‘Good’ Ofsted result remains for Southend YMCA Community School

April 7, 2019 by Leigh-on-sea.com

Southend YMCA Community School is celebrating a ‘good’ Ofsted result following a short inspection.

The inspection report praises the school’s calm and well-ordered learning environment and highlights the pupils’ strong desire to learn, teamed with their personal development, behaviour and welfare as being a ‘strong feature of this school’s success’. 

The alternative free school in Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea has around 50 students, aged 14 to 16, who have been excluded or were at the cusp of exclusion from mainstream schools. 

Head teacher Annette Turner, said: “We are really very pleased with the report and the comments of the inspectors. I am so proud of our amazing pupils and the really experienced staff, for all their hard work to get the school to where it needs to be. 

“We provide a relationship-based approach to learning and create a college environment for our students, who are all studying GCSEs and have struggled adapting to mainstream education. As well as giving them an alternative educational environment our approach also prepares them for the next stage of their life, whether that be further education or work.

“I think the fact the report highlights that staff morale is high and that staff work tirelessly to support the self-esteem of students and help them engage in learning, is evidence that what we are doing is having a positive effect.”

The report also praises the strong safeguarding culture that ‘permeates the school’. However, pupil attendance remains an issue for some students and the school is working hard to address this by working with parents.

Following the key stage 4 GCSE curriculum, the school achieved 77% of students receiving a grade C or above. 

The short inspection took place in February 2019 reaffirming their ‘good’ rating following the school’s first full inspection in June 2015.

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