathematics § few lessons and mainly the ‘social activities of a youth club’ § some pupils were not actually being provided with full-time education or training. Slide 12

Curriculum for pupils attending AP part-time § Where small numbers of pupils attended AP, English and maths were sometimes missed. Catch up arrangements were largely fine but occasionally weak. § Occasionally, PE, RE, citizenship and PSHE were also missing from pupils’ timetables. Slide 13

Accreditation Best practice: Schools recognised that pupils needed to gain the best possible qualifications that they could in English, mathematics and a range of other relevant subjects, as well as developing their personal, social and employability skills. Schools focused strongly on making sure that pupils were supported as well as possible in all these aspects, and not just to achieve well on their AP courses. In the weakest examples: Overall aspirations for pupils attending AP were too low. Too much focus was placed on re-engagement alone and the focus on academic achievement was marginalised. Slide 14

Alternative providers need to… § …know their curriculum – design and intent § …know how their curriculum is being implemented § …know what impact their curriculum is having on children and young people’s knowledge and understanding Slide 15

Outcomes in AP – things to consider § Do you know all pupils’ starting points? § Are you ambitious but realistic about potential achievement? § How do you know whether pupils are getting on well? § How do you monitor how well pupils are acquiring literacy knowledge and skills? Mathematical knowledge and skills? § If you use off-site AP, how do you know how well are pupils achieving there? § What is done when pupils are achieving below where you think they should be? § Do you know the destinations of all your pupils? Do you know how well they have succeeded? § Is the above information analysed effectively and available to the senior leadership team and to governors? § It’s not about P 8/A 8/Ebacc scores. Slide 16

Any questions? Slide 17