AN EDUCATION centre for children who have been excluded from mainstream school, has been graded as “inadequate” by Ofsted.

Inspectors from the education watchdog visited Ashwood Education Centre, in Ashwood Way, Basingstoke in March.

In their subsequent report, inspectors have graded all areas of the centre – achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils and leadership and management – as “inadequate”. The centre has now been put into “special measures”.

The watchdogs reported that teaching is not good enough and there is “not enough urgency” to return students to mainstream school.

When inspectors visited, the referral unit had 65 pupils on roll, aged between five and 16. But a restructure resulted in primary provision closing in March.

The report said the headteacher resigned in May 2012 and an interim head was appointed in September last year. Graham Payne was appointed as the new headteacher and started in April 2013.

All students who attend the centre have some degree of either behavioural, emotional or social difficulties, and sometimes all three.

The report said that a high number of students do not attend regularly enough, often because the curriculum does not match their needs, or because the centre is unable to provide a full-time placement for them.

It added: “This last issue has been recently addressed but there is more work to do to ensure all students receive the education to which they are entitled.”

All students at the unit gain at least one GCSE between A* and G, but the number achieving five GCSEs between A* and C has declined.

The report mentioned the “small but increasing number of students making good progress” in courses commissioned by the unit with outside providers, including Basingstoke College of Technology.

Inspectors reported that teachers do not manage pupil behaviour well, but added that some teachers are “enthusiastic and knowledgeable” about their subject and plan lessons that engage and interest students.

The report referred to an incident in one lesson where “the use of inappropriate sexually explicit language by students went unchallenged.”

It added: “Leaders often use fixed-term exclusions to deal with both disruptive behaviour and more serious incidents including verbal abuse, threatening behaviour and physical assault.

“The centre’s records show that a large number of students have been excluded more than once. This reflects an underlying weakness in the centre’s approach to behaviour management.”

Inspectors reported that the interim head had worked hard to deal with issues arising from weak teaching and significant staff absence, adding: “There are still difficulties as a result of long-term sickness, changes in senior leaders, staff retention and recruitment.”

Mr Payne did not return The Gazette’s requests for comment.