What is a PRU
The Manchester Secondary Pupil Referral Unit is a school. It is registered with the Department for Education and is subject to Ofsted inspection like any other school.
What is different about the PRU?
The PRU works with pupils who have experienced real difficulties in mainstream high schools. The staff are specially trained to teach and support young people who have found it hard to manager in mainstream for lots of different reasons. Everyone at Manchester Secondary PRU works hard to make sure that the high expectations we have for pupils and staff, can be met and that each pupils’ individual skills and talents can be developed and rewarded.
Sometimes, pupils stay for a short time during the academic year so that any barriers to their learning can be identified and overcome. For some pupils, this takes longer and may involve working with other agencies to assess and plan for longer term educational needs.
Wherever possible pupils will be returned to a mainstream school, but if they need more specialist help, we will work with parents and carers to identify the best placement available to support their child.
What is a Learning Centre?
Learning Centres are different buildings located around Manchester, where pupils work in small groups with a team of staff dedicated to giving them the best education possible.
From September 2021, our Mersey Valley and Richmond Park Learning Centres will cater for up to 70 and 40 pupils respectively from KS3 and KS4. This increase is the first step in our 2025 vision to create more specialised, bespoke centres for our learners. The increase in size allows us to deliver a broader curriculum and provide huge opportunties for bespoke interventions tailored to the needs of our learners
Our other centres are typically smaller (around 16-20 learners) and currently only house 1 key stage. Our aim is to amalgamate and further develop these centres so we can continue to improve the offer available to our learners.
What do pupils learn at Manchester Secondary PRU?
As well as the core National Curriculum subjects; English, Maths, Science and Computer Science, pupils also get the chance to experience a creative curriculum, which includes Arts, Craft, PSHE and a wide variety of sporting and off site education. This programme makes good use of the wide variety of venues the city has to offer such as, art galleries, sports venues and cultural facilities, so that pupils feel a part of their community and get to know what the city has to offer them.
All staff work hard to make sure that when pupils go into mainstream school or specialist settings, they are well prepared for the next steps in their education. They will have made good progress during their time at the PRU and will have opportunities to sit GCSE’s and prepare themselves for college or further training.
As well as an academic and social curriculum, pupils will also have opportunities to work with staff around essential life skills, such as team work, thinking, problem solving and building their own self-esteem and resilience, in order to take on all the challenges that they may be faced with in all aspects of their lives.
How will my child get to their Learning Centre?
Taxis are provided for KS3 students.
The expectation is that pupils in year 10 and year 11 will make their own way to a Learning Centre, and every effort to identify the best provision closest to your home will be made.
What kind of rules should my child expect?
Expectation that all pupils and staff will work hard to ensure that everyone rights will be respected.
As a parent/carer you have a legal responsibility to ensure your child attends school every day. The school day begins at 9.00 am and it is vital your child attends on time, as they may miss essential learning opportunities if they are late. If your child attends after 9:15 they will receive a ‘Late’ mark and if arriving after 9.30, they will received a ‘U’ mark, which is an unauthorised mark for the morning session. Arriving late can impact upon your child’s overall attendance and educational development.
Holidays are no longer authorised in term time, you’re required to apply in writing to the Head teacher if your child will be absent during the term.
If your child’s attendance falls to an unsatisfactory level, you may be prosecuted for failing to ensure your child’s regular attendance according to Section 444 Education Act 1996. Powers were introduced under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, which allows schools to request that the Local Authority issue a penalty notice for each child. A penalty notice will have to be paid within 21 days of the notice being served for the reduction of £60 to apply. Failure to pay a penalty notice may result in prosecution, leading to a fine of up to £2500 or up to 3 months imprisonment.
Year 11 students are legally required to attend school until the last Friday in June in Year 11