The School’s Inspectorate undertook a detailed review of the he Alternative Education Centre (AEC), the only facility of its kind in Cayman for excluded high school students.
The AEC gives students an opportunity to achieve in a different setting.
This year’s inspection took place from the 13th to 16th June and involved a team of four inspectors, including the centre’s link inspector, according to a GIS release.
The centre offers three main programmes – a suspension unit, tutorial unit, and transition unit. The suspension unit takes students who have been suspended for short periods of time by the high schools. The tutorial unit caters for students who have been given long-term suspensions by George Hicks High School; it aims to reintegrate them into mainstream classes, depending on the progress they make in their behaviour. The transition unit offers a one to two year ‘school-to-work’ programme that includes work experience, for older students who have been expelled.
FINDINGS
The inspection team concluded that, overall, the AEC provides a satisfactory education for its students.
Inspectors reported that the AEC staff provide a very caring, safe and secure environment for students and that good relationships are a feature of the centre’s positive ethos.
The report went on to say that the centre is successful in enabling many of its students, some of whom have complex emotional, social and mental health problems, to make considerable improvements in their behaviour and attitudes towards learning.
It concluded that the AEC has improved since the previous inspection, under its new leadership. It suggested that some strengths have been maintained, but there are areas in still in need of further improvement.
It suggested that AEC will continue to need external help to move forward, particularly in those areas that are outside of its control.
STRENGTHS
The inspection report identified the following as strengths of the school:
It improves the behaviour of many students
It helps to raise students’ confidence, self-esteem and concentration
The transition unit prepares students well for being more effective members of society and for the world of work
Staff have established a strong ethos of care, commitment and concern for students
There are effective links with parents, carers, guardians and the community.
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
These are areas that have been identified as needing improvement:
Communication within the centre,
The curriculum, particularly for students in the tutorial unit,
The system for monitoring students’ performance throughout the centre,
The effectiveness of some of the teaching,
The understanding of the role and purpose of the suspension unit and the way it is used by the high schools.
REQUIREMENTS
The centre is expected to modify its existing improvement plan, or to prepare a supplementary action plan to address the areas for improvement identified above.
It is also required to provide parents with an annual update on the progress that is being made in addressing the areas identified as needing to improve.
A copy of the report can be found on the Schools’ Inspectorate’s web site: www.italic.ky/lv/inspect/school.nsf
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