Mount Tamar School

Row Lane, St Budeaux, Plymouth, Devon, PL5 2EF

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Inspection dates 02/07/2013 to 03/07/2013

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Overall effectiveness Good 2

Outcomes for residential pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding 1 Residential pupils’ safety Good 2 Leadership and management of the residential provision Adequate 3

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The residential provision is good because

● Behaviour management at the residential provision is outstanding. There are respectful relationships in place between staff and residential pupils. Use of restraints and sanctions are rare. There are no incidences of residential pupils going missing from care as all conflicts are resolved quickly and sensitively by the staff team. Residential pupils are supported to remain safe at all times. ● The quality of care practice is outstanding. Staff are professional and use a firm nurturing nature that allows the residential pupils to thrive in their care. Care plans and behaviour management plans are excellent quality and fully support the progress of individual children. ● The residential provision promotes education attendance and improves the residential pupils’ behaviour at home. The provision works closely with families. All families share a very positive view of the service and the benefits it has for their children.

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The residential provision is good because

● The safety of residential pupils is given high priority and there are effective procedures for safeguarding their welfare and promoting their good health. Bullying is very well managed; residential pupils and parents feel safe using the service. ● The residential facilities are well organised and run for the benefit of the residential pupils. The care provision is always managed in the best interests of the child and includes a variety of enjoyable after school activities. ● The home fails to meet two national minimum standards relating to monitoring of the service. However, there are a number of strengths in the provision and there are no significant weaknesses which have a direct impact on outcomes for residential pupils.

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Compliance with the national minimum standards for residential special schools

The school does not meet the national minimum standards for residential special schools. The Inspection Report Mount Tamar Special School, 02/07/2013 Page 2 of 11 details are listed in the full report. Inspection Report Mount Tamar Special School, 02/07/2013 Page 3 of 11

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Information about this inspection

At 09.30 1 July the school was notified that a welfare inspection was going to take place later that day. The school was told that two inspector would attend for two days, beginning at 12.00 on 1 July.

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Information about this inspection

On 2 July two HMI attended the school unannounced to investigate a series of complaints that had been made against the service. The welfare inspectors were aware of the complaints and also aware that two HMI would be attending on 2 July. The complaints largely focused around educational issues.

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Information about this inspection

The residential provision was visited by both welfare inspectors. Inspectors spent time with the residential pupils separately during their evening activities and dinner time. Inspectors also spoke with parents and staff separately.

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Information about this inspection

Point in time surveys were not used during this inspection as there were completed before the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

There were no parent view comments for this school.

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Information about this inspection

School policies and staff vetting details were not checked during this inspection as there had been no changes since the previous inspection in November 2012. The residential provision was visited by both welfare inspectors. Inspectors spent time with the residential pupils separately during their evening activities and dinner time. Inspectors also spoke with parents and staff separately.

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Information about this inspection

Point in time surveys were not used during this inspection as there were completed before the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

There were no parent view comments for this school.

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Information about this inspection

School policies and staff vetting details were not checked during this inspection as there had been no changes since the previous inspection in November 2012.

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Inspection team

Guy Mammatt Lead social care inspector Christina Maddison Social care inspector Inspection Report Mount Tamar Special School, 02/07/2013 Page 4 of 11

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Information about this school

This residential special school is a maintained school. It provides education and care and is registered for 103 children including 24 residential pupils who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. The residential provision operates as a support for educational needs. The building is situated centrally on the school site. The residential provision is open four nights a week during term time. Pupils attend from one to four nights according to need. A highly structured routine is offered. A variety of on and off site activities are available. The last inspection was carried out on 5 November 2012.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

● ensure that the Statement of Purpose is up to date with the current arrangements for the use of the residential provision building and the Head of Care's dual management role ● ensure that leaders and managers consistently monitor the use of sanctions in the residential provision and evaluate their effectiveness.  The school must meet the following national minimum standards for residential special schools. ● The governing body, trustees, partnership, or organisation responsible for carrying on the school arrange for one of their number, or a representative who does not work at, or directly manage, the school, to visit the school once every half term and complete a written report on the conduct of the school. Where the school has an individual proprietor, that person may carry out such visits personally if they are not also the Headteacher (or school equivalent). (NMS 20.1) ● Most monitoring visits are carried out unannounced. They include: checks on the

