Tees Valley College, Middlesbrough

What it's like to be a pupil at Tees Valley College

Pupils enjoy attending this small, nurturing school. They appreciate the support they get from staff. Pupils thrive because staff understand their individual challenges and circumstances well. Pupils' individual behaviour and attendance improve over time. The support pupils receive is very well tailored to their needs. Staff help each pupil to achieve their best. Increasingly, pupils achieve the formal qualifications they need to succeed in future education, employment or training. These qualifications are supplemented by a wide range of enrichment activities, including sports, reward trips and visits to places of cultural interest. This focus on developing pupils' cultural understanding helps prepare them for life in modern Britain. Pupils access an increasingly broad and stimulating curriculum. As well as academic subjects, leaders have thought carefully about the practical learning that will benefit pupils most. Motor vehicle maintenance, hair and beauty, construction and hospitality are all studied in high-quality facilities. Knowledgeable staff, often with considerable industry experience, help pupils to enjoy their learning. Pupils see real value in what they are studying and engage in it well. Staff recognise individual success so that pupils gain confidence over time. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive. Pupils would speak to a member of staff if something worried them. Pupils have often been out of education for some time when they join the school. Staff carefully consider pupils' transition into the school to help them settle in. They build trusting and positive relationships with pupils. This helps pupils to feel like they belong at the school. Pupils are increasingly confident and communicate well with staff and their peers. Pupils typically manage their emotions effectively. Staff receive specialist training to help them manage pupils' needs. Bullying is rare. Pupils get along well with one another and learn the importance of mutual respect. Pupils experience a calm and positive school environment.

What Ofsted says the school should do next

• Leaders should ensure that high rates of attendance are maintained over time and that persistent absence continues to reduce rapidly.
• Leaders should ensure that teachers consistently make highly effective choices about what to teach and how to teach it in the context of each subject and each pupil's needs.
• Leaders should engage more fully with employers in the local area to ensure that pupils are well informed about careers options and have a wide range of ambitious ideas for future employment.

Tees Valley College excels at nurturing young people who have been out of education or struggled elsewhere. Staff build strong, trusting relationships with each pupil and provide highly personalised support that helps them improve attendance and behaviour. The school offers a stimulating mix of academic learning and practical skills training, preparing pupils for real-world success through engaging lessons taught by knowledgeable staff.

Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, concerns are actively identified and acted upon, and pupils feel safe.

Boxing, swimming, charity fundraising, student elections, outdoor education, reward trips, visits to places of cultural interest, stable management qualifications, outdoor education qualifications

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