St Rose's Special School

St Rose’s Special School, Stratford Lawn, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 4AP

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Inspection dates 21 March to 23 March 2016

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The overall experiences and progress of children and young people Good 2

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The quality of care and support Outstanding 1

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How well children and young people are protected Good 2

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The impact and effectiveness of leaders and managers Requires improvement 3

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The residential provision is good because

 The staff team is highly trained and skilled to care for the children and young people. A large number of staff have been at the school for a significant number of years, yet their drive and enthusiasm remains high. Their knowledge of the children and young people they care for is in-depth and very detailed.

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The residential provision is good because

 The leaders, manager and governors manage the school well. The acting headteacher and acting head of care are very experienced. Together the leaders work effectively to monitor the work undertaken by staff and use this information to develop their practice and improve the quality of care. The residential provision is given a high profile at the school.

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The residential provision is good because

 Children and young people benefit from having on-site access to a range of therapists and 24-hour nursing care. As a result, their complex health care needs are well met.

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The residential provision is good because

 Children and young people love coming to the school. Parents are highly positive about the school and praise the staff team for the progress their children make. They also praise staff for the support they give to them.

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The residential provision is good because

 Staff have developed strong relationships with the children and young people and their families. Staff involve them in all aspects of the young person’s care. Inspection Report St Rose's School, 21 March 2016 Page 2 of 14

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The school does not meet the national minimum standards for residential special schools.

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 19.6 Ensure that all staff have access to support and advice for their role including regular supervision and formal annual appraisal of their performance. In particular, ensure a written record of supervision sessions are maintained

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

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 Ensure that the plans of the school show where oxygen is stored and used, and provide this information to the fire service should it be required in an emergency.

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 Ensure that records of recruitment interviews with staff contain an explanation of the scoring system used to establish candidates’ suitability.

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 Ensure that if a candidate has had previous experience of residential or care work, references are obtained from that employer.

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 Review the level of detail recorded in young people’s records to ensure that they include more information on the progress that young people make with staff support.  Inspection Report St Rose's School, 21 March 2016 Page 4 of 14

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was announced at 9 am on 21 March 2016. Inspection activities included discussions with residential pupils, parents, the head of care, the lead nurse, the headteacher, care staff, night staff, the therapeutic team, nursing staff, catering staff and a governor. Key documents and policies were reviewed. Meals were sampled with pupils, and a tour was undertaken of the residential accommodation and school facilities. Ofsted received survey responses from parents on behalf of residential pupils, and the inspector viewed entries made through Parent View.

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Inspection team

Wendy Anderson lead social care inspector Inspection Report St Rose's School, 21 March 2016 Page 5 of 14

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Information about this school

St Rose's School is a co-educational, non-maintained Roman Catholic day and residential school. It provides a service for children with physical disabilities and associated sensory, communication and learning difficulties. Some children have complex healthcare issues and 24-hour nursing support is available. Children are aged between two and 19 years. There are 18 pupils on roll in the school and, at the time of this inspection, 10 were accessing the residential provision. The school offers flexible boarding arrangements from one to four nights each week during term time. Occasional weekend care and a programme of activities in the school holidays are also provided. Residential accommodation is in one building attached to the main school. The post-19 provision, with accommodation on the school site, is inspected by the Care Quality Commission. The residential provision was last inspected in March 2015.

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Information about this school

Inspection Report St Rose's School, 21 March 2016 Page 6 of 14

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Good

Children and young people make good progress towards meeting their individual goals. They are enabled by staff to take part in a vast range of activities, which expands their social experiences and also develops their confidence and self-esteem. The activities are purposeful, as they include opportunities for children and young people to develop life skills such as cooking and shopping. In addition, staff work effectively with children and young people to assist them in developing personal self-care skills.

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Good

Leaders and managers use monitoring activities and self-assessment processes effectively to benefit children and young people. Leaders and managers’ learn from these activities to develop practice at the school which, in turn, improves the services offered to children and young people. Leaders and managers have an excellent understanding of the needs of the children and young people they care for and are steadfast in providing the best possible care.

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Good

The progress and achievements children and young people make are recorded and monitored. However, the current recording systems do not accurately reflect all of the work undertaken by the staff team to enable the young people to reach their full potential.

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Good

Children and young people’s safety and well-being are at the core of the work the staff undertake. Staff are very aware of the additional vulnerabilities of the children and young people they care for, but this does not stop the team ensuring that they have similar experiences to their peers.

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Good

The relationships between the staff and the children and young people are good quality, ensuring dignity and respect is actively fostered. Staff consult well with children and young people ensuring they can make choices in all aspects of their care. Staffs’ knowledge of the children and young people’s individual needs is very detailed, ensuring their personal needs and preferences are well met.

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Good

The residential provision is well managed. High levels of staffing ensure that children and young people’s needs are well met. The staff are well trained for their roles, and are supported by leaders and managers to develop their skills.

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Good

Parents reported that their children love coming to the school. One parent said, ‘if my child was unhappy, there is no way I would let them come to the school. Staff are fantastic.’ Another said, ‘my child goes off to school very happily and they would soon let me know if they didn’t enjoy school.’ Inspection Report St Rose's School, 21 March 2016 Page 7 of 14 Healthcare arrangements are very well managed and promote children and young people’s physical, emotional and psychological health well. They are able to access a range of therapists at the school as well as seeing external specialists in clinics held at the school.