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

school's records of attendance, complaints, sanctions, use of physical interventions, risk assessments, and where they exist, individual care plans for children; assessment of the physical condition of the building, furniture and equipment of the school; and opportunities for any child or member of staff who wishes to meet the visitor (in private if they wish). (NMS 20.2) Inspection Report Mount Tamar Special School, 02/07/2013 Page 5 of 11

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Outcomes for residential pupils Outstanding

Outcomes for residential pupils are outstanding. Residential pupils demonstrate excellent behaviour while at the provision. This is a significant difference in their behaviour from their time in school and sometimes at home.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Outstanding

Residential pupils have a strong affiliation to the residential provision. They enjoy being part of it and feel safe in the environment. Residential pupils state that they would love to attend more than two days per week and some wish it was open during the holidays.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Outstanding

Residential pupils with behavioural, emotional or social difficulties make outstanding progress and improvements to their behaviour. This is often transplanted back into their family home and helps with their family circumstances.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Outstanding

Residential pupils are respectful to one another at the service and have excellent opportunities to develop positive friendships. They learn to respect the staff and their environment; and adhere to the good parenting rules that are implemented by the care team. As a result of this residential pupils display excellent manners while attending the provision and receive lots of praise and reward.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Outstanding

Residential pupils thoroughly enjoy attending the provision and take every opportunity to participate in new and fun activities that are available to them. They take part in a range physically active games and pursuits that promotes their physical health and emotional well- being;for example; swimming, gym exercises, cricket and football.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Outstanding

Residential pupils have access to good nourishing food while they stay. A variety of food is on offer to ensure all diets and tastes are accommodated for. Residential pupils display appropriate conduct during their mealtime. They show excellent etiquette and respect for one another. The meal times at the provision are a positive learning social experience for the residential pupils that they respond to well. Residential pupils are well prepared for their next stage of life and some have made a successful transition into employment or training. All residential pupils benefit from their time at the hostel. The residential provision plays an important role in supporting the residential pupils accessing their education; which enables them to gain valuable experiences and qualifications.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

The quality of care is outstanding. There are excellent pastoral arrangements to support residential pupils. Staff set consistent boundaries and expectations. This provides residential pupils with a clear framework within which to learn to take responsibility for their own progress and control of their own behaviour.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

There are effective links between academic and care staff. This promotes the achievement and attendance of residential pupils at the school. A specialised unit for high end pupils is now in place to cater for all learning styles. This is an excellent example of the service working together to adapt its range of educational settings offered to the pupils. Pastoral staff also support in the education unit to ensure that the residential pupils receive a high level of support.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

Residential pupils benefit from the educational activities on offer throughout the school. Their attendance at the residential provision thoroughly promotes their attendance at school.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

The induction process for new residential pupils is extremely sensitive and well-designed. New Inspection Report Mount Tamar Special School, 02/07/2013 Page 6 of 11 residential pupils are made to feel comfortable and are encouraged to remain in touch with their family as often as they like during their transition period.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

Residential pupils are encouraged to participate in an extensive range of leisure pursuits and extra-circular activities. In some case these opportunities also contribute to their academic achievements through a specifically tailored unit award schemes. Staff have realistic expectations for the residential pupils. They frequently encourage them to have fun and play appropriate to their age. This promotes their confidence and encourages their development in social situations.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

Staff facilitate excellent evaluative reflection by the residential pupils. Staff have high standards and model good parenting skills. Residential pupils are encouraged to discuss their behaviour and performance throughout the day. This aids their personal growth and gives them an opportunity to negotiate in a calm respectful manner. Residential pupils strive to achieve during their stay and show a desire to want to do well for their care team that supports them.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

