Pupil referral unit to become academy after council failure verdict

[dutchman]

The Coventry pupil referral unit operates on two sites, known as Wyken Extended Learning Centre and Herald Extended Learning Centre (pictured)



A Coventry pupil referral unit is set to become an academy in September after failing to improve its Ofsted rating.

The Coventry Extended Learning Centre (CELC) was given the second lowest rating of Requires Improvement by inspectors in 2018 and 2022.

A council report has also revealed the unit was ordered by the government to become an academy in March 2023 as a result of its most recent grading.

It means Coventry City Council will no longer maintain the 80-pupil unit, which will join a trust in Solihull.

The unit, which has bases in Wyken and Potter’s Green, is for students who struggled with mainstream schooling and have social, emotional and mental health issues.

It is due to join the Solihull Alternative Provision Multi Academy Trust (Sapmat) as a sponsored academy.

The unit accommodates secondary school pupils up to year 11.

An Ofsted report, from June 2022, said the centre had been through a period of "significant change."

Inspectors found various ways teaching could be improved, including supporting children in the early stages of reading.

They also said leaders had a "clear vision" but plans to improve were "yet to be realised."

Joining Sapmat means that if the school financial balance is in deficit at the point of conversion, the debt this will remain with the council, whereas if it is in surplus that balance will be transferred to the trust.

Sapmat, which was set up in 2022 and runs two other alternative units, would become the employer for the centre’s staff, the report said.

The proposal, which involves multiple land leases, would be discussed by the council's cabinet next Tuesday for "transparency", it added.

The aim is for the school to convert by 1 September, with agreements in place by July.