Pupils feel 'happy and safe' at Wigan school offering alternative provision

Ofsted found Three Towers Alternative Provision Academy, which has sites in Hindley and Whelley, had an “interesting and broad curriculum” and most pupils “achieve well”.

Inspectors carried out an ungraded assessment, after it was given the top mark of “outstanding” in an inspection in 2018.

While there was no change in that rating, their findings did suggest that grade “might not be as high” if a full inspection had been done this time.

The school welcomes pupils in years one to 11 who have been permanently excluded, are at risk of permanent exclusion, have medical needs or are without a school place.

Lead inspector Ahmed Marikar wrote: “Three Towers provides a nurturing environment where pupils are happy and feel safe. All pupils join the school part-way through their education. They are greeted by welcoming staff on their arrival into school each day. This helps them to be ready for learning.

“The school successfully helps pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to develop their personal, social and emotional skills. Pupils are taught the importance of respecting differences between themselves and others.”

Ofsted found pupils generally behaved well at Three Towers, received help to regulate their own behaviour and learned strategies to re-engage with education.

The school was “ambitious” for pupils, creating “bespoke” curriculums and using a range of strategies to overcome any barriers they had.

Reading was a “high priority”, with pupils enjoying listening to stories and “effective” support for those who fell behind in phonics.

Staff were “positive role models”, “well trained” to respond to challenging behaviour and had “strong relationships” with pupils.

They “carefully monitor” pupils’ attendance and used rewards to encourage them to go to school regularly, but Ofsted suggested Three Towers could improve by working with the pupils who still do not attend school regularly.

The inspectors also suggested staff in all subjects should ensure they check pupils’ knowledge is secure before introducing new topics and concepts, and that the school further refines the most important knowledge that pupils should learn.

A Three Towers spokesman said: “We are pleased with the outcome of the inspection and that it acknowledges the quality of the provision and hard work of all the staff.”