Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

alcohol or drug addictions, many are in care 19 or may even have a child protection
order 20 and some are additionally supported by the youth offending service. The
students are probably the most vulnerable in the county and many have to travel long
distances as the school serves a wide geographical area. They can exhibit extremely
challenging behaviour and have usually experienced failure in other forms of
education: some have been excluded from primary school and others from
mainstream secondary or special schools. Some have been moved from
Cambridgeshire’s EOTAS service (Education Other Than At School) and others may
be from out-of-county specialist provision that has proven unsuccessful. These young
people become expert at handling normal school methods of discipline and sanctions
become less effective. ‘Not doing’ usually becomes the students’ established pattern
of behaviour which may be linked to their consistent rejection and inability to fit in.
The Centre School, as a whole, tries to think differently, leading by example so the
students can start to think differently.
More male students have managed moves within the education system and more boys
attend schools such as The Centre School. In fact, boys’ behaviour was also reported
as being more challenging and often more aggressive than girls’ (ATL, 2011). At the
start of the project, in the school year 2009/2010, there were 55 students aged
between 11 and 16 of which only four were girls. From September 2010 there were
fewer students due to the school’s status of special measures 21 and no new pupils
were admitted until changes were made in the school. From September 2011 figures
had risen again and there were 49 students on roll, of which five were girls.
A high percentage of students with complex emotional and behavioural difficulties
have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and some students at The
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19 The majority of children in care are there because they have suffered abuse or
neglect. At any one time around 60,000 children are looked after in England, either in
foster care (73%), children’s homes (10%) or other settings including residential
schools. Around 90,000 children are looked after at some point in any one year (DfE,
2012).
20 A child protection order is an order usually made by the Children's Court, when a
child is considered to be in need of protection under the Child Protection Act 1999.!
21 In November 2009 The Centre School was put in ‘special measures’ 21 by Ofsted
which meant that throughout the time that the research project ran significant changes
to the school’s practice were made, with a clearer focus on teaching and learning. In
June 2011, as the project neared its completion, the school was taken out of special
measures and deemed to have made good progress in all areas.
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