Heath School is a secondary Pupil Referral Unit which has seen a huge turnaround since it came under new leadership in 2022. Having been rated as ‘Inadequate’ in an Ofsted inspection that same year, it has since received an ‘Good’’ judgement with outstanding features awarded in June 2024. The Difference recently visited Heath School to learn more about their practices around building children’s feelings of belonging and encouraging engagement in their school experience. Colleagues from the Department for Education joined us at Heath School to gather examples and evidence of this practice to inform the guidance being published as part of the new Pupil Engagement Framework, due to be released in summer 2026.

Anthony O’Brien, an alumnus of The Difference Leadership Programme joined Heath in September 2022 as assistant headteacher, after 12 years in mainstream schools. He had implemented a shift in how his department approached planning and delivery to centre practice on compassion: who is the learner?; what do they know? He had seen the impact of teachers giving up on young people and how empowered these young people felt when they could see themselves making progress with teachers who invested time in learning who they were and what they needed. He had attended the IncludEd conference in January 2023 and being in a room full of compassion-focussed educators prompted him to apply for the Difference Leadership Programme. Since then, he has been promoted to Deputy Headteacher and with Headteacher Alex Wilson, is embarking on an exciting new project designing an outreach programme for mainstream schools across the borough of Camden.

Walking through the corridors of Heath School with Anthony, we find a range of classrooms designed to engage students in vocational studies, for example a hair and beauty training classroom, complete with hair washing facilities and price lists, a music studio complete with soundproof recording booth, and a music teaching room with a beautiful piano donated by a former student. As we turn a corner we are met by staff who are thrilled to greet a Year 8 child who has made it into school today despite really struggling with her attendance over the last few weeks. They tell her loudly and clearly that they’re proud of her as she walks past to her next lesson, the smile on her face says it all, she’s proud of this small win – a small win that goes on to be a big win as she makes it through the whole day. Some corridor interactions we witness are more challenging than others but staff listen and work with students to repair relationships through restorative conversations and a firm belief in holding unconditional positive regard for the children that they work with. 

We’ve been granted free access to anywhere we want to go in the school and are invited to speak with all students, there are no hidden spaces here and no students tucked away out of sight – Anthony and the team are immensely proud of the work that they do and it is evident in the way in which students talk about their school. One student mentions that here he can voice concerns about what’s going on at home that could be a barrier to his learning. He does not hesitate to point out the staff member who listens to him while we chat over lunch. It is these simple interactions which form the foundation of trusted adult relationships at Heath School. Many students who attend the school harbour significant distrust of professionals due to traumatic past experiences, and often have parents who also have been through similar cycles themselves.

Last year, with their biggest Year 11 cohort ever, there was 100% attendance at exams and every student got a grade in all of their GCSE subjects. For Anthony’s reintegration project that he completed while on the Difference Leadership Programme, twelve students successfully reintegrated back into mainstream settings. The year before there had only been 4 students who successfully returned to a mainstream setting and prior to that there had only ever been 1 reintegrated student. This increase doesn’t come easy, it is the result of the hard work of a team of people who come together to provide the best possible support for young people who have found themselves in a difficult position. Despite the progress made, both Anthony and Alex are well aware that there is much more work to be done. 

“We’re not perfect, no school can be – this is a journey. It’s brilliant when you can get to a point when you know something is working well, but we will always reflect and do our best for our students and look to improve and shift as our cohort’s needs do.” says Anthony.

Anthony and Alex also emphasise that student-centred personal development opportunities, the embedding of inclusive practices, and simply meeting students where they are, have been fundamental to this journey.

Throughout the day, several students mentioned the fact that they were all entitled to take part in frequent school trips, known as Active Learning to experience new and exciting opportunities such as getting ice skating lessons, rock climbing, going to experience fine dining, trips to places of historical significance and much much more. All these trips are used to provide students with the opportunity to display the school’s character virtues (humility, self regulation, kindness, resilience and self discipline) in settings a little less structured than the school.

Back in the school building however, students’ agency and engagement are actively solicited by teachers. This is clearly evidenced by student’s input into their English curriculum. Student voice on their preferences mean their teachers are able to tailor classes towards their interests. Whether miscarriages of justice, Native American mythology or travel blogging, lesson content is adapted each week to reflect students’ preferences. The result is that students access a more diverse and inclusive curriculum, engaging with cultures and histories from around the world. All voices are heard and reflected in their learning and this results in a greater level of engagement from students.

Students describe the difference they had experienced in their education since arriving at the school. Every student speaks incredibly highly of how staff at Heath School interact with them, and there is a clear sense that staff prioritise children’s wellbeing as a foundation for learning success.

Inclusion and academic achievement go hand-in-hand. At Heath School there is a real sense that they recognise this link, and work hard with students, parents and the local community to address it. By ensuring the students feel safe, welcomed and listened to in school, the school is improving their happiness while also helping to equip them to succeed in exams and future life opportunities. This is particularly impressive given the complex circumstances students that arrive at Heath School often face.