PUPILS who have struggled to cope in mainstream education receive expert teaching, re-engage with learning and begin to fulfil their potential when they attend The Kingsmead School, according to Government inspectors.
Children attending the alternative provider in Cedar Street, which is to be renamed The Castle School from September, were also found to be calm and orderly in lesson and social time according to the team from the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) which rated the school ‘good’.
Pupils told inspectors that they are welcomed and supported ‘even if they are having a bad day’ and the school’s guiding principal that ‘every day is a fresh start’ allows them to set aside previous experiences of education.
Inspectors said the school’s core value of ‘respect’ was evident in all aspects of the provision and positive, respectful relationships between adults and pupils ensure lessons are ‘purposeful’.
The school currently caters for pupils who have significant social, emotional and mental health difficulties, special educational needs or disabilities. It is due to increase in capacity in order to cater for more young people as part of the Derby City SEND strategy. All the children attending the school have had a disrupted education and have missed a considerable amount of schooling.
Executive head teacher Mike Pride said: “Many of our pupils have not been able to succeed in mainstream school and some have difficulties in their home lives which means attending school and being successful is challenging.
“We work hard to motivate pupils, working on self-esteem and self-care and we have high expectations. As a result, pupils learn to take responsibility for their own actions and are well prepared to take their place in society.
“We are delighted that the inspectors recognised that we provide a good quality education within a caring environment for our students. Every day at our school is inspiring and our aim is for every pupil to be very best they can be.”
Inspectors found safeguarding to be effective and said that pupils told them they feel safe at school and display a ‘deep, genuine respect for each other’s challenges and differences’.
They also found that they ‘feel free to express their emotions and beliefs, sometimes for the first time at a school’.
Pupils were found to flourish in English lessons and many were described as ‘avid readers who relish book’s while teaching in other subjects was described as ‘strong’.
Leaders at the school are currently revising the existing curriculum, due to the expanding need of the provision, to offer a broader range of subjects and GCSE options and inspectors say this will be ‘broad and deep, and ambitious enough for all pupils to realise their full potential’.
The visit was the first inspection since the school was judged to be good in May 2016 and included ‘deep dives’ into various subjects including English, maths and PSHE.
Mr Pride added: “Although the collection of schools known as Kingsmead have been inspected, this was the first inspection at this school since the pandemic. This was obviously a challenging period for everyone in education but particularly for some of our very vulnerable children.
“This school is going through significant change and investment by Derby City Council and extensive building work will mean we can double in size from September, which means we will be able to help more children achieve success.”
