Ground-breaking Doncaster school for disengaged children ran into problems

A ground-breaking Doncaster school aimed at engaging with disengaged children fell into a raft of problems with pupil behaviour and the curriculum resulting in a poor Ofsted rating and a new principal.
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Big Picture School opened in Bentley in May 2019 to 16 pupils disengaged from mainstream education, but months later went was rated ‘inadequate’ by education watchdog Ofsted.

It became the first alternative provision school run by a charity and derives from a method developed in the USA, where children in smaller settings are mentored and coached in more personal environments.

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But reports show that not long after opening there was a ‘number of concerns’ regarding pupil behaviour and the curriculum.

Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools, Nuala FennellyCabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools, Nuala Fennelly
Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools, Nuala Fennelly

A academy trust stepped in to support the school leadership and a new principal was appointed.

Doncaster Council was said to support both partners in identifying new provisions and support packages for children affected by the issues.

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In accordance with the provisions of the contract, the council issued a ‘service failure’ warning at this point, triggering the delivery of a performance improvement plan.

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A new cohort of Year 7 pupils joined the school in September 2019.

The council continued to monitor performance against its school improvement plan through August to October 2019.

The performance improvement plan was signed off as complete in October 2019, with an acknowledgement that the monitoring of actions taken will be key.

Ofsted visited in December 2019 and acknowledged that for a small number of pupils this provision was making a difference, children felt valued and attendance was definitely improved.

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However, the report furthermore raised a number of specific concerns around the school. It recognised the work done by the multi-academy trust and partners, but judged the school as ‘inadequate’ and highlighted concerns around ‘safeguarding practice and curriculum delivery’.

In January, work started to review the delivery and funding models for Big Picture Doncaster, but were hampered by lockdown.

This has meant students have been supported through online learning and advisors have said to have kept in close contact with pupils.

Councillors at a recent cabinet meeting signed off on a recommendation to provide a cash injection of £130,000 over the next two months during the Covid-19 pandemic based on ‘delivery of service’ and not ‘results’.

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Doncaster was chosen as the first school of its kind due to having some of the highest rates of fixed-term exclusions and persistent absence in the country while having a ‘significant skills gap in the borough’.

Martyn Owen, council head of inclusion, said: “While there have been significant challenges around delivery, it is clear the Big Picture personalised curriculum design and pastoral delivery model is still highly relevant to our context.

“The model also has the potential to influence mainstream curriculum and can serve to enhance mainstream, whilst engaging young people.”

Coun Nuala Fennelly, cabinet member for children, young people and schools, said: “We need to consider our Doncaster children and families and the council is confident the new Big Picture Learning model has the potential to make a huge difference in engaging with young people with both learning and employment.”