School too small for all pupils to attend - watchdog

Saxon Hall is too small for all its pupils to attend for face-to-face learning, Ofsted said

A unit for children who have been excluded from mainstream schools is too small for all its pupils to attend full-time, inspectors have said.

Ofsted said one of the problems at the Saxon Hall Pupil Referral Unit in Rochdale was a poor attendance record.

The school was "unable to provide pupils in Year 10 with face-to-face learning on a full-time basis", the inspectors said.

Brownhill Learning Community Trust, which runs the Saxon Hall site, has been approached for comment.

'Inconsistent'

The unit, off Samson Street in Belfield, needs to improve in all the areas Oftsted inspects: the quality of education provided, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.

Although inspectors recognised how the small class sizes helped improve pupils' confidence and raise their expectations, they felt the delivery of the curriculum was inconsistent.

The report read: "Pupils respond well to the positive relationships they have with staff. From when pupils start at school, their behaviour and attitudes to learning show steady signs of improvement.

"However, too many pupils are regularly absent from school."

The report said that meant they would "develop gaps in their learning".

The inspectors said younger pupils "relished opportunities to learn how to be active citizens in their local communities".

Inspectors provided the school with a number of points for improvement, with the most urgent being to find suitable premises so all pupils can attend school full-time.

The unit, now rated "requires improvement" over all, had previously been rated "good".