panorama.s2014e29.last.chance.academy
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00:00You've been asked to leave the classroom.
00:03I'm not coming!
00:04Who do you think you are, speaking to me like that?
00:07Go away!
00:08Who do you think you are?
00:10If you don't want me to speak to you like that, go away!
00:13I won't be going away.
00:14No, because I'm not coming again.
00:16I will not be going away.
00:18Last year, over 146,000 kids were excluded from classrooms.
00:243,900 on a permanent basis.
00:29No, nothing's going to happen.
00:31I'm talking to him.
00:32Nothing's going to happen.
00:33I'm going to ask you now.
00:36One school in Birmingham is trying a totally different approach.
00:42Their mission is to teach disruptive and excluded kids.
00:48Chelsea, have you got at least one detail about the forest so far?
00:51If they're off task, sir, I will have them.
00:54Bring your paper and we'll have a look on the couch.
00:56Bonnie, putting up with this any more?
00:58Putting up with what?
00:59Lack of effort, chatting, distracting others.
01:01I'm not distracting no-one.
01:03We're not doing any work.
01:06They've made their kids a promise.
01:08They will get them five GCSEs.
01:11Go on, you read it out.
01:13When it rained the...
01:16Chook.
01:17Chook.
01:18At the moment, the reading age that it's giving you is that of an eight-year-old.
01:22In the build-up to the exams...
01:24Well done. All the best.
01:26Nice and mature.
01:28Good luck, Charles.
01:30You can be sick over your paper, but after you've put something on it...
01:35..we follow the staff and pupils
01:37to see if the school can deliver on that promise.
01:42They're our kids.
01:43They come through that door when they're 11 years old
01:48and this is our one chance.
01:50I don't want to waste that chance.
01:52And I'm not saying at all we get it right with everyone,
01:55but we're going to try.
01:57OK, you can begin.
02:12Seven miles from Birmingham's city centre
02:15is Bavarstock Academy.
02:17It's a large, comprehensive school with 1,000 students.
02:27In the corner of its playground,
02:29they have created a department
02:31to teach excluded and disruptive kids.
02:38Called LEAP, it's got its own set of rules,
02:42its own gate and its own head, Martin Phipps.
02:46Who didn't get to school on time this morning?
02:51Right, let's start with the first...
02:53Uh-uh. Let's start with the first excuse.
02:55Why? I don't know, there's traffic.
02:57Poor excuse. I'm on the same bus as you.
02:59You're on the same bus as him? All right, get in.
03:01Er, shoes?
03:04Uh-uh. Come here, you. Chow seat.
03:07Good morning, darling. Do you have a nice half-turn?
03:09Yeah, no, actually.
03:11Er, chow seat.
03:17Oh-ho-ho!
03:19Good morning, George.
03:21George's mum and myself had a very interesting conversation this morning.
03:24George was convinced we broke up yesterday.
03:28And his excuse was,
03:30I've worked so hard, I deserve a next day off.
03:33Go on, in you go.
03:35Hey, I want to see more of that smile, all right?
03:38Hey, and I also want to see more of the work that you did yesterday, too.
03:42Good boy.
03:44You know, there's always that one
03:46that does everything for everybody else and always gets caught.
03:49Meet George.
03:51Wants to be a part.
03:53Great personality, but just hasn't got the strength, the character to say no.
03:58I was going to say,
04:01I was in mainstream lessons,
04:04then I went from there to focus,
04:07like, into a...
04:09It was outside in a little box, like, with loads of other people.
04:14And then I moved from there to learning support.
04:18Then I was doing fine in there.
04:20But they said, next year, you're going to be moving into LEAP.
04:24So I just ended up in here in the end.
04:27Ended up in here in the end.
04:29And then I prefer it in here.
04:33George can find himself in trouble.
04:36Not of his own making.
04:38Um, he's left the building.
04:40I've got his mum coming to pick George up. Right.
04:43Cos there was some thinking involved with it.
04:46It's been bubbling for months and months and months.
04:49OK. But I thought it had gone quiet.
04:51OK, I'll look at...
04:53You go and have a jump, George.
04:56So, George gave the mad bat and a big...
04:59It's a big, stocky 11.
05:01Fortunately, I was about this close to it and it kicked on.
05:06And he just came past me, looking at me.
05:09And then he stopped and then he grabbed me
05:11and then loads of people just started circling me.
05:14LEAP staff are experienced at dealing with situations like this.
05:17You're doing all the right things, George.
05:19You're calming down, right?
05:22Obviously, if somebody smashed a glass frame over my head...
05:35Right, you sit down and chill. Thank you.
05:38Come here.
05:43So far, you've done everything right.
05:45Don't blow it now, OK?
05:48Mr Phipps, is my nan there now? Adam.
05:51Say again? Adam, please.
05:53Is my nan coming up?
05:55Hey, move on. OK?
05:57You were involved in an incident.
05:59You're not mature enough to deal with it. Move on.
06:01Do not escalate it, OK?
06:03Your nan's coming up. Why?
06:05Cos she cares.
06:07Right? So, say, Nan...
06:09Sorry to inconvenience you.
06:11It happened. I tried to get away from it.
06:14Unfortunately, I've tried to throw a bin at Mr Phipps, but...
06:17Hey. Hey-o.
06:19Did I get in fights as a child?
06:23I wish I could say no,
06:25but unfortunately, I must say yes.
06:30Far too many, I'm afraid to say.
06:32But I did move school...
06:35One, two, three, four...
06:39..five times in three years.
06:42And they used to...
06:44You new? Yes, I'm new.
06:46Can you fight? No, smack.
06:48Are you new? Yes, I'm new.
06:50Can you fight? Then I'd smack.
06:53So, the same questions.
06:55It was just a question of who ever got the first punch in.
06:59It's called survival.
07:01So I understand where some of these kids are coming from,
07:04because it's a different world,
07:06that side of the gate from this side of the gate.
07:08They're safe, this side of the gate,
07:10because we ensure it.
07:12But...
07:14..I can't control what goes on out there.
07:17Here's the biggie with you lot, guys. How many of you...
07:20George is easily distracted.
