The Grange Therapeutic School

The Grange Therapeutic School, 15-17 Somerby Road, Knossington, OAKHAM, Leicestershire, LE15 8LY

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Inspection dates 27/01/2015 to 29/01/2015

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding 1

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

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The residential provision is outstanding because

● This school has been judged as outstanding in all areas. There have been no failures of national minimum standards. One recommendation has been made which will enable the residential provision to improve further. This relates to the development plan for the residential provision. ● The school has a strong ethos and underpinning philosophy which ensures residential pupils are in a supportive and nurturing environment within which they are valued and safe. Residential pupils develop strong relationships with staff. They thoroughly enjoy the residential experience. A parent said when responding to a survey for the school, ‘Everything you are doing is fantastic!’ ● Care, education, and therapy staff work closely together and with parents/carers and external professionals to provide an holistic, cohesive and consistent approach which ensures substantial progress and achievement for residential pupils. ● Safeguarding children is at the heart of this school. Residential pupils feel safe and are

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The residential provision is outstanding because

safe. They say staff help them to feel safe by implementing fair and consistent rules and boundaries. ● The residential provision is an integral part of the school. The senior leadership team are committed to continually improving the service to ensure a high quality provision for residential pupils.

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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 The Grange Therapeutic School, 27/01/2015 Page 2 of 10

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was announced on the morning of the start of the inspection. The inspector visited both residential houses, spoke to residential students and staff, including key staff with responsibility for the residential provision. The inspector also observed practice in the residential provision and scrutinised school policies and records. The inspector was unable to gather information from Parent View as not enough had been completed to be viewed. However, the inspector did speak to some parents on the phone.

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Inspection team

Joanne Vyas Lead social care inspector Inspection Report The Grange Therapeutic School, 27/01/2015 Page 3 of 10

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Information about this school

The Grange is a residential special school for boys with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The residential provision has two houses, one for younger pupils and one for older pupils. Currently there are 14 residential pupils accommodated in the school. The school is located in a rural village close to the towns of Oakham and Melton and within easy reach of Peterborough and Leicester.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

● ensure the written development plan includes timescales, the person with allocated responsibility and the success criteria. Inspection Report The Grange Therapeutic School, 27/01/2015 Page 4 of 10

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Outcomes for residential pupils Outstanding

Outcomes for residential pupils at this school are outstanding. The residential pupils make exceptional progress in this school especially with regards to their confidence, maturity, personal hygiene, independence skills and behaviour. These skills are transferred back into their home. A parent said, ‘My son seems very happy at The Grange and I have noticed a very significant change in his behaviour at home compared to when he first started.’ Another parent said, ‘I’m really pleased with the progress he’s made. He has really grown up and found his feet.’

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Outcomes for residential pupils Outstanding

Residential pupils feel valued and respected. They benefit from strong relationships with staff and generally get on well with each other. They say what they like best about staying in residence are their friends and the staff. They are polite and generally well behaved.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Outstanding

Residential pupils thoroughly enjoy their residential experience. They particularly like the varied activities available, such as swimming, trips to the local skate park and playing on games consoles in their houses.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Outstanding

Residential pupils benefit from good health. They have a good understanding of making healthy choices with regards to food, although they will sometimes prefer to choose something less healthy. They regularly take part in physical exercise and enjoy this, helping them to stay fit and healthy. Furthermore, young people access the school’s therapy team which supports their emotional health and communication needs.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Outstanding

Residential pupils make a significant contribution to the boarding community. They actively choose meals and activities. They have been involved in the transition planning from The Spinney to The Manor and are fully aware of the plans for The Spinney. The residential pupils for each house also review house budgets with staff and make decisions about how this money is spent. This helps residential pupils not only to learn about managing money but also about compromise, team working and leadership. They also regularly talk about how to keep themselves and others safe.

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Outcomes for residential pupils Outstanding

Residential pupils grow and develop their independence skills. They carry out household tasks such as cleaning, cooking and shopping. They successfully manage independent travel and attend college courses where appropriate. They further benefit from staff guidance about future careers. Residential students in their last year in residence provide excellent role models for younger pupils.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

The quality of residential provision and care is outstanding. Staff have consistently high aspirations for pupils. Residential pupils benefit from experienced and caring staff who are knowledgeable and highly skilled in delivering individual support. A residential pupil said with regards to his view of the school, ‘Awesome. I was very very homesick but now feel better, and it has given me more confidence.’

