Havering Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) has been rated satisfactory by Ofsted inspectors and told it must improve.

The unit, on Albert Road was told it must improve the achievement of its pupils, the quality of teaching and its leadership and management – which were all deemed satisfactory. The behaviour and safety of the pupils was rated good.

The report said there were inconsistencies in teaching across seven providers, and as a result some of the students were not doing as well as they could.

Inspectors said there is not a wide enough choice of GCSE subjects for higher attainers, some teachers do not question students enough or invite discussion; and some opportunities for writing, in subjects other than English, are not exploited enough.

As a result, some students, and especially the high flyers, are not doing as well as they could. The report added: “Because of this, the students’ literacy development is not as good as it should be.

“Students do not have a clear enough understanding of how well they are doing or how to improve their work.”

Inspectors noted that attendance overall was lower than average and some students had poor attendance which affected their learning; and the management has “too few members to be fully effective and does not have a clear enough grasp of the strengths and weaknesses in the PRU.

But despite its weaknesses the unit was praised in a number of areas and for its recently appointed headteacher, Kerry Linden, having a clear understanding of what to do to improve provision and the students’ performance.

They said the tracking of students’ achievement has been “significantly strengthened” since she arrived in September, adding, “the PRU now rigorously and accurately evaluates its own strengths and weaknesses, and strategies for improvement are in place and are beginning to be effective.”

The students said they feel safe and they behave well, and in many cases have made a substantial improvement from their previous schools.