07:22In previous classrooms,
07:24he's frequently been sent home for playing up.
07:27How often do you write lots of words and lots of words
07:30without your commas, without your full stops...
07:33George was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of nine.
07:37Try and use a wide range of adjectives in your story.
07:42Go on, you read it out.
07:44Try it.
07:46You read every single word before you decide, OK?
07:49He's been in LEAP just four months.
07:52They decide to retest his reading ability.
07:56Chook. Chook.
07:58Drew.
08:00Bean.
08:02They made on the...
08:06..the ship sailed...
08:09..sailed into the safe...
08:12..safety of the...
08:14Sun. What do you think? You put what you think.
08:20Excellent. OK, you've answered all 25 questions. Well done.
08:23OK, you worked really well there.
08:25At the moment, the reading age that it's given you
08:27is that of an eight-year-old.
08:29OK, OK. But...
08:31They're still thinking, no. Trust me, loads of kids are.
08:34That's how it is. That's where we're starting out with a lot of you.
08:37OK, it's not a problem. Right, we'll get you colour.
08:39I'll get you a book. I'll get you a book. You can pick a book.
08:41OK, and I've done your copy list.
08:43And then we'll bring it over to LEAP and we'll keep it.
08:46This one. Don't be hurried, Henry. Do you want that one?
08:49Yeah, yeah, don't be hurried, Henry. Right.
08:51I'm not shocked about his reading age at all.
08:53This will be across schools across the country.
08:55You sit at the back, you don't raise too many questions,
08:58and the teacher, because of the sheer volume of kids she deals with,
09:02they can just sweep through the system.
09:04LEAP will now give George one-on-one reading sessions to help him.
09:09Right, come on. I'm going to hear one page today.
09:12Because I'm going to date it, sign it,
09:15and you are going to start your new beginning.
09:18Yeah, go on. Henry was a horrible baby.
09:22Horrid. Horrid baby. Right.
09:25George is classified as having special educational needs.
09:30Who's my little...?
09:32Plumpykins. Plumpykins.
09:35Plumpykins. Well done.
09:37Well done.
09:40Nationally, 70% of kids permanently excluded from school
09:45have special educational needs.
09:51Head of Bavistock Academy Thomas Marshall set up LEAP
09:55as he is opposed to excluding any child
09:58and denying them a chance of a mainstream education.
10:02We're not on a crusade at all.
10:04It's just about... They're our kids.
10:06They come through that door when they're 11 years old
10:10and this is our one chance.
10:15And I don't want to waste that chance.
10:18And I'm not saying at all we get it right with everyone,
10:21but we're going to try.
10:28OK, Miss?
10:32By placing the disruptive kids in LEAP,
10:35he is seeing improvements across the school.
10:39It's just nice to see the students on task and learning,
10:43and actually in the classrooms.
10:46The area of my circle is pi r squared...
10:52But he has determined the kids in LEAP
10:55still get an equal opportunity to be educated.
11:00What LEAP has allowed the school to be able to benefit from
11:04is that the student can come out of that class where they're disrupting
11:07and go into LEAP and get the support that's needed.
11:10The rest of that 29 students within that class are able to learn
11:14and the teachers are able to teach to a higher level.
11:18Across England, many excluded kids end up in pupil referral units,
11:24where less than 20% get five GCSEs.
11:32The challenge the headmaster has set LEAP
11:35is to get 100% of its kids five GCSEs at grade C.
11:40Five GCSEs at grade C.
11:46No, darling. No.
11:48Come on, please.
11:49You've got one, maybe two more periods.
11:51Can you survive for another hour?
11:5415-year-old Chelsea is LEAP's conundrum.
11:57She's bright, but can't focus.
12:00I didn't start here. I got chucked out of another school.
12:04And then I come here, but...
12:06I don't know.
12:07I just find school hard, like, very hard.
12:11I don't like school, so that probably is one of the reasons,
12:14cos I don't enjoy school.
12:16I suppose if I enjoyed it, I'd be all right, but I don't, so...
12:20I just clash with everybody.
12:23Well, teachers.
12:25No-one else.
12:27An octopus, or a...
12:30Squid, innit? Octopus is...
12:32Most of the time, Chelsea is well-behaved.
12:35But her attention can wander.
12:38Chelsea, have you got at least one detail about the forest so far?
12:41From the first paragraph, have you found a detail about the forest?
12:44A fact about the forest?
12:46If they're off task, sir, I will have them,
12:49and I'll phone home and I'll put them on study,
12:51because if they don't get it right now, we are wasting our time.
12:55Bring your paper, and we'll have a look on the couch. Come on.
12:58Why? Cos I want to.
13:00Now, the next question won't be a question, it'll be an order.
13:03Chelsea is one of 30 kids from Leap
13:05who will be sitting their GCSEs in six weeks' time.
13:09They ain't putting up with this any more.
13:11Putting up with what?
13:12Lack of effort, chatting, distracting others.
13:14How? Aren't they distracting no-one?
13:16We're not doing any work, so therefore...
13:18No, but we're not distracting anybody.
13:20Well, obviously they're distracting you, aren't they?
13:22Cos you're not doing any work.
13:24How is that my fault?
13:26So what do you want to do?
13:28I don't mind. Your choice.
13:30I don't mind. Your choice.
13:35Don't even talk to them as you go in.
13:39It's been good work this hour.
13:41Watch your mouth, or elsewise your day's going to be very short.
13:44Someone's bag got run through quickly.
13:46Someone's key, so I don't really like leaving my stuff any more.
13:49She's kicking off and being disobedient and creating issues
13:53because she does not want to engage.
13:55We have to find out why she doesn't want to engage,
13:58cos underneath all that is a very smart, able child,
14:01and I need to find out how I can reach her.
14:03The moment we can do that, we can move her forward.
14:06It's going to be fun.
14:11Before they arrive at Leap,
14:13many of the kids are out of school for several months.
14:19Across England, Ofsted estimate that 10,000 kids
14:23were missing from full-time education in 2013.
14:2915-year-old Chloe has missed ten months.
14:32On your maths book. It's a brand-new maths book.
14:35I just want to put slag all over the front cover.
