Oaklands College

Further Education College residential provision

Inspection dates 26/01/2016 - 28/01/2016

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This inspection: Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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This college requires improvement because:

 Safeguarding policies are not effectively implemented in practice. Records are unclear and inaccurate for some incidents. This makes it difficult to ascertain what happened, actions taken and the outcome.  Monitoring has not been effective. Shortfalls at this inspection have not been previously identified with regards to safeguarding records, hazards within the residential accommodation and student activities, such as mealtimes and whether or not students are on site.

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This college has the following strengths:

 Staff know the residential students very well and provide very good individual support.  Students make exceptional progress both academically and in their chosen sport. Some students have gone on to excel in sport and to represent their country in their chosen field.  There are effective induction and transition arrangements for students. This helps them to settle into college life quickly and equip them well for their future.  The senior leadership team are responsive to identified shortfalls and are committed to improving the residential provision.

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Compliance with the national minimum standards for

residential colleges.  There are no 'initiation ceremonies' intended to cause pain, anxiety or humiliation. (NMS 2.4)  The college has, and follows, an appropriate policy on protection of students under 18 from abuse, and response to allegations or suspicions of abuse, which is consistent with Keeping Children Safe in Education 2015, and is known to staff and students. (NMS 3.1)  The college has, and follows, appropriate policies on countering and responding to under-age purchase of alcohol, excessive consumption of alcohol, substance abuse, and possession of obscene material, which are known to students and staff and are effective in practice. (NMS 6.1)  Indoor and outdoor areas used by, or accessible to, students are free from reasonably avoidable safety hazards. (NMS 42.1)

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What does the college need to do to improve further?

 Ensure monitoring activities of residential students and their accommodation is effective.  Improve the opportunities for students to access healthy meals at weekends.

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Inspection judgements

 Outcomes for students who access the residential provision are good because they make good progress academically and within their chosen sport. Subsequently, the college has a high success rate for attendance and achievement for students who are accommodated compared to their peers using the day provision.  Students enjoy the residential experience. They benefit greatly, particularly with regards to their academic and sporting achievements. Some students have gone on to excel in sport and to represent their country in their chosen field. Students are well supported to develop personally, which results in increased confidence and self-esteem. They develop good social skills and awareness of communal living and independence.  Students have the opportunity to participate in a wide range of activities. These include new experiences such as white water rafting and sky diving. They also participate in games evenings, movie nights and sports

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Inspection judgements

activities. Students have the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops around sexual health, mental health and online safety.  Students have confidence in the staff who will competently help them if they are unwell or have suffered an accident. Staff are well trained in first aid. All staff demonstrate a commitment to promoting the physical, social and emotional health of students.  Students are well prepared for further education and adult life. They are very well informed about the operation of the college and the opportunities available to them. They are clearly able to influence service development, for example, the implementation of cookery lessons and the range of activities on offer.

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Inspection judgements

 The quality of the service is good because residential students receive effective individual support from a dedicated staff team. There are effective induction and transitional arrangements. Information available for students enables them to become familiar with life at the college and settle in quickly. Parents are also aware of expectations and the support available for their child. The welcome barbeque is a good introduction to the residential provision. Students have the opportunity to meet others over a meal.

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Inspection judgements

 Staff are responsive to individual needs. They work collectively to provide good pastoral care. Students say that staff look after them well and are ‘spot on’. Staff have strong relationships with students and know them well. Relationships are built upon mutual trust, honesty and respect.

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Inspection judgements

 The college actively uses their computer system to promote and monitor the welfare of students. There are some good examples of how this works well. Staff can see pertinent information and confidentiality is suitably maintained. However, there is an inconsistency in the quality of recording.

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Inspection judgements

 Staff positively respond to concerns and there are clear plans of action to promote the learner’s well-being. This takes the form of counselling from the student advice team, external mentors and professional guidance. Staff assist with anger management, personal and family issues and advocate strongly to their placing authority (where relevant) for social work support. All students have an online health declaration, which highlights health conditions and allergies to enable staff to provide appropriate support.

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Inspection judgements

 There are good links between academic and residential staff, and sports academies, which ensures a holistic approach to the care and education of students. This enables students to maximise their potential. Students benefit from an international nutritious menu, which is culturally reflective. They can access two meals a day from the refectory during the week and cater for themselves at weekends and other times. Kitchens in residential houses are relatively well equipped. However, some students said it would be useful to have access to an oven. They said this would be more cost effective and enable them to cook healthier food.

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Inspection judgements

 Catering staff are well trained and the local council judge the main facilities to be good. The catering staff understand their duty of care and liaise closely with residential staff to promote the welfare of students. Catering staff are able to respond to dietary needs and a vegetarian alternative is always available. There is some flexibility regarding mealtimes and a packed supper is available if students are unable to make the allotted mealtime in the evening. Students raise their awareness of nutritional matters from an annual talk by a nutritionist. Their sports coaches also advise them about healthy eating.

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Inspection judgements

 The college is a diverse community which fully embraces the individuality of each learner. In particular, there is good support for students with regards to their gender, disability, sexuality and family background. Accommodation is effectively adapted to meet the diverse needs of individual students.

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Inspection judgements

 The organisation of residential provision seeks to safeguard learner’s welfare. Students are accommodated in single gender, mixed sports houses. This helps students to integrate rather than separate themselves off into specific sporting cliques. Students all have single study bedrooms within a house of two or three others. Students say that their accommodation is alright although one student remarked that it is perfect. There is a reasonable standard of accommodation. Some areas have been upgraded and there are plans to extend this further.

