Senior leaders at an Ipswich pupil referral unit which has doubled in size have been praised by Ofsted for guiding the educational facility through a “period of major change”.
Parkside Pupil Referral Unit, attended by 55 pupils with mental health issues at its Spring Road base, now has 44 students who have been excluded, or are at risk of exclusion, from mainstream schools at the Lindbergh Centre it took over in November 2013.
In a new inspection report which rated the pupil referral unit as good, down from outstanding in 2012, Ofsted said the expansion has been “managed well” by senior leaders.
The education watchdog report said: “Senior leaders have steered the unit through a period of major change and have stabilised the quality of provision and behaviour on the recently acquired Lindbergh site (in Lindbergh Road).
“Significant progress has been made in a short space of time by sharing best practice.
“The intensive nurturing, high-quality provision and excellent care for pupils at the Parkside site have been maintained since the last inspection. Higher expectations and greater accountability of staff and pupils at the Lindbergh Centre are promoting a culture of improvement. As a result, the provision is increasingly effective in improving pupils’ outcomes.”
Headteacher Sally Swann said she was “delighted”. She said: “We are especially pleased as it has been a time of transition for us. Parkside historically is an outstanding provision and the quality has been maintained.
“Over the last two years, we have been focussing a lot of our work at the Lindbergh Centre to develop a nurturing culture and engaging curriculum that recognises their difficulties, supports their learning and prepares them for the post-16 education and the workplace.
“We have adopted a CALM (Co-constructed, Authentic, Learning that is Meaningful) approach to learning. This centres around a thorough assessment at the beginning of their placement to allow a bespoke learning plan to be formed.
“We have also altered our curriculum and our attendance has increased from 47% when we first took over the provision to 89% today.”
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