14:37Right, so make it slag all over the front cover.
14:40Chloe can be disruptive in class and suffers from bullying.
14:45I was bullied quite a lot in Year 7,
14:49just the way I looked and stuff,
14:52cos I didn't fit in with everyone else.
14:56Her book is just sitting on top right now.
14:58Whether it happened this morning or not, I don't know.
15:01This isn't just your lesson, it happens in every lesson.
15:04Oh, every lesson?
15:05A girl thought that I liked someone that she was seeing.
15:10So she started loads of arguments all the time.
15:14I couldn't have Facebook or Blackberry Messenger or anything,
15:19cos she'd do stuff on there.
15:22She'd put up pictures of other people's body parts,
15:27saying that they was mine and stuff.
15:30It's ten days she's been out of school for, or nine,
15:33and to come back and find that on the board, which is a brand-new book.
15:38I don't like being hated by everybody.
15:42I just come to school so I can get a good job when I'm older
15:46and have a better life for myself.
15:49Apparently, I mean, I wasn't aware of this, was you?
15:52Each time she has a book, somebody graffitis it with the word slag.
15:56Find out who all the teachers are.
15:58Tell Sir it's his responsibility to steal that book.
16:01OK, thank you.
16:03And you think, yeah, if kids were just coming to school to be educated,
16:07it would be a good job, wouldn't it?
16:09Unfortunately, that's only part of our job these days.
16:11Just be aware, I have addressed the situation.
16:14Everybody is aware and everybody is going to be vigilant, all right?
16:18And if you get another book and somebody's written on it,
16:22I want them over in leaps, so at least I've got a catalogue of the writing.
16:26All right? OK, darling.
16:31See you tomorrow.
16:33I mean, she used to cry all the time and it used to get us all down
16:37because, obviously, you feel like you're failing as a parent.
16:41She couldn't even go out of the house.
16:43Literally, you know, to the shop and stuff
16:47because somebody would make a comment on what they'd heard at school.
16:50I went through a similar thing and left school quite early
16:53with no GCSEs or anything.
16:55And we've spoke about it, haven't we?
16:58And I said to her, you know, I don't want the same thing for you.
17:02I was homeschooling them for a while.
17:04I used to go and fetch the work from school every day
17:06and bring it home and I'd sit every day, good as gold,
17:09get all the work done, I would take it back, get another lot.
17:12And it worked quite well, didn't it, for a while?
17:15But then, obviously, it's come to a point now where I need to find work.
17:29Bavistock Academy sits in the heart
17:31of an economically deprived part of Birmingham.
17:36Nationally, kids from areas like this
17:39are far more likely to be permanently excluded.
17:43Many end up in pupil referral units,
17:46where each place costs upwards of £12,000 a year.
17:52Leap's costs are half that price.
17:58But the school's policy of inclusion is not without its challenges.
18:03Is he all right? How many mugged him?
18:06He went to the shops for his sister who's pregnant and they jumped him.
18:11On a scale of one to ten, how hurt is he?
18:16You tell him I need him in school ASAP, OK?
18:20Because I do not want this to spoil his future.
18:23I appreciate that one.
18:27Each child is given a mentor.
18:29So, make your decision. What are you going to do?
18:32Because if you're going to refuse to go back to the lesson,
18:35I'm going to have to have your mum up.
18:37OK.
18:39OK, then.
18:42The kids have personal timetables, based on what they can achieve.
18:48Because you're in such a good mood this morning,
18:50with a nice smile on your face,
18:52am I going to get two periods from you or three periods from you?
18:55Two. I've got to go out. I've got to meet my mum.
18:58I need to know to say that as well, OK?
19:00Go in then, darling. All right.
19:04I did say two, didn't I? Yeah.
19:06I'm always trying to get the extra one from you,
19:08but two I'll be happy with.
19:13Government guidelines are you provide 25 hours of teaching a week.
19:16And when Ofsted visited me the first time and the second time
19:20and the third time, it's a question that I just have to be honest about.
19:25I cannot provide 25 hours.
19:27And...
19:31..they came to the same conclusion I came to.
19:35You know, these children, these students, get up,
19:39they travel to school,
19:41they attend school for one hour, two hours or three hours,
19:45then they go home. There's a routine.
19:48These are children that wouldn't have routines.
19:50Let's look at the alternative.
19:52If they weren't in school, where would they be?
19:58Leap's main focus has been to help all their children.
20:02The main focus has been to help all their kids pass five GCSEs.
20:08But this year, the government has imposed new targets.
20:13They've made it compulsory that all children must get maths and English
20:17at minimum grade C or face resitting them until they are 18.
20:22If I've got 2x squared times 2x squared, that would be...
20:26Maths is Chelsea's weakest subject.
20:29What I could do to simplify that and have x plus 1 on the inside...
20:34What?
20:36Chelsea, put yourself in the children's room, please, darling.
20:39Put yourself in the children's room, please, darling.
20:43As I walked out the room, Mr Keyes was standing there
20:47and instantly you turned away.
20:50Now, I don't think you did any talking, but you actually turned away.
20:54What message have you given?
20:57I didn't realise that at the time.
20:59That's good, because you didn't realise, because what we're saying to you,
21:03you're not realising that you did that, OK, and you acknowledge that.
21:07Communication, the strategies between you and Sir don't exist.
21:12We've got a very easy solution, non-negotiable.
21:15For the remainder of this week, you will do period four or five...
21:20I don't want to do one tomorrow.
21:22Oh, yes, you will.
21:24...period four or five for this relationship to be rebuilt.
21:27That's non-negotiable, and I'm not having a go at it.
21:30All you have to do is do period four or five for the rest of the week.
21:33Problem solved. Thank you.
21:35Talk to Sir and Mrs Cole how it's going to be dealt with.
21:38And if not, if you go out this door and it's not resolved,
21:41then I'm going to have your parents on you.
21:44I hate the way you speak to me.
21:46In what way? What is it?
21:48It's patronising.
21:51Well, if I am patronising, I really do not mean to be.
21:55Well, if I don't get something, you point it out to everyone.
21:58Well, if we're working to one-to-one, that won't be a problem.
