A Doncaster centre for expelled school children could be shut down after a damning Ofsted report said it was ‘inadequate in all areas’.

The Springboard Centre, a Pupil Referral Unit, provides education for 14-16 year olds who have been thrown out of schools due to their bad behaviour.

The centre operates a split site, one in Hexthorpe and the other in Wheatley.

It received the lowest Ofsted marks in every area apart from the safety and care of their students where they were deemed as satisfactory.

The Ofsted report said students’ achievement was poor and teachers were failing to motivate them. It also blamed the school for not meeting the student' needs.

It said morale amongst staff was low and that the centre did now show any sign of improving in the near future.

The report said: “Attendance remains very low and declining with over 40% of students absent every day; this has a negative impact on students’ progress.

“On two occasions during the inspection, no students were present in lessons the inspectors planned to observe.”

Ofsted offered parents the chance to complete a questionnaire about the centre but they received no replies.

A council cabinet will meet on Wednesday and recommend that the centre is shut down next year following consultation with staff and parents.

Chris Pratt author of the council report and Director of Children and Young People’s Services, said redundancies are inevitable if they go ahead and close the centre.

Mr. Pratt said the centre’s closure would be a challenging process.

“Closing Springboard will be a challenge as there are 76 students at the Centre, many of whom have little or no experience of mainstream secondary education.

“At the same time there are excluded pupils at Key Stage 3 (currently at Gateway and Nexus PRUs) who previously would have automatically transferred to Springboard.”

He also said pupils are subjected to a poor learning environment due to the dilapidated state of the buildings.

Emergency plans, such as hiring an Executive Headteacher and providing advisors to help improve behaviour, will be introduced to avoid forced closure from the Department of Education.

It will cost £40,000 to implement the plans which will be funded from the existing budget.

The Cabinet report said no more students will be admitted to the centre, with the last set of pupils leaving next year. 

Students who would have joined the centre this year and next will instead be placed in mainstream schools and receive one on one help.

A copy of the agenda can be seen here.

The Ofsted report can be seen here.