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

Staff provide a cohesive package of care, education and therapy for residential pupils. Residential pupils benefit from a high quality of provision which ensures the personal, social and academic development of the child is central to all practice. There are highly effective links between residential, therapy and academic staff ensuring pupils are provided with a seamless holistic package. Parents appreciate the strong relationships they have with care staff and care staff regularly get in contact with them, at least weekly, to talk about the progress their children are making. Inspection Report The Grange Therapeutic School, 27/01/2015 Page 5 of 10 Residential pupils say they enjoy their meals. They are provided with a wide variety of food and are encouraged to try new foods, thereby promoting a healthier diet. Staff and residential pupils eat together at small dining tables, enabling them to enjoy sociable and relaxed meals.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

Residential pupils are encouraged to get involved with the preparation and cooking of meals. Specialist diets are catered for and alternatives are offered if required.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

Residential pupils have good access to a team of in-house therapists who are appropriately qualified and receive regular clinical supervision and training to ensure they are up to date with their practice. The therapy team includes a psychotherapist, a psychologist, a speech and language therapist and an expressive arts therapist. This means that pupils who require these services are assessed and provided with a programme of therapy quicker than mainstream children. Furthermore, therapists form part of an inclusive team, together with care and education, to ensure that there is a carefully planned and implemented holistic approach to support the health and wellbeing of pupils.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

Medication is managed safely ensuring residential pupils are given medication as has been prescribed. The management of controlled medication is good. All medication is stored securely.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

Residential pupils benefit from an excellent range of activities on site and in the local and wider community. Residential pupils enjoy the activities on offer such as football, cinema, cycling and fishing, to mention just a few. Activities provide excellent opportunities for pupils to develop their social and emotional skills as well as their leadership and team working skills. Furthermore, activities can be community-based such as the scouts and swimming. This provides opportunities for residential pupils to meet up with their mainstream peers, helping them to develop socially acceptable behaviour.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

Robust risk management systems in place ensure activities are carried out with minimal risk to pupils. Risk management enables pupils to take reasonable risks as part of their growth and development. Appropriate safety precautions are taken and pupils are able to learn valuable skills which will help them in the future.

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

The residential accommodation is split over two houses, one of which is temporary housing, The Manor, while substantial improvements are made to another, The Spinney. The Manor is within the school grounds and has been recently refurbished to a high standard. The accommodation is homely and comfortable. Most bedrooms are single and highly personalised. One boy, who shares, said he would prefer not to share but was happy to wait until he moved back to The Spinney where he said he would have a single room. The other residential accommodation, The Hayne, is in the nearby town centre of Oakham. This property is large and in need of some refurbishment. However, the school has plans in place to address the maintenance and refurbishment issues in the very near future. Most bedrooms at The Hayne have more than one bed in them but are currently single occupancy. Bedrooms are highly personalised. The residential pupils of both houses say they like their residential accommodation. A parent said,

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Quality of residential provision and care Outstanding

‘The house is lovely, clean and friendly and the best place for my son to be to help him have better future prospects.’

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

Residential pupils’ safety is at the heart of this school and therefore outstanding. Staff have a comprehensive knowledge of the school’s safeguarding and child protection procedures. The designated safeguarding lead is highly trained and has a broad and in-depth knowledge of all safeguarding concerns affecting residential pupils. She manages these effectively ensuring the appropriate services are involved where necessary. Furthermore, other key staff are also trained as designated safeguarding leads, and act as deputies, so there is always someone available to Inspection Report The Grange Therapeutic School, 27/01/2015 Page 6 of 10 staff should they have any concerns about children in the school.

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

The residential pupils all agreed that they feel safe at this school. One went as far as to say that he feels ‘very very safe’. They say that it’s the staff that help them to feel safe along with the very fair rules and boundaries. A parent said, ‘It’s a relief knowing he’s being looked after well with good boundaries which is improving his behaviour at home at the weekends.’