22:01The only thing that I don't like about you
22:04is the fact that you do disrupt persons.
22:06You don't do things that I ask you to do straight away.
22:09But as a person, and as your maths ability, as I know, is good,
22:15I know that you're capable of getting your GCSE in maths,
22:19and I like you as a person.
22:22So it was your lesson, your lesson, that I get in trouble?
22:25OK.
22:27Right, well, now you know it's not just me.
22:29So it's not just me, because if it was just me,
22:31it'd happen in English and it'd happen in leisure and tourism,
22:33it'd happen whatever lesson I was in.
22:35That's how I know it's not just me.
22:37OK. OK, you've said that.
22:39Now, that's good, because you've said how you feel, haven't you?
22:42Yeah?
22:44And he's said how he feels.
22:47And maybe that working one-to-one these next few days
22:51will overcome all that
22:53and understand each other a little bit better.
22:56I think it's a good thing. I really do.
23:00Is that all right, then?
23:04Come back, come tomorrow with that.
23:06Yeah? OK?
23:10Right, then. OK, then.
23:12OK.
23:14Case over.
23:16Any percentage that you see,
23:18you can rewrite it as that number over 100.
23:22What do we do differently here than we do in a mainstream environment?
23:25That's quite interesting.
23:27I've had non-teacher friends say,
23:29why aren't they just thrown out?
23:31If they don't value education, just get rid of them.
23:34And surely the parents must be able to control them.
23:37But it's not about control,
23:39and it's not about where they're coming from,
23:42it's about where they're going.
23:44Because of the size of the groups that we teach here,
23:47five, six, seven and eight,
23:49the kids know that we have that empathy with them,
23:51that we will support them, that we'll unpick that baggage.
23:54We will tell them that it's not their fault
23:56or how to deal with it or to focus on the GCSEs
23:59or to focus on the future and to move themselves from that situation.
24:03Because they know we care.
24:06And that's the most important thing that is about what we do.
24:10We care, we have a relationship with them and their parents
24:13and we will never throw them out.
24:15We'll always give them the tomorrow to come back and have a fresh start.
24:18Sir, why are you going to choose this way?
24:20Because it's the quickest, come on.
24:2315-year-old Andre is one of Leap's success stories.
24:27Two years ago, he was in a pupil referral unit and almost unteachable.
24:33I was just argumentative.
24:35I used to call... What did I say now?
24:37I called the teacher something.
24:39I think I had last chance and I must have called the teacher something
24:43and then they must have ripped my sharing panel forms
24:47and then they just sent me home and told me not to come back
24:51until they called and then I didn't even go back.
24:57I don't even want to get kids out of school
24:59because it's the last chance to learn.
25:01I don't want to be living on this street.
25:06I'm going to pass you a photograph.
25:08The photographs are taken in the city of Leicester.
25:11Andre is predicted to pass five GCSEs.
25:14With a range of adjectives in it.
25:16The challenge for Leap is to ensure he stays on track.
25:20Andre and Leap.
25:28I've got a quality teacher giving you a fantastic opportunity
25:33to pass your GCSE English.
25:35Why, therefore, do I have to sit there
25:38and watch you poke somebody with a pen under the table?
25:42You poke me so I poke him back? That's it?
25:45One, two, three, four...
25:48I haven't done it once. I counted four.
25:50I haven't done it once. I counted four.
25:53I only hit him once.
25:54Ah, didn't say how many times I saw you hit him.
25:57No, it's not OK, cos you...
25:59I said OK.
26:01Now, you're sitting on the couch because I can't trust you
26:04in one of the most important subjects you're going to be taught.
26:10What do you want me to do with you?
26:12You should be a model student in there.
26:15You should be walking around ten feet tall telling everybody
26:18how brilliant you are and how many exams you're going to pass.
26:21I'm disappointed in the fact you don't understand
26:23how important that subject is to you.
26:26Whenever possible, Leap will try to integrate their kids
26:30back into mainstream classes.
26:37Exclusion is turned into inclusion.
26:45Today, Andre is attending his first maths lesson
26:48at the University of London.
26:50It's a big day for him.
26:52Today, Andre is attending his first maths lesson in the main school.
26:56As long as it's different from what's there,
26:58we want to put as many as we can.
27:00There's 16 different ones.
27:01The transformation he's made over the last year is huge.
27:05He's learning, as I say to him often,
27:07he's made more progress than anybody else I've got.
27:10But his starting base was so low, it was just off the scale.
27:15If I'd had him for another year, he'd be in second set, probably.
27:22Moving Andre back into mainstream classes
27:25means he's on track to pass his GCSEs
27:28and fulfil his ambitions of becoming a fireman.
27:31What draws you to being a fireman?
27:33I don't know, just helping, just helping people.
27:37I think I can do it, so I think I'll be good at it,
27:40so I just chose to try, see if it'll work out for me.
27:4515-year-old Chloe also splits her lesson time
27:48between the main school and LEAP.
27:53Come on in, then, sweet.
27:56The school has clamped down on the bullying,
27:59but her attendance is still poor.
28:01OK, so, really, it's just a catch-up now,
28:03just to see how things are going.
28:05Your attendance is about at least 20% below the national average.
28:10I know up to now you've had chunks of time off school
28:14and you've always managed to come back and sort of catch up
28:17because you're a bright girl, you really are a bright girl,
28:20but the pace picks up in year 11 and things are going to get harder.
28:25So, if you continue to have time off,
28:28you're going to find it harder and harder to catch up.
28:31So, have you got any worries or issues
28:34outside in the classrooms at the moment?
28:36You getting any verbal bullying or hearsay bullying
28:39passed on from another person?
28:41Not face-to-face in the school.
28:43Right.
28:44No, outside of school for the past week.
28:47Yeah.
28:48It's always, for some reason,
28:50always around 11 o'clock in the night.
28:52Yeah.
28:53I'm getting phone calls.
28:55So, you either think you're going to make the decision,
28:58I want to go to the police...
29:02..or you're going to go to the police.
29:05Or you're going to make the decision, I want that number blocked.
29:08But either way, I feel you should be doing something.
