Bailey Street Alternative Provision Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are well cared for at this school. Many pupils arrive here having had negative experiences of education. Nevertheless, staff take time to build warm and trusting relationships with pupils so that they feel safe in school.

Pupils know who to go to if they have any worries.

The behaviour of pupils is variable. At social times, pupils are generally calm.

Many sit sensibly eating and drinking while chatting to their friends. Pupils enjoy talking to staff during this time and being with the school dogs. However, in some lessons, pupils can be disruptive and show a poor attitude to their learning.

Some pupils do not attend school as often as they sh...ould.

Pupils study a suitable range of subjects as part of the school curriculum. Many pupils particularly value their learning in vocational courses, such as boxing and motor vehicle maintenance.

However, in some subjects, the school is still developing the curriculum to set out the detail of what pupils should learn and when. Pupils are not getting the support they need to help improve their reading.

The school has started to plan activities and visits outside of school.

Recently, pupils have enjoyed trips to Trentham Gardens and the National Memorial Arboretum.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school curriculum carefully maps out the topics that pupils will study throughout the year. In many subjects, the school set out what key things pupils need to know and remember.

In mathematics, leaders have used the national curriculum and the exam board specification to outline what pupils should learn. However, in some subjects, the school has not identified the smaller blocks of learning that pupils need to know and understand to complete more complex tasks. This does not help pupils to build on what they know or connect their learning together.

The school is still in the early stages of helping to support pupils with their reading. Leaders have recently assessed pupils to identify their reading age. Alongside this, a commercial scheme has been purchased to plan a programme of reading support.

However, the school has not implemented this support to help pupils catch up. This means that some pupils continue to have weak reading skills and struggle to access parts of the curriculum.

All pupils at the school are recognised as having special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Staff quickly identify pupils' behaviour and well-being needs to help construct learning plans. These plans are shared with staff so that they are aware of what appropriate support needs to be put in place in the classroom. Staff have received training on how to support pupils with SEND, including pupils with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

However, pupils' learning plans do not include academic targets. The school has not identified what specific support and adaptations need to be made to develop pupils' skills in literacy and numeracy.Some staff do not have high enough expectations of pupils' behaviour.

They do not always apply the school behaviour policy consistently. In addition, some pupils do not arrive at lessons on time and occasionally decide to walk out of lessons without permission. When some pupils are in lessons, they disrupt the learning of others.

This means that, for some pupils, they have a fractured learning experience.

Leaders are aware that attendance to school is low. They work closely with outside agencies to encourage pupils to attend school more regularly.

For some pupils, engagement with the school's vocational courses is having a positive impact. However, for others, there is further work to do so that they attend more often.

The school has put together an appropriate personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) curriculum.

Over time, pupils are taught about key topics, such as healthy relationships, consent and the protected characteristics. Pupils are also taught how to stay safe online and the dangers of sharing images over the internet. Staff are flexible in their approach to PSHE so that it can respond to emerging issues that arise in school.

However, some pupils do not recognise why the use of derogatory language is inappropriate.

The school supports pupils with their next steps in education and/or training. Leaders ensure that pupils are made aware of the different pathways available to them when they leave school.

Trust leaders have introduced a new governance structure this academic year. A local advisory board meets regularly to discuss the performance of the school and offer support and challenge to leaders. Trust leaders have a realistic view of the school.

They recognise that the school has work to do to improve. However, trust leaders have not acted quickly enough to address some areas of weakness.

Staff are positive about the way leaders engage with them about their workload and well-being.

Staff are proud to work at the school and describe it as being like 'one big family'.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has not identified the smaller blocks of knowledge and skills that pupils should learn in some subjects.

This means it is unclear how pupils build towards understanding more complex ideas. The school should ensure that the curriculum sets out precisely what pupils must learn in each topic to enable them to build successfully on what they know over time. The school has not implemented a programme of support to help pupils develop fluency, confidence and enjoyment in reading.

This means that some pupils who join the school continue to have gaps in their reading ability, including phonics. As a result, some pupils struggle to access parts of the curriculum. The school should ensure that all pupils, including those who are still at the early stages of learning to read, are given the support they need to develop their reading skills.

• Pupils' behaviour and conduct are disruptive and pupils do not demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning in too many lessons. This means that low-level disruption has a direct impact on how well pupils learn the curriculum, and the use of derogatory language is commonplace. The school should ensure that all staff have high expectations for pupils' behaviour and apply the school behaviour policy consistently.

• Pupils do not attend school as often as they should. This means that pupils miss valuable time learning and gaps in knowledge and skills grow wider. The school should continue to take action to ensure pupils attend school more regularly.