Powys County Council has been criticised by Estyn over the management of its two specialised education centres which inspectors say do not have a "clear strategic vision”.

The Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) in Newtown and Brecon deal with children a range of social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties who have either been permanently excluded from schools in Powys, or who are at risk of exclusion.

Powys County Council was criticised for the lack of strategy which has resulted with PRU leaders "unclear of their roles and contribution within the local authority to support pupils accessing education other than at school”.

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However, inspectors praised the efforts of staff and found that across the two sites at The Old College in Newtown and Brecon' Silver Street “pupils develop their social skills and a range of valuable communication skills successfully".

“They work well alongside their peers, support each other’s learning and enjoy each other’s company," the report added.

“Pupils are polite and courteous and nearly all pupils show respect for their classmates. They are not overly distracted when their peers struggle to control their emotions and behaviour.

“Over their time at the PRU, most pupils develop strong and trusting relationships with the staff team. This supports them to know who to turn to for support and guidance.

“Pupils are treated fairly and with respect. Pupils are safe at the PRU and say that they are free from bullying and verbal and physical harm.

“Over time, most pupils learn to understand and regulate their emotions. As a result, the behaviour of nearly all pupils across both sites is exemplary.”

(Image: NQ)

However concerns were raised with the differences between the two sites. Inspectors found that “stability in the Brecon site senior leadership team contributes positively to improvement planning processes.

At the Newtown site, there has been considerable change to the senior leadership team for a significant period of time. This negatively impacts the ability of leaders to effectively plan for improvement and establish processes and systems at this site.

“Despite the instability in leadership, nearly all staff at the Newtown site demonstrate resilience and a high commitment to pupils.”

At both sites they found “the strategic tracking and purposeful analysis of data is underdeveloped. This impacts leaders’ ability to make robust decisions when identifying areas for improvement.

“Performance management for PRU staff has not been consistently undertaken for a number of years. This has limited opportunities for staff to engage in professional dialogue with leaders and to agree relevant targets for staff to support achieving improvement priorities.”

A spokesperson for Powys County Council said: “We full recognise Estyn’s description of the Pupil Referral Unit and their recommendations. Although Estyn have identified positives at the Pupil Referral Unit, there are areas that need to be strengthened.

“Work has begun on drawing up an action plan and officers within the council’s Education Service are working at pace to address the recommendations to secure the necessary improvements to ensure pupils have the best education possible whilst at the Pupil Referral Unit.”