29:11I can have a word with Mum if you prefer.
29:14I think being in Leap,
29:16where there's less people to communicate with
29:20and more time one-on-one with the teachers
29:23to learn subjects that you're struggling with and things,
29:27it's easier to be in Leap,
29:29where you can have one-on-one sessions with teachers.
29:33I think it's easier.
29:40Bavistock Academy works hard to protect their pupils...
29:45..but cannot always control what happens out of school.
29:50Unfortunately, we had an incident yesterday
29:52where one of our boys was jumped by a few of our other boys
29:56in the alleyway down here.
29:59Want of a better word, an ambush.
30:03Five, possibly six, someone.
30:06They've all been put out by the police to do their investigations.
30:12The young man who we've arranged taxes for
30:14to get him in and out of school for this week,
30:16unfortunately, hasn't come today.
30:18Obviously, still recovering from the punching they just had.
30:24Andre was one of the six boys from Leap
30:26involved in the attack.
30:30The school must consider excluding all the boys
30:33if they are assessed to be a threat to other pupils.
30:38I think this place now, at the moment, it's not safe, is it?
30:42No.
30:43And the effect that if we bring these kids back
30:46in any kind of manner,
30:48the effect it's going to have on years to come.
30:52But, you know, you've also got Year 9s and 8s
30:55who will know these lads, they will know what they've done
30:59and they will think it's OK to do the same.
31:03Tough call, isn't it?
31:05I know, I mean, he's just having them back,
31:08showing to them and to the rest of the group here
31:11that it really doesn't matter what you do,
31:14you can go and beat the shit out of somebody down there,
31:17pardon the language, but still come back to school.
31:22These five boys intended to hurt this kid.
31:26And if I just say, that's it, put them out,
31:32we haven't changed their views on their future,
31:37do you think that we as providers should still give these kids
31:40an opportunity to still turn it around?
31:43Even if they were in a detention centre, whatever,
31:48they would still be educated.
31:50No, I agree.
31:51And that is what we've got to look at.
31:53No matter what, they would still be expecting to have an education.
31:56And it doesn't cut well with me, it really doesn't,
31:59it goes against the grain, but also my other side of things is
32:03I'm here to educate children, they need an education.
32:07All right, they came in, we're prepared to work until 5 a couple of days
32:10and they come in 3.30 to 5 o'clock.
32:13Do an hour and a half that way.
32:15Why not?
32:17Offer it, 3.30 to 5, they're not going to come in for 5,
32:20but the offer's there, Martin, for them, isn't it?
32:22Be flexible with our time of the day, we can work until 5.
32:25Professionals.
32:26It's a fantastic option, you guys all putting yourself out for the kids.
32:33As Karen says, we're often here until 5 or near as damaged.
32:36Yeah, anyway.
32:38All right, give that one thought during the course of the day.
32:41Thank you for sharing my dilemma.
32:43That's all right.
32:45I think you agree that we can't just wash our hands of these kids.
32:49Bavistock Academy decides not to exclude the six boys.
32:54But in order to protect the victim, they are taught out-of-school hours.
33:01Do you understand why I was annoyed?
33:03Yeah.
33:04Good.
33:06You're never going to do it again?
33:08No.
33:09Good.
33:12I've done half of it.
33:14If you were still here, I'd throw you out, you know that?
33:18Yeah?
33:19Have you not done the work?
33:20No.
33:21Do you know what you've let me down?
33:23It's a hard one.
33:25I tried to do it, it's hard.
33:27So guess what you're going to be taking homework,
33:29and guess where you're going to be coming back Friday afternoon?
33:32That's your homework.
33:34All this we'll put aside, but that's your homework.
33:37Conditions are placed on Andre and the other boys.
33:41They'll have to sit their GCSEs off-site.
33:47For me, if you exclude a child,
33:50how can you ever break that cycle that they're in?
33:53And they become parents, and they know no different,
33:56that school wasn't successful for them,
33:58and that, you know, education doesn't work.
34:04The first step in breaking that cycle
34:07is identifying the children who need help and intervening early.
34:13Bavistock Academy has a dedicated team of behavioural specialists.
34:18Did we do work experience at a hairdresser's?
34:23You can't stay in school with pink hair.
34:26Helen Price is head of the team.
34:29It's very colour-pretty pink.
34:31OK, cool, right, you get yourself off down to there.
34:33Miss is waiting for you down there, you know where it is,
34:35OK, cool, all right, Jess?
34:39I have got some updates from Cheryl.
34:41Helen meets with the heads of year regularly
34:44to decide who needs to be moved to LEAP.
34:47It's better, it's much better than it was.
34:50He went through a real phase of being really quite disruptive,
34:53and putting him in focus definitely made a difference.
34:56That has improved his behaviour no end.
35:00He's got 52 negativity portals and is in focus.
35:04Helen and the team will assess a child's behaviour and welfare
35:08for many weeks before making a recommendation.
35:11Is he being supported by one of the student social workers
35:14at the moment for his attendance?
35:16I've been out to his house a few times and had visits with Judith.
35:19Right.
35:20He's on 61% attendance.
35:23He is a LEAP candidate.
35:28With the GCSE exams looming,
35:31LEAP's role within the school is more important than ever.
35:34Thank you very much.
35:35Thanks for coming down.
35:36That's OK.
35:37Right, I need your help.
35:39I've got two students in mainstream at the moment
35:42who are starting to rear their heads.
35:44I can't allow them to be influencing,
35:47upsetting the learning of the others in those groups.
35:50Have you got space for them?
35:52I'd really like them in within the week, if possible.
35:55We've got 45 in at the moment, 32 of them are year 11s.
36:00I don't know how we're going to fit them in, to be honest.
36:05Well, don't forget we've got two, possibly three students
36:10who will be going into mainstream pretty well full-time
36:14over the next week.
36:16They're already into some of their lessons.
36:18I mean, if you've got students that are getting ready
36:20to go back into mainstream,
36:22that is going to be of real benefit to them, isn't it?
36:25Because those class teachers now are starting to really focus in
36:28on those exams.
36:29You know we're going to have to take them.