Staff place the well-being of individual residential pupils at the centre of their practice and always ensure that their achievements are celebrated. A stable staff team is in place that has a strong relationship with all the residential pupils. Staff are proactive and imaginative in finding ways to support new and existing residential pupils. This helps them make excellent progress in every aspect of their lives.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

Comprehensive placement plans are in place that provide all the information staff need to provide an excellent quality of care. Residential pupils are involved in the planning and review of their care. Their individual needs are carefully assessed and achievable targets are set. Placement plans have an excellent level of detail in them and ensure that equality issues for the residential pupils are covered; for example, their religious persuasion and sexual orientation. The placement plans are rigorously implemented and are highly beneficial to enable residential pupils to achieve outstanding outcomes.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

There are robust procedures for the management of medication. Measures for first aid are sound and there are excellent arrangements in place for when residential pupils are sick. Parents are very satisfied that they are always included in any health issue while their child is attending the provision.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

Residential provision accommodation is satisfactory. Improvements have been made to the furnishings since the last inspection and the management recognises that continued spending is required to improve the standards further. Residential pupils feel comfortable in their surroundings and stay in accommodation that is well-resourced and suitably maintained.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

Parents and families demonstrate a very high opinion of the provision and the staff team. They state that the service in ‘invaluable’ and ‘it is a fantastic school’. The residential provision is an area of excellence in the school as a whole. Pastoral practice is now being disseminated across the school to aid the behaviour management of the pupils across the whole setting.

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Residential pupils’ safety Good

Arrangements for residential pupils’ safety are good with some outstanding elements. There are robust procedures in place for child protection and the recruitment and vetting of staff. The leadership of the service has effective communication links with the local authority safeguarding department and manages allegations against professionals correctly to protect children.

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Residential pupils’ safety Good

New senior leaders within the school have made developments within the last academic year to strengthen the provisions safeguarding procedures. Clear lines of reporting are now in place and all concerns are appropriately monitored by a group of designated safeguarding individuals. This Inspection Report Mount Tamar Special School, 02/07/2013 Page 7 of 11 means residential pupils are protected by strong safeguarding procedures.

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Residential pupils’ safety Good

Staff are proactive and alert to possible welfare concerns and have effective communication systems in place to report any causes for concern they identify. All staff are fully trained in child protection procedures and advocate for the residential pupils’ well-being and safety at all times.

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Residential pupils’ safety Good

Outstanding behaviour management techniques are employed by staff. Positive and proactive management strategies are applied which are supported by detailed behaviour management plans. Consequently the behaviour of residentail pupils during their stay is very good. They will regualarly enjoy a positive experience at the hostel which supports any difficulties they may encounter and re-enforces good behaviour.

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Residential pupils’ safety Good

The care staff manage conflict and heighten situations successfully without the need for physical intervention. The use of restraint and sanctions are very rare. Some sanctions that are used have not been monitored. As a result of this the management has not reviewed all the sanctions to ensure that they are fair and only used effectively to promote positive behaviour.

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Residential pupils’ safety Good

There is a mutual respect present between staff and residential pupils. This enables staff to deal with situations efficiently as the residential pupils respond positively to their style of communication and engagement.

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Residential pupils’ safety Good

There is a clear and robust system in place for counter bullying. Parents state that incidents of bullying have decreased since the new head teacher was appointed. Residential pupils are able to share their views on bullying and other complaints they may have. All issues raised by the residential pupils receive a prompt resolution and are discussed at regular staff meetings. This ensures that all the team are aware of any problems that require monitoring and they are able to put good protective factors in place for the best interest of the residential pupils.

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Residential pupils’ safety Good

All the physical and environmental checks are in place to ensure residential pupils live a safe environment. Fire evacuations safeguards have been updated and routinely practised to ensure all residential pupils are familiar with the procedure. The school provides a secure and safe residential environment for young people. There are no incidents of children going missing from home during their stay at the provision.