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Inspection judgements

 Safeguarding at this college requires improvement because their policy and statutory guidance are not consistently implemented. Records of safeguarding concerns are not consistently robust. Records are not factually accurate as assumptions are made or facts are missed out. For example, a potential serious safeguarding incident was referred to by staff making the record as a ‘prank’ before a full investigation had concluded. Furthermore, records are not always signed or dated by the author. Advice from external safeguarding agencies is not always sought and the decision-making process for this is not clearly detailed.

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Inspection judgements

 There are inconsistencies in staff responses to dealing with situations involving alcohol. This means students are not always effectively protected from potential harm.

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Inspection judgements

 'Initiation ceremonies’ have reduced considerably over time due to the introduction of suitable alternatives. However, there has been a recent incident where this may have been the root cause. The college has responded positively and quickly to all identified concerns and have already implemented changes.

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Inspection judgements

 The monitoring of student activities and their accommodation is not effective. This is because first aid boxes are not routinely checked resulting in out-of-date stock. There are poor food hygiene and storage practices with regards to the use of fridges and freezers within the student accommodation. Furthermore, potentially hazardous cleaning materials were found in the student accommodation. This potentially creates a hazardous environment. Furthermore, staff are not always aware of learner’s whereabouts. This is particularly important in the event of a fire. Mealtimes in the refectory are not effectively monitored to establish whether a learner is consistently missing meals over a period of time. The college is already looking at ways to improve these areas.

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Inspection judgements

 Students feel safe at this college and bullying is not an issue. They can identify a trusted member of staff who they can talk to about their concerns. Parents and carers are promptly made aware of any concerns and the action being taken to support students.

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Inspection judgements

 There are no issues of students going missing from college. Staff are aware of the procedures to follow should they go missing. There are no issues around students taking illegal substances. A learner said: ‘We all get drugs tested so drugs are a no no.’

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Inspection judgements

 Staff have undergone a rigorous programme of training around the risks of extremism and radicalisation. They have worked well with Channel to report any concerns they have about students and this has helped keep students safe.

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Inspection judgements

 Positive behaviour is consistently promoted. Students generally behave well. They are aware of the rules and consequences of breaking them. As a result the number of disciplinary hearings have reduced which demonstrates the behaviour of students has improved.

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Inspection judgements

 There are good vetting procedures in place to ensure unsuitable adults do not work with residential students. There are clear health and safety procedures in place although these are not always effectively implemented with regards to first aid kits, hazards and food safety within the student houses. Fire safety is taken seriously. Students who are accommodated know what to do in the event of the fire alarms sounding. The monitoring of accidents contributes to further training in identified hazardous areas to minimise risk to residential students.

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Inspection judgements

The effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Inspection judgements

 The leadership and management of the residential provision requires improvement because monitoring activities have failed to identify concerns highlighted within this inspection. However, the leadership team have been swift to respond to concerns raised and have already implemented change. This demonstrates a good capacity for further improvement. All shortfalls identified at the previous inspection have been addressed.  All staff have a good knowledge of the students they are working with, ensuring their health and welfare needs are consistently met. Staff generally provide a good quality service where the ethos is centred on meeting the individual needs and aspirations of each student who is accommodated.

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Inspection judgements

 The residential provision is a small element of this college. However, it is clear that all staff are committed to its success and ongoing development. There are clear leadership and management arrangements of the residential provision. Policies and procedures generally provide effective guidance for staff and take into account the most up-to-date statutory guidance. Some policies, including the safeguarding policy, were updated during this inspection to ensure they meet the latest statutory guidance.

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Inspection judgements

 The residential service is an important part of the college. The college has a satisfactory evaluation of its performance, which leads to the continuing improvement of the service. Improvements are well planned and benefit students who are accommodated. Staff are well trained in mandatory areas such as safeguarding, health and safety and first aid. Training helps to equip staff for their role. The residential team feel well supported by their line managers. This enables staff to reflect on practice and review their professional development. COLLEGE DETAILS

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Inspection judgements

Type of college Further education college residential provision

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in residence

Principal/CEO Zoe Hancock Date of previous inspection 14/11/2012 Website address www.oaklands.ac.uk

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Purpose and Scope of inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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Purpose and Scope of inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the inspection framework and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of accommodation in further education colleges.

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Contextual information

This college is a general Further Education College providing a wide range of education and training for adults and young people. Its operations are carried on from two sites, but its principal campus is in a village, close to a town, main railway link and motorways. The college admits some students who are aged under 18 and are studying sport on a residential basis depending on their circumstances and to facilitate its open access policy. Male and female students are accommodated separately. Their accommodation provides single bedrooms. At the time of inspection there were 51 resident students under 18 and a significant number of them contributed via informal contact during the inspection visit.

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Information about this inspection

Joanne Vyas, Chris Scully and Sharon Payne Social Care Regulatory Inspectors (SCRI), carried out the inspection with short notice. Inspectors took account of the provider's most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and the previous inspection report. Inspectors also used data on learners' achievements over the last three years to help them make judgements. Inspectors used group and individual interviews, telephone calls and online questionnaires to gather the views of learners and employers; these views are reflected throughout the report.

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Grade Judgement

Detailed grade characteristics can be viewed in the Evaluation schedule for inspection of residential provision in further education colleges 2014

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Grade Judgement

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/evaluation-schedule-for-inspection-of-residential-provision- further-education-colleges

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Grade Judgement

guidance 'Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/ofsted If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . 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, 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.

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Grade Judgement

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Grade Judgement

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Grade Judgement

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Grade Judgement

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