36:31And we have to find the space. Let's see where we can fit them in.
36:34And if you need me to come and speak to the parents,
36:36again, you're just making it very, very clear as to why.
36:39We're not abandoning them in any way.
36:41They are going to get those grades that they're capable of getting
36:44and beyond, but actually this is the big picture for all.
36:47Thank you. Thank you.
36:53For Bavistock Academy, the pressure is now on.
36:57In a few weeks, the Year 11 pupils will be taking their first exam.
37:02To try and get the kids over the line on the government's new targets,
37:06LEAP is focusing solely on maths and English.
37:10We have got a specialist here
37:12to teach you the techniques that you need in order to pass.
37:17If you don't engage, you're not going to do well.
37:21A couple of you were this.
37:25What is the point?
37:30I cannot give you time.
37:32Something I have not got control over.
37:35You have got such a fantastic start to passing that GCSE.
37:41So when you have Mr Turner next,
37:43I want you switched on and I want you focused.
37:46And you Year 10s who think,
37:48well, I've got another year, you haven't, guys.
37:51Your time starts now.
37:53If you fail your GCSEs,
37:55you are going to go and repeat those two years again at college.
37:59With people that, let's be honest,
38:02are not the most interesting people to be with.
38:05Or start to move those grade boundaries up.
38:10E, D, C.
38:13Thank you, sir.
38:18Chelsea is being given a one-on-one maths lesson.
38:22Round this table, please.
38:27Wherever you want to sit.
38:29Right. Percentages.
38:31When we write a percentage, you've got 25% of 200.
38:36Chelsea? Yeah, Mum.
38:3825% of 200.
38:40What's 2 x 25?
38:422 x 5 is?
38:4410.
38:46Carry the 1.
38:482 x 2 is 4, plus the 1 is what?
38:51Do I really look that stupid?
38:56That's bad maths.
38:58He's saying to me, what's 2 x 0?
39:00He's asking me things and he's making me look like an idiot.
39:04He's saying, what's 2 x 0? Like I don't know.
39:07What is 2 x 0? 0.
39:09I'm not that stupid, but you're asking me dumb questions.
39:12And you say, what's 2 x 20? I've obviously got it wrong.
39:16WHISTLE BLOWS
39:18She's turning her back on me all the time.
39:21OK. I mean, so it's very difficult for me to see what she's doing.
39:25And if I've sat the other side, she turns around the other way.
39:28I tell you what, in a chair, doing her work...
39:35..partly engaging.
39:37People will take the eye and turn it back to you.
39:40Why am I here? That's not bad.
39:43But my journey...
39:46..emphasises and stresses that it's important she comes to do it tomorrow.
39:50OK.
39:52Go on, then, sir.
39:55I've got to go now. Quick chat to her now.
39:57You know what? Don't you ever say to me again, you can't do this.
40:01All right? Cos, like, this isn't just foundation maths,
40:05this is actually intermediate maths, OK?
40:07Which means that you're in the B border.
40:10You know what one of your biggest problems are?
40:12You are stubborn.
40:14Stubborn. What do you mean you're not stubborn?
40:17You are stubborn, OK?
40:19Well done. That is good.
40:21I cannot afford to let her fail.
40:23She's capable of passing it.
40:25And maybe this is...
40:28..the hurdle that she needs to overcome in order to be successful as an adult.
40:32Because if I let her fail now,
40:34she will always choose to disengage
40:38when it becomes too tough.
40:40I'm quite nervous about my exams, like...
40:45I just don't know whether I'm going to pass or I'm going to fail,
40:48and, like, opening the card and saying fail,
40:50I'll be, like, really annoyed at myself more than anything.
40:57Today is the first exam of 2014.
41:02190 children from Bavistock Academy
41:05are sitting their English GCSE exam.
41:09Amongst them are 30 kids from Leap.
41:12Well done. All the best.
41:14Mr Turner's day is going to take you well there.
41:17Nice and mature.
41:19Come on.
41:24Wait a minute. You're all mine.
41:27It's just English.
41:29Before you name out, it means you get a pass.
41:32Good luck, guys.
41:34Leap has promised their pupils five GCSEs at grade C.
41:38They need them to turn up.
41:40There's two children that haven't come in.
41:42We've got no response from phone calls that have been going on all day,
41:45so now we're just going to go and sort of knock doors
41:48and see if we can trawl the area,
41:50see if we can put them to bed.
41:52For these kids, you always go the extra mile, don't you?
41:56Because they need you to go the extra mile.
42:00Apparently, she knows she's got an exam, but she's voting with her feet,
42:04so let's see what we can do.
42:09Hello. Yeah.
42:11Come on. What's the matter?
42:13She should be in an exam now.
42:15She should be in an exam.
42:17She should be in an exam.
42:19Come on. What's the matter?
42:21She should be in an exam now.
42:23She hasn't told me about this.
42:25Told you, if you don't do this now, you've got to do it again next year.
42:28Come on, you'll be fine.
42:35Good luck.
42:37Good luck, chaps.
42:41All of you, calm down.
42:49Oh, my God, that's one of our Year 11ers from last year.
42:53He was one of the ones, I said,
42:55you'll never get a job, you know, and he's working.
42:58Quickest you can, please, guys. Coats and bags on the tables.
43:01Hand in your phones. Make sure your lanyards are securely in your bags.
43:06No, there's nobody in.
43:08I had my doubts that he would be in.
43:11It's such a shame, because he's so capable.
43:14Erm, a waste.
43:17Total waste, because if he sat that exam,
43:20he would probably come out with a C.
43:23OK, the time is now.
43:25We're going to have a look.
43:27We're going to have a look.
43:29We're going to have a look.
43:31We're going to have a look.
43:33OK, the time is now 1.15.
43:36You can begin.
43:40We have to trust, and we do trust, don't we,
43:42in terms of what our teachers do and preparing them,
43:44and we trust the students that they're ready.
43:47Once they go through that door, that's it.
43:49It's the same for every student nationally, isn't it?
43:51Yeah, it's quite interesting.
43:53Every year, we can't prepare any harder.
43:55Every year, we manage to prepare more and more and more,
43:58and the staff are knackered.