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

Residential pupils regularly discuss safety with staff in a number of different forums, for example, the school council have recently looked at how to make the school a safer place and suggestions were passed onto the senior leadership team to consider. Furthermore, residential pupils discuss safety within their personal support worker sessions. These highlight the pupil’s strengths and areas they still need to work on. Residential pupils are open and honest within these sessions as they have trusting relationships with staff. The work carried out by staff with residential pupils regarding keeping themselves safe means that residential pupils have a good insight into how to keep themselves and others safe.

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

The high staffing ratio means pupils feel safe and secure. Residential pupils confirm that bullying is not an issue. Any concerns around bullying are immediately addressed by staff. Residential pupils do not go missing from this school. On occasion, residential pupils run off from staff but do not leave the school grounds. Staff either know where they are or find them very quickly.

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

The attention to partnership working across care, education and therapy ensures a robust safeguarding approach and is a strength of the school. Residential pupils have trusting relationships with staff which means they will discuss any concerns they have with staff. Staff know and understand the pupils very well which allows them to be proactive in their safeguarding strategies. They also build strong relationships with parents, which helps to keep pupils safe because they know about any issues within the home. Staff also work closely with external professionals and carers for those children who are looked after by the local authority.

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

Staff celebrate achievement and reward good behaviour. Behaviour that challenges is managed competently, calmly and safely. Residential pupils begin to understand and develop socially acceptable behaviour. Strong routines, boundaries and structure ensure residential pupils know what is expected and enables them to grow and develop into secure, healthy and happy adults. Staff receive training in physical intervention but rarely use it in the residential provision. The training focuses on de-escalation techniques which help to prevent the need for carrying out restraints. When restraints are used, it is for the right reasons and done in the right way.

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

Residential pupils know how to evacuate the residential buildings in the event of a fire. There are good fire safety procedures in place. The school also has robust health and safety procedures to ensure the safety of pupils.

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Residential pupils’ safety Outstanding

There are effective procedures in place for the safe recruitment of staff which ensures the safety of pupils. Furthermore, all visitors are asked to show identification and sign in and out of the school.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Outstanding

The leadership and management of the residential provision is outstanding. At the previous inspection the school was asked to ensure medication procedures were safe and secure. The school acted very quickly and implemented new procedures to ensure medication is securely stored and safely administered. The school was also asked to ensure recreational areas for residential pupils are safe. Staff regularly check the grounds to ensure they are safe for pupils to use. This also means that the school now effectively implements its health and safety policy. Risk assessments are now dated and signed by the author. Inspection Report The Grange Therapeutic School, 27/01/2015 Page 7 of 10 The residential provision is an integral part of the school which has clear aims that are translated into practice. Staff are passionate and committed to providing a high quality service for the benefit of residential pupils ensuring their health, wellbeing and educational achievement. The

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Outstanding

head of care is qualified and experienced. She supports a competent, highly motivated and committed care team who are also appropriately qualified and experienced. The care team are well supported with regular staff supervision, training and annual appraisals. This means that staff are provided with opportunities to reflect and improve practice ensuring a high standard of care is provided to residential pupils.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Outstanding

Parents and residential pupils report that they know how to complain and who to complain to. Residential pupils discuss concerns and complaints within their personal support worker sessions and clearly state who they can talk to if they have a concern. Complaints are quickly and satisfactorily resolved. Parents provide feedback to the school after each annual review and comments are very positive.

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Leadership and management of the residential provision Outstanding

The senior leadership team has a strong commitment to improving practice and ensuring the quality of the service provided. They have a clear vision for the future of the residential provision. There is insightful and challenging self-evaluation. The development plan is also insightful and challenging. However, the written plan should include clear timescales, the person responsible for the task and the success criteria. Nevertheless, the school has strong monitoring systems in place such as regular meetings between key members of staff and regular monitoring of records by the senior leadership team. Therefore, the school continually strives to drive up standards to provide a high quality service for residential pupils. Inspection Report The Grange Therapeutic School, 27/01/2015 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 The Grange Therapeutic School, 27/01/2015 Page 9 of 10

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School details

Unique reference number 120330 Social care unique reference number SC001831 DfE registration number 855/6010

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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 Non-affiliated independent Number of boarders on roll 14 Gender of boarders Boys Age range of boarders 7 to 17 Headteacher Mr Tom Kempin Date of previous boarding inspection 19/06/2013 Telephone number 01664454 264 Email address office@knossington.rutland.sch.uk Inspection Report The Grange Therapeutic School, 27/01/2015 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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