Hailey Hall School

Hailey Hall School, Hailey Lane, HERTFORD, SG13 7PB

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Inspection dates 10/12/2013 to 12/12/2013

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Overall effectiveness Good 2

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

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The residential provision is good because

● Boarders’ experience of residential care has a positive impact on their quality of life. They are able to better manage their difficulties, make new friends and participate in activities that would otherwise not be available to them. ● Excellent attention is paid to the safety and protection of boarders. Policies and procedures to keep boarders safe are comprehensive and consistently applied by all staff. Boarders know that staff take all matters of safeguarding seriously and as a consequence, feel extremely safe in the school and boarding environment. ● Good working relationships exist between school and boarding staff; knowing that staff work effectively together to address and meet the daily needs of boarders offers boarders consistency and security. ● Staff have good knowledge and understanding of boarder’s backgrounds, their needs and abilities. This supports the planning and successful delivery of individualised care to

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The residential provision is good because

them. ● The leadership and management of boarding provision is highly effective. Boarding provision is very well organised, providing a calm and stable environment to boarders. Staff are very motivated and committed to the boarders which ensures their experience of boarding is positive.

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Compliance with the national minimum standards for residential special schools

The school meets the national minimum standards for residential special schools Inspection Report Hailey Hall School, 10/12/2013 Page 2 of 10

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Information about this inspection

The inspection of the residential provision, covering one boarding house, commenced following delayed notification to the school. The inspection activities included meetings with the head teacher head of boarding, the designated senior person, assistant head of school responsible for behaviour management, the catering team, the site manager, school administrator and head of HR. Telephone discussions with parents and tours of the premises, activities with boarders, participation in meal times and residential routines formed part of the inspection. Documents, policies, records, monitoring reports and quality assurance information was scrutinised; insufficient surveys were received from Parent View and there were no survey submissions from parents or pupils.

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Inspection team

Tola Akinde-Hummel Lead social care inspector Inspection Report Hailey Hall School, 10/12/2013 Page 3 of 10

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Information about this school

Hailey Hall School is a residential and day special school for boys aged 11 to 17 with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The school is situated in a residential area on the outskirts of Hoddesdon. The school is operated by Hertfordshire Education Authority. All young people who attend the school have a statement of special educational needs and a small number are looked after by the local authority. The residential facilities can accommodate a maximum of 20 boarders. At the time of the inspection ten young people were boarding. Young people board between Monday and Friday in term time.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

● redecorate the sleeping area in the south dormitory. Inspection Report Hailey Hall School, 10/12/2013 Page 4 of 10

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Outcomes for residential pupils Good

The outcomes for boarders in this school are good. Boarders grow in confidence as a result of their stay in the residential setting. They are polite and respectful and feel part of the boarding community. They understand the expectation placed on them to behave responsibly and they work hard to achieve this. This gives them a sense of self- discipline and control. One boarder said, 'We all look out for each other here.'

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Outcomes for residential pupils Good

Boarders pursue their own interests as well as participate in activities as a group. They develop team work and leadership skills as a result of the opportunities they have during their stay.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Good

Boarders show empathy and generosity towards others because of the many positive influences the school and boarding staff have on them. They participate in a variety of community initiatives such as being hosts for older people living in the community, delivering gifts to residential settings at Christmas and supporting children's charities.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Good

Boarders appreciate how the school has helped them to positively change their behaviour and make progress in their lives. One pupil said, 'I used to get angry a lot before, but I don't do that anymore.' Even though there is a sense of camaraderie, there is also a healthy sense of competition to be ‘boarder of the week’, and win house competitions. Boarders work towards their goals and enjoy a sense of achievement when they reach these.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Good

Parents are positive about the school. One parent said, 'When my son first started he was very introvert, he would lash out, he had no self-confidence. They have taught him to be more considerate of others. I now have a much better relationship with him.' Another said, 'He has really calmed down. He does not need help with anger management anymore; they have done a fantastic job.'

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Outcomes for residential pupils Good

All boarders develop independence skills, regardless of their age and stage of development. They increase their range of skills as they progress through boarding, and they readily take-on additional responsibilities. This means they are prepared for later life, for example with skills such as cleaning, organising themselves and group living.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Good

During the inspection, all the boarders spoken to say they enjoy boarding. They enjoy the variety of activities they have had such as pool, bike repair and bush craft. Boarders recognise that they are in a privileged position and make good use of the resources that would otherwise not be available to them.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Good

Boarders make a successful transition to adulthood. The majority of pupils tracked in the last three years have gone on to further education or employment. They have high aspirations for their future supported by staff within the school that motivate and believe in them.