44:00They couldn't have prepared these kids any better than they are.
44:03This year, English is one of the two core subjects
44:06all kids must pass at grade C.
44:11An hour into the exam, Chelsea is having difficulties.
44:16Chelsea? Because she's done no work.
44:19She's been in there over an hour. She's doing nothing.
44:22Now she's saying, I've done no work because I need the toilets.
44:25I can't concentrate.
44:28I'll bring her out, take her to the toilet,
44:31but then we'll put her on the stage,
44:33because if the other kids here go to the toilet,
44:36they'll all want to go.
44:38And trust me...
44:40She knows the rules. We've got 190 kids in there.
44:43She can't get it right, and if we do anything with her,
44:46we're putting the wrong message out to the others.
44:49That's why I said about putting her on the stage.
44:51She doesn't deserve a second chance. I know, but...
44:54I tell you what, I know how you care.
44:56We'll have her out. She doesn't give you the right attitude,
44:59and we'll terminate her paper.
45:01OK, I shall leave that decision with you, then. OK.
45:04If she doesn't give you the right attitude, we'll terminate her paper.
45:07OK.
45:09Can you sit down for a second for us, please?
45:12We'll wait for the door. Come here.
45:15Can we go to the toilet?
45:17Can we come and sit down in the toilet, please?
45:19Let's see.
45:21Let's see.
45:25I'm going to tell you what it is, OK?
45:27I can ask Miss now for disruption in the exam hall
45:31to terminate your paper.
45:33That means you are not taking any further exams.
45:35I've been asking for how long to go to the toilet.
45:37It makes no difference.
45:39The same rules apply to the other 190 kids in there.
45:43Attitude stinks.
45:45The question is, Miss is prepared to give you another chance.
45:48All right, end it now.
45:51So, what do you want to do? I can't do it.
45:53So, what the problem is, Chelsea?
45:56Don't know. Stop fucking with me.
45:58No, it's OK.
46:00But, Chelsea, can I just say one thing, sweet, before you walk away?
46:04Let me just say this. You've got to hear what I say.
46:07The exam officer calms Chelsea down and allows her back in.
46:12So, deep breaths.
46:14Miss will tell you where to go.
46:17Oh, it's so sad.
46:19She can't read the question. She doesn't know what they're asking.
46:22She's like, I can't read it, Miss.
46:24And that's why she got so upset.
46:26And when she started turning away, she's really, really embarrassed.
46:33The exam officer recommends that Chelsea's reading ability is tested.
46:38Not once did it cross my mind that she couldn't read the paper.
46:42Not once.
46:45She was so good at masking that...
46:49..inability,
46:51that it caught me, it shocked me.
46:55We're here to find out why these kids can't engage.
46:59And we went through all our bag of tools
47:03and all the reasons why other kids have not engaged in the past,
47:06and Chelsea was the first.
47:09And we'll have to change the way we analyse our kids now,
47:12because we won't allow that to happen again.
47:17The test showed that Chelsea has a below-average reading ability
47:20and comprehension.
47:22She's allocated a reader for the remainder of her exams.
47:26You know when you said it all went blank?
47:29I understood what you meant, and I've been saying that.
47:32And you had her test, and you've now got a reader,
47:35so nothing can go blank, right?
47:38What she can't do is read the whole comprehension for you.
47:43She can read the question, or he, whoever it is, read the question.
47:47You put your hand up, right?
47:50And you bring them over and use it.
47:53Do not sit there and...
47:55Right? Do you promise me that?
47:57Yeah.
47:58No, are you clear on that?
48:00Because I can't go in with you, and Carol, mostly the exams person,
48:04can't go in with you, but we all want you to do this to help you.
48:09BELL RINGS
48:11It's maths exam day.
48:13All the best, guys.
48:15Remember, if it's just another day in your life, it's not that important.
48:19If you pass it, well done. If you don't pass it, I'll kill you.
48:24With literacy and numeracy now being prime education targets,
48:28it's another subject the government has said every pupil must pass.
48:32Come on, I was worried about you.
48:35You can be sick over your paper, but after you've put something on it,
48:38not the sick. Have you phoned Chelsea?
48:43They are concerned that Chelsea won't turn up today
48:46because maths is a subject she struggles with most.
48:49OK, if we start to call in, guys.
48:53Right, these students are going into the gym.
48:56OK, so lower gym.
48:58And just remember, if you fail, I'm sacking you, OK?
49:01Yeah, so that's as smooth as gone.
49:05Good luck, everybody.
49:08Chelsea arrives right at the last minute.
49:12Chelsea, just do the best you can, darling, all right?
49:15You've got to go to the gym...
49:17Because you've built a relationship with Miss, take the moment, Miss, will you?
49:21I am so proud of you two.
49:23I tell you what, if I can sum up teaching today,
49:27it's seeing you two in, and with a smile too.
49:31Knocked me over with a feather.
49:33What an achievement.
49:36Wow.
49:39Oh.
49:42So proud of that young lady.
49:47The 30 kids from Leap will now have to wait several weeks for their results.
49:57Next year, George will be sitting his GCSEs.
50:01Two months ago, he was found to have the reading age of an eight-year-old.
50:06Today, his progress is being put to the test.
50:09Gavin sat up with asthma when Nadia said she was going to show the kiss of life.
50:21That's definitely it.
50:23His pet snake got out, yep.
50:26Didn't see JJ skateboard and landed with a crash.
50:31Yep, that's it.
50:35Next.
50:38A hundred percent.
50:41Whoa!
50:43Wow, I never...
50:45That's really good, isn't it?
50:47Yeah.
50:48Brilliant.
50:51A hundred percent on this quiz this time.
50:54And he's got a bigger, wider book.
50:57I'm going to put a Mary's hand forward.
51:00I mean, look, he's put a hundred percent on that one now, the quiz.
51:04A hundred, he's gone from 60 to a hundred.
51:07I think so.
51:09To me, the feeling you get, you know, as a teacher or as a mentor,
51:13or as a, you know, helping them in any way,
51:16to see somebody like George pick a book up and get that out of it,
51:20what he's got out of it, to me,
51:22is better than 20 GCSEs for him at this stage,
51:25because he is...
