'It's seen as the naughty school but it's turned our lives around'

Ellie Newport had a number of suspensions during her school years

Park House in Grimsby teaches some of the area's most disruptive students. It's known as the "naughty school" because the majority of its 63 pupils have either been permanently excluded or were at risk of suspension previously. But, as the BBC discovered, it's turning many of those lives around.

"They're not naughty; they just need to learn differently," says learning lead Angela Connell, who helps teach cooking and hairdressing.

"We've got these fantastic facilities and we give them that opportunity to do it a little bit differently.

"We've had children from all backgrounds come in, and they say 'I'm never going to get anything or do anything' and they do, they go out there and flourish and that's the absolute pride to us here."

Angela Connell says the key to the school's success is in alternative learning

Two of Angela's students are Summer and Destiny.

Summer was permanently excluded from school – or "permoed" as she calls it – for bad behaviour and fighting, while the final straw for Destiny was when she set off a school fire alarm.

"When there are loads of people and only one teacher in a mainstream school, you don't get the help you need," says Summer, 14, who is aiming for a career in hairdressing, which she feels would not have been possible without the help of the school.

Destiny agrees: "There are less students here and there are more teachers, and it's smaller, so you get more help than you do in mainstream."

Destiny and Summer struggled to settle in mainstream education but are benefiting from their time at Park House School

On a nearby cooking hob, Brogan is making a chicken curry. He wants to join the Army and is now looking forward to taking his GCSEs.

"I was just getting excluded and that's how I've come here. I was fighting too much, and in class I was having flip-outs," he says.

"It's a big change for me. I just want to do my work when I'm in class now."

Students are surprisingly open about why they were excluded from their original schools, but most have a similar story about why they are now getting their lives back on track.

"I was never in any of my lessons and then I started to fall behind a bit, and then when I was in, I didn't know what was going on, so I just thought 'I'll sack that off'," adds Katelyn, another of the students.

"I didn't like the way teachers spoke to kids, and so I used to always just scream back, kick off, or when a teacher was telling another student off, I would get involved," explains Talisha, 15.

"There are so many students in mainstream schools, it's hard for them to keep an eye on just one of them, and they don't really notice until they are too deep in."

Talisha, centre, and Katelyn, right, have a new lease of life

A report found 23 school years were lost to pupil suspensions in North East Lincolnshire in 2022-23 and 55 students were permanently excluded. Almost half of those exclusions were for students with special education needs or disabilities.

Park House, which offers alternative provision, is part of Phoenix Park Academy and run by Wellspring Academy Trust.

It has a gym, a newly renovated outdoor area, a workshop and hair salon to offer hands-on training and inspire careers.

While days can be challenging with issues of bad behaviour and, at times, a battle to keep some children in lessons, school leaders put their success down to developing caring and effective relationships with students based around social, emotional and mental health support.

"I think there's another way, and what we have is a very consistent approach that works for a lot of young people when that mainstream setting doesn't work for them," says head of centre John Mansfield.

"We've had one student that's gone on to Oxford University. We have other students that have set up their own businesses.

"It gives you a great sense of pride and makes you realise you're doing the right thing, and you really are supporting students with their outcomes and their next steps in life."

Head of centre John Mansfield says the school is proud of its success rate

Nineteen-year-old Ellie Newport is one of those success stories, now running her own dog grooming business alongside a second job. After a number of suspensions during her school years, she says she owes everything to the academy.

"I still think back to the school and the teachers every day, because I owe them everything.

"It's said it's the naughty school, but it's not, it's here to help you.

"It turns everyone's lives around, even if you don't get to where you want to be, you're always going to be a step further than where you were at.

"These schools definitely save a lot of kids."

Josh Greaves, deputy CEO of Wellspring Academy Trust, says permanent exclusion from a mainstream school has a significant knock-on effect in terms of opportunities in life.

"What we're about is making sure that you get a great start and can step on from here into something really optimistic and engaging, so that they can live a meaningful, happy and long life."