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Quality of residential provision and care Good

The quality of the residential provision and care is good. Boarders receive full information about the boarding environment prior to entering. Boarders can ease their way into boarding through accessing extended day provision, providing an opportunity to develop a sense of the routines and support on offer.

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Quality of residential provision and care Good

Staff communicate openly with parents and carers in order to ensure they fully understand how to support boarders. They produce good care plans which are individualised and identify boarder’s needs and targets. External professionals from health and social care work in Inspection Report Hailey Hall School, 10/12/2013 Page 5 of 10 partnership with staff to make sure the boarding environment is suitable and that no one is excluded from the boarding experience. One parent said, 'Boarding is brilliant, they have opportunities that would never be given to them in mainstream school.'

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Quality of residential provision and care Good

Staff have good communication skills that allow them to establish a relationship with boarders and work towards the goals identified in their care plans. They provide consistent levels of care which help boarders settle into routines and manage the shared environment. This is underpinned by very effective support from school staff that know boarders well. They work together to offer activities such as swimming, bowling, football and quasar. Boarders are expected to participate in at least one physical exercise during the evening. Consequently, boarders improve their fitness. One boarder said, 'We help the boys who are not so good at sport, we make sure everyone is included.'

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Quality of residential provision and care Good

Boarders are fully consulted about all aspects of their boarding experience on a daily basis. Their views are recorded and acted upon and form part of the school’s overall ‘student voice’ consultation. Where wishes and feelings do not result in a change in their favour, clear written reasons are given for the decision. The boarding accommodation is small and boarders would benefit from more space. However, this does not affect boarder’s overall positive experience. This issue is well known to the school and external factors have so far made this difficult to resolve.. Dormitory space is personalised by boarders, giving them a sense of comfort. One dormitory is in need of minor redecoration to help brighten the environment for boarders. Boarders have access to the sports hall and the large well-tended grounds that can safely be explored throughout the year.

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Quality of residential provision and care Good

The medical care of boarders is extremely well organised. All care staff have valid first aid and medication training in order to safely address boarder’s health needs. Medical consent forms received by parents are regularly updated. Storage and administration practice has been amended and strengthened in consultation with the designated senior person and the headteacher; this minimises the risk of medication errors and promotes boarder’s safety.

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

Boarder’s safety is outstanding. The school’s arrangements for safeguarding are excellent. Annual training, robust policies and procedures and regular communication are central to maintaining awareness and taking appropriate action. Posters are displayed around the school and the boarding area with pictures of designated members of staff so staff and students are reminded of key people they can report concerns to. Boarders express that they are confident that the school takes all aspects of their safety seriously.

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

The designated senior person has a sophisticated system in place for recording, monitoring and tracking safeguarding matters. These are appropriately escalated and shared with external professionals, sometimes resulting in strategy and professional’s meetings. As a result of detailed records, regular training sessions for parents and carers have been established to provide information and learning on a variety of topics such as the teenage brain, assertive parenting and e-safety. A school counsellor has also been employed to offer support to students. Feedback from the parent sessions is positive; one parent said, 'I have been to nearly all the parenting sessions, I learn a lot about my son at the school.' The success of the engagement with parents has prompted attention from other agencies working with young people both inside and outside the county. The school now receives requests to share their knowledge and expertise.

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

The school follows safe recruitment procedures and ensures that all staff are properly employed to work in the school. This helps to reduce the opportunity for unsuitable people to gain access to boarders and students. To further protect boarders, visitors are required to read and sign a Inspection Report Hailey Hall School, 10/12/2013 Page 6 of 10 statement on safeguarding upon entering the school outlining their responsibilities to act appropriately and report any breaches to school staff.

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

Staff manage behaviour extremely well. Anti-social behaviour within boarding is managed swiftly, often using de-escalation and individual or group discussions with boarders. Restorative justice enables boarders to reflect on their behaviour and make progress. These approaches are consistently applied and reduce the likelihood of bullying becoming endemic in boarding. Sanctions include early bed times, loss of an activity and reports to parents, which boarders consider fair.