51:27He's opening his world to other things
51:29that he would never have opened to before.
51:32Remember when I couldn't read?
51:34Yeah, and you couldn't even tell the time.
51:36No, I still can't.
51:37Can't you?
51:38No.
51:39What's the time now?
51:40Nah, I've got digital here.
51:43MUSIC PLAYS
51:46In George's case,
51:48Leap has identified an underlying cause of his behavioural issues early.
51:53But some kids can go through the majority of their school life
51:57with problems undetected.
52:00Sometimes I'd sit there and play up.
52:02Well, not play up, just mess around.
52:04Just be silly, like, chat to someone next to me,
52:07just because I wanted to.
52:09But then other times, I'd done it, yeah,
52:12just because I couldn't do the work.
52:14If they asked me to read out loud, I'd just say no,
52:17and if they keep asking and asking and asking, I'd just kick off,
52:21because I generally, like, can't read out loud.
52:24Well, I can, but I can't at the same time.
52:27And no-one had ever picked up on anything,
52:29cos normally you'd get picked, like, stuff like that,
52:31you'd get picked up in, like, primary school or something,
52:34or my other school did pick up on it.
52:37It's not simple enough just to say that, you know,
52:40they're disruptive pupils or they're naughty.
52:43It's easy to obviously give that label.
52:45It's far more than that.
52:47As you can imagine, there are issues that are going on outside the schools,
52:50there are issues in their lives, and sometimes things that,
52:53even when we get really close to them, that we don't even know about
52:56and we never learn about.
52:58If we can do something about it, and that's what LEAP does,
53:00it does something about that.
53:02It listens to them, it understands,
53:04but it doesn't give that as an excuse.
53:08And getting them back into mainstream
53:10will allow them to achieve those GCSEs of the higher standards,
53:13and that's what our aim is.
53:19Morning, young man.
53:20Whatever the results are, I'll cloud over you, OK?
53:24Today, 600,000 kids across England are collecting their GCSE results.
53:31Oh, my God, that was so good.
53:35It's judgement day for the teachers and 30 pupils of LEAP.
53:39Oh, well done!
53:42How are you doing, Lauren? That's fantastic.
53:46So, two merits, C in English, absolutely brilliant.
53:53Despite breaking down during one exam,
53:55Chelsea still managed to complete the rest of her subjects.
53:59Hey, Chelsea, look at you going. Come on.
54:03Come on.
54:05All right, I'll tell you what you got, all right?
54:08All right, ready?
54:14I can see it already.
54:16You've got four Cs, two Bs and a D.
54:21C, C, B, B, C, C and a D.
54:24F, F, E, E.
54:26Well done.
54:27Chelsea got good grades in most subjects,
54:30but failed to get the minimum C in maths and English.
54:34She will have to re-sit them next year.
54:42Hello, Andre? Yeah?
54:44Do you want to know what your results are?
54:46Yeah, yeah. All right.
54:48Andre is out of Birmingham for the summer.
54:50ICT, you got two Cs.
54:53Yeah, two Cs.
54:55Science, with me, you got two Cs.
54:58Yeah.
54:59Business studies, two Cs.
55:01Yeah.
55:02So that's six higher passes you've got, darling.
55:06All right? Yeah.
55:07Then you got an E in your English,
55:10an F in your maths...
55:12Yeah.
55:13..and you got a D in your hospitality.
55:16Just missed it.
55:17Are you pleased, darling?
55:19Yeah, I'm pleased.
55:20Good. That's good to know you're pleased.
55:23You've done really, really well.
55:25OK?
55:27I'm very, very proud of you, Andre.
55:29Well done.
55:30And tell your brother he's got something to watch now,
55:32cos you're just as good.
55:33All right, darling.
55:36See you, darling.
55:37Thank you for everything.
55:38You're welcome.
55:39You're welcome.
55:40You deserve it, Kate.
55:41All right, darling. See you.
55:43See you later.
55:44Bye.
55:45Yeah, thank you.
55:46Bless him.
55:49Well, he's made the step to go to college,
55:53which is great.
55:56He wouldn't even have been in school if it wasn't for Leap.
55:59This kid's walked away now with six...six Cs.
56:09Leap failed to meet the government's new targets
56:11on English and maths.
56:13Only 10% got both at grades A to C.
56:17But they delivered on their promise to the kids.
56:22100% got five GCSEs.
56:2560% at grade C.
56:29This is just below the national average.
56:33Those grades would not have been achieved
56:36if we'd have permanently excluded them
56:38or we'd have let them go or we'd have isolated them.
56:41And it gives them the confidence to know
56:43that they can be successful and that they can fit in society
56:46and there is a place for them
56:48and that they don't have to mask issues by misbehaving.
56:53That, actually, if they get their heads down
56:56and they learn and they listen,
56:58they can be as successful as anybody.
57:04Other schools are now looking at what Leap has achieved
57:08and some are introducing a programme
57:11and some are introducing their own inclusion departments.
57:16The challenge they all face, beyond GCSE results,
57:20is to equip their kids with essential life skills.
57:24Gavin's set up with a smile.
57:27Really, Nadia.
57:29Don't worry, Gavin.
57:32What's up?
57:34Spot called out.
57:37Why is she called Annie and not Anna?
57:42Good boy.
57:43She looks like my sister, Anna.
57:46Nadia said,
57:48so you're learning a...
57:52..vowel...
57:54..valuable lesson tonight.
57:57So you're breaking them down really well.
58:00So you can read well, right?
58:03Just practise, all right?
58:05I mean, yeah.
58:07Right, that is a skill.
58:08Once you master this skill, mate,
58:10you are going to go...
58:12..because you're going to read all your questions during exams
58:15because you're very bright, don't ever say you're not.
58:17And the only reason you didn't understand the questions
58:19is because you didn't read them properly.
58:21But now you will. Yes.
58:24So no pressure now. I want five Cs, OK?
58:27Five Cs.
58:36Coming up, what went wrong in Rotherham
58:39and who should take responsibility for the child abuse scandal
58:42amid growing calls for more resignations?