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Residential pupils’ safety Good

Care plans clearly identify the protective factors for individual residential pupils. They include innovative strategies to manage the risks presented by residential pupils. This promotes the residential pupils safety; as they enjoy attending the provision and will almost always get a good night’s sleep without any major incidents in the evening.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Adequate

The leadership and management of the residential provision are adequate. There has been many changes in the leadership and management of the service over the past year. The changes have largely had a positive impact on the provision for the residential pupils. However, as there are many individuals that are new to their role and the leadership team is currently under resourced a small number of discrepancies have been made. Otherwise the provision is still run to a very high standard with excellent care practice.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Adequate

The provision has failed to comply with two national minimum standards. The monitoring by the independent visitor does not take place within the required timescale and does not include the necessary checks on attendance, complaints, sanctions, use of physical intervention, risk assessment and care plans for residential pupils. Therefore the provision has not made good use of the independent visitor’s reports to improve the provision and outcomes for residential pupils. Inspection Report Mount Tamar Special School, 02/07/2013 Page 8 of 11 Otherwise there is good management of the residential pupils. The stated aims of the provision are well understood by the staff team and effectively implemented. However, the Statement of Purpose does not state the full use of the residential provision building and does not include the head of care’s dual role with regards to the alternative education centre that is adjoined to the

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Adequate

hostel. Therefore it does provide an up to date picture of the service provided.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Adequate

Residential pupils are well supported and cared for. At this point in time the failure of the provision not to comply with the national minimum standards does not have a detrimental effect on their welfare or residential experience.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Adequate

There is a good staffing level in place to look after the children that are in the residential provision. The staff team go above and beyond their duties and extend a support service to families when children are experiencing difficulties at home. Staff will regularly support children in their family home and provide accommodation at the residential provision at short notice. This provides a valuable resource to the families and maintains the children safety throughout difficult situations.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Adequate

Residential staff are well supported and receive a good level of training and supervision. This ensures they are guided to fulfil their role properly and keep up to date with the needs of residential pupils.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Adequate

Records are stored securely and completed accurately to ensure that they contribute to an understanding of each child’s life and personal circumstances. The provision has up-to-date policies and procedures in place. These are implemented effectively by staff to ensure a consistent safe working practice.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Adequate

There is an excellent relationship with parents and families. Their views are regularly sought and used in the self–evaluation process by the setting. Parents feel very much involved in their child’s care and education. They receive plentiful opportunity to visit the provision to meet other parents and designated advisors from the school. As a result parents are very well supported and included.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Adequate

The residential provision is an important part of the school. It has successfully met the areas for improvement made at the last inspection. The provision has clearly adapted the hostel building to ensure that is it only used exclusively for those children that are designated to it. It has also decorated the bathroom facilities for the use of residential pupils.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Adequate

The residential provision is a valuable resource for all that use it. It contributes greatly to the residential pupils’ attendance at school and has a positive effect on improving their outcomes in all areas. Inspection Report Mount Tamar Special School, 02/07/2013 Page 9 of 11

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding A school which provides an exceptional quality of care and significantly exceeds minimum requirements. Grade 2 Good A school which provides a high quality of care that exceeds minimum requirements. Grade 3 Adequate A school which meets minimum requirements but needs to improve the quality of care it provides. Grade 4 Inadequate A school where minimum requirements are not met and the quality of care has serious weaknesses. Inspection Report Mount Tamar Special School, 02/07/2013 Page 10 of 11

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School details

Unique reference number 113649 Social care unique reference number SC038087 DfE registration number 879/7067

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School details

This inspection was carried out under the Children Act 1989, as amended by the Care Standards Act 2000, having regard to the national minimum standards for residential special schools.

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Age range of boarders

Headteacher Mr Brett Storry Date of previous boarding inspection 05/11/2012 Telephone number 01752 365128 Email address mount.tamar.school@plymouth.gov.uk Inspection Report Mount Tamar Special School, 02/07/2013 Page 11 of 11 guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Age range of boarders

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Age range of boarders

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Age range of boarders

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille,

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Age range of boarders

please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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Age range of boarders

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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