West Sussex Alternative Provision College

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 May 2024

Most pupils attend West Sussex Alternative Provision College for a short period of time before returning to mainstream or specialist provisions. Many pupils are too ill to attend, so receive their education at home. Some pupils stay longer and a few complete their GCSEs here. The school prioritises learning effectively. Staff aim to ensure that pupils continue to learn regardless of the challenges they face. Most pupils are happy here. They appreciate the individual support they receive, including the preparation for moving back to mainstream or into specialist provision. Staff are well trained in safeguarding and are highly vigilant to potential concerns. Safeguarding staff are diligent and take precise action to protect vulnerable pupils. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive overall. This helps pupils to feel safe as they know they can confide in staff if they have a concern. Across most of the sites, pupils generally behave well. Most pupils are supported effectively when their behaviour is more challenging. In the most successful practice, well-trained staff are quick to intervene and use de-escalation strategies successfully. However, this is not consistently the case, particularly at the Lancing site. Here learning is sometimes disrupted by small minority of pupils. At times, staff do not always address the use of abusive language fully effectively.

What the school should improve

• The attendance of some pupils is lower than it should be. This means that these pupils, particularly the most disadvantaged, do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders should maintain their focus on improving the attendance of all pupils.
• A small number of pupils disturb learning, particularly in the secondary phase. The use of derogatory language sometimes goes unchallenged and the management of some poor behaviour needs sharpening. Leaders must ensure that all staff always maintain the highest standards of behaviour.

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