The Watkin Centre

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 10 December 2024

Pupils join The Watkin Centre having had difficult prior experiences in education. Some of them have spent prolonged periods out of school. For many, starting at this school provides a positive reintegration into education. They develop warm and supportive relationships with staff. They are made to feel valued. This helps them to feel happy and safe. Staff support pupils to make appropriate choices about their behaviour. At times, some pupils find this difficult. Staff recognise this and spend time with these pupils to help them understand their reactions. Pupils learn how to modify these and respond appropriately. Pupils appreciate 'brain breaks' to help them when they are feeling overwhelmed or anxious. Although the school is ambitious for pupils to do well, not all pupils achieve as well as they should. This is because the school's curriculum is not taught consistently well. This limits pupils' knowledge and understanding of important subject content. Pupils enjoy being involved in decision-making about their school. For example, when the school first opened, they helped to devise the school rules. Pupils are keen to take up positions of responsibility, for example, on the school council.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the school is still identifying the specific knowledge that it wants pupils to learn. As a result, some pupils do not learn in these subjects as well as they should. The school should ensure that all curriculums set out the important knowledge that pupils should know and the order that this should be taught.
• In a few subjects, teaching activities are not well matched to what the school intends pupils to learn. Occasionally, this hinders pupils' learning of new knowledge. The school should support teachers to design learning that closely reflects the intended curriculum so that all pupils learn as well as they should.
• The school's checks on what pupils have learned are not fully effective. They do not pinpoint what content pupils have remembered and where their learning is not secure. The school should refine its approaches to assessment and ensure that staff have the expertise they need to accurately check what pupils know and remember.
• Some pupils, including some who are disadvantaged, do not attend school regularly enough. This further exacerbates the gaps in these pupils' learning. The school should ensure that these pupils are supported to improve their rates of attendance.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)