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

The school promotes positive behaviour through a number of means, such as the twice-daily visual updates of progress and rewards. The assistant headteacher makes good use of monitoring and analysis to tailor support for individuals. Monitoring reports show that a range of actions taken by the school has resulted a significant reduction in challenging behaviour, bullying, racist and homophobic incidents. Boarders and students take more responsibility for managing their behaviour by understanding the consequences of their behaviour and making good decisions. The school has adopted a revised approach to managing behaviour based on new research and practice. Physical intervention is not routinely used , but behaviour is managed using a talk down approach prior to any physical intervention Boarders said, ‘They do not like to hold you here, Only if you are a danger to yourself, others or the building. It rarely happens in boarding.’

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

The school and boarding environment is well maintained, physically safe and secure. Managers ensure that health and safety checks take place regularly, with comprehensive records of checks, such as fire drills and emergency lighting tests. Staff ensure that pupils are aware of safety issues and areas that are out of bounds to them, such as staff accommodation. All building work is properly supervised to maintain high safety standards for students and boarders alike.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Outstanding

The leadership and management of the boarding provision are outstanding. The provision is led by a focused forward thinking, well organised head of boarding. Behaviour and routines demonstrate that the care team translate the aims for boarding into everyday practice, giving boarders a positive experience, filled with opportunities for personal development. Staff interaction with pupils is warm and intuitive. Boarding staff say that they love their job and have excellent relationships within the care team and the school staff group.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Outstanding

Boarding and school staff meet and greet the students every morning at the school gates. This gives boarding staff an opportunity to assess boarder’s appearance and mood and address any concerns. Care staff provide breakfast for any student; this approach allows students to start their day positively, feeling supported and cared for and ready to learn.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Outstanding

Daily communication between care and school staff alerts relevant staff to particular and potential issues relating to the boarders.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Outstanding

The head of boarding knows the strengths and the areas of development for boarding; regular team, supervision and appraisal meetings help to address these. Mandatory and specialist training is provided. In the new year, the care team will commence leadership and management training; this will provide staff with additional knowledge and boarders with increasingly competent staff to care for them.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Outstanding

The head of boarding is pivotal in finding creative solutions to support boarders. As part of the senior leadership team, the head of boarding analyses data to evaluate individual interventions and assess if there is a need to increase boarding, provide specific support, including one-to-one Inspection Report Hailey Hall School, 10/12/2013 Page 7 of 10 assistance, or explore more resilience training. This means that boarders are always well supported and can continue to make the best of their education and social environment.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Outstanding

The head of boarding has introduced parent’s evenings to allow parents and carers to discuss any aspect of boarding with care staff. This has been successful, allowing parents an insight into the operation of boarding and to meet the care team. As a result of this success, there are plans to arrange additional events for parents. Comments from parents include, 'The break and independence for my son allows me to cope more effectively with challenging times.' Another said, 'Boarding is like a family unit, I like the respect staff have for my son.'

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Outstanding

Excellent records about all aspects of boarding reflect boarder’s starting points and their journey and development through the school and boarding. Statistics kept by the school show that boarders achieve good academic results and manage their behaviour better as a result of the additional consistency, boundaries and social interaction they receive in boarding.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Outstanding

Areas for improvement raised at the previous inspection have all been addressed. Boarders now have a more comprehensive independent living plan, and the school keeps better records of their views about boarding.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Outstanding

Highly productive relationships exist between the senior leadership team and the board of governors in order to take a holistic approach to boarding and education. Governor’s visit and report regularly on the quality of the provision. With the headteacher and head of boarding, they visit other provisions, share good practice and adapt any ideas to promote improvement for boarders. This is a two-way process with good practice from the school shared elsewhere, for example the way data is used to enhance pastoral care. Boarding is always discussed as part of governors’ meetings as this is considered an important part of what the school has to offer. Inspection Report Hailey Hall School, 10/12/2013 Page 8 of 10

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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 Hailey Hall School, 10/12/2013 Page 9 of 10

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School details

Unique reference number 117673 Social care unique reference number SC056397 DfE registration number 919/7014

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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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School details

Type of school Maintained residential special school Number of boarders on roll 20 Gender of boarders Boys Age range of boarders 11 to 17 Headteacher Mrs Heather Boardman Date of previous boarding inspection 19/03/2013 Telephone number 01992 465208 Email address admin@haileyhall.herts.sch.uk Inspection Report Hailey Hall School, 10/12/2013 Page 10 of 10 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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School details

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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School details

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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School details

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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School details

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School details

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

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