Tees Valley College

Overview

Tees Valley College is a small, nurturing school where leaders have established a "strong moral purpose" focused on supporting disadvantaged pupils with social, emotional, and mental health needs. The report describes a "calm and positive school environment" where staff build "trusting and positive relationships" with pupils, helping them to settle and succeed after often significant periods out of education.

Strengths

• Pupils make "effective, and sometimes rapid, progress" through a curriculum that is "increasingly broad and ambitious," with staff effectively addressing gaps in foundational knowledge.
• "Excellent relationships between staff and pupils" underpin the school’s success, with bullying being "rare" and behaviour typically "calm and respectful."
• The school provides "high-quality training" for staff and uses "alternative provision... effectively," including a "blended curriculum" tailored to individual needs.
• Personal development is supported by a "highly effective programme" covering ethical issues, diversity, and mental health, alongside enrichment activities like outdoor education.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure "persistent absence continues to reduce rapidly," as some pupils still miss significant amounts of education.
• Teachers should "consistently make highly effective choices about what to teach and how to teach it," as consistency varies across subjects.
• The school should "engage more fully with employers in the local area" to enhance pupils' career ambitions and future employment options.

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing an "open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility" and concerns actively identified and managed.