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The quality of care and support Outstanding

Staff have an in-depth understanding of each of the children and young people they care for. As a result, children and young people’s individual needs are exceptionally well met. Staff are particularly skilled in supporting the children and young people’s individual communication needs and use aids and devices competently. Outstanding interaction was observed between the staff and children and young people. Staff respect children and young people treating them at all times with care and dignity. Throughout the inspection, staff assisted the inspector to communicate with the children and young people yet were careful not to answer for them. Staff would seek young people’s permission to share information with the inspector and ask if they need help before giving it. The tone of voice that the staff use and the time they spend in communicating with children and young people greatly enhance s the relationships they have and

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The quality of care and support Outstanding

ensures that the young people’s views are valued.

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The quality of care and support Outstanding

Children and young people benefit from a bespoke admission and induction to the school and residential provision. The length of their induction programme is determined by the young person and their family. Staff recognise that this approach helps the young person to settle and develops trust with the parents. As a result, there is a good foundation for their future work together. Parents spoken to praised the staff for this approach. Several said that placing their child in the residential provision was a very big decision, but that the staff team allayed their concerns and involved them ‘every step of the way’. Examples include parents choosing the décor of a young person’s bedroom and helping to develop young people’s individual support plans. Parents also said that the staff have not only supported their children but also supported them, for which they were very grateful. One family said, ‘nothing is too much trouble for the staff team, they

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The quality of care and support Outstanding

always go above and beyond. They are an exceptional group of people.’

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The quality of care and support Outstanding

The nursing team has developed exceptional healthcare plans, which are effectively followed to ensure that children and young people’s complex medical needs are very well met. Medication is very well managed and administered to children and young people safely. The access to on-site therapy team and health specialists greatly benefits children and young people and alleviates their anxiety of attending external clinics. Comprehensive support plans are produced that help young people to improve their fitness and mobility as well as their communication needs. The therapy team and care staff work effectively together. Inspection Report St Rose's School, 21 March 2016 Page 8 of 14 Young people make good progress to achieve their individual goals. Staff create personalised DVDs depicting video footage of the young people’s activities. These DVDs are shown at children and young people’s reviews.

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The quality of care and support Outstanding

The staff team works hard to provide children and young people with a welcoming and nurturing environment in which to thrive. Each young person’s room is highly personalised, and staff fully involve them and their family in deciding the decor.

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The quality of care and support Outstanding

Staff provide children and young people with an exceptional range of activities in school and community. Young people benefit from these activities as well as having lots of fun. A parent said, ‘my child does more at St Rose’s than I thought possible or hoped they could do.’ The staff team has a very strong ‘can do’ attitude. As a result of this approach children and young people’s confidence, self-esteem and social skills are developed.

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The quality of care and support Outstanding

Parents say that staff keep them very well informed and involved in their child’s life. They praise the staff for their commitment saying, ‘staff are brilliant, fantastic’. One parent said that when her child was about to undergo an operation, the staff supported the child very well. They took time to explain what would happen and this meant that the child did not find it so ‘scary’. Another parent said, ‘it is a shame there aren’t more places like St Rose’s, as more young people and parents could benefit’.

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How well children and young people are protected Good

Children and young people are safe and protected as staff effectively understand and implement the procedures to safeguard them. Safeguarding procedures are comprehensive and implemented effectively by staff responsible for managing child protection concerns. These senior staff ensures the rest of the team is up to date with safeguarding training, including ‘Prevent’ and child sexual exploitation. Senior staff hold regular meetings to reflect on safeguarding practice and child protection concerns that have occurred as well as reviewing the policies and staff training needs. Senior staff have developed good working relationships with external safeguarding agencies.

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How well children and young people are protected Good

Staff constructively help children and young people to develop positive behaviour. Staff understand children and young people’s needs well and as a result, they are able to identify and respond pro-actively to potential triggers to challenging behaviour. Staff do not use sanctions as they understand the children and young people’s level of need recognising that this approach would not be effective in helping them. Currently, they do not use physical intervention. Leaders and managers are looking at training for staff in physical intervention but, as yet, have not identified a system which they feel fits the children and young people they care for. Incidents are well recorded and are cross- referenced to the safeguarding records, where appropriate. Inspection Report St Rose's School, 21 March 2016 Page 9 of 14 Staff have produced a comprehensive range of risk assessments that help them to keep children and young people safe. These assessments are reviewed regularly to ensure

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How well children and young people are protected Good

that they reflect the children and young people’s current needs. Risks are managed rather than avoided as staff have a ‘can do’ approach. As a result, children and young people are kept safe, but also enabled to have a wide range of opportunities and activities that enhance their experiences.

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How well children and young people are protected Good

Fire safety is good. Children and young people have personal, very detailed emergency evacuation plans. Regular fire drills are held to ensure that staff and young people know what to do when the fire alarm sounds. The plan of the site is detailed, but does not currently show where oxygen is used and stored.

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How well children and young people are protected Good

There is a clear policy and procedure for staff to follow, should children and young people go missing from the school. Since the previous inspection there have been no such incidents.

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How well children and young people are protected Good

Safer recruitment policies are in place. Records are kept of the recruitment process for new staff, which includes notes of the candidate’s interviews. These interview notes include a score against each of the questions asked, but neither the notes nor the policy explain what the scores mean. As a result, there is no indication as to what the leaders and managers consider to be the benchmark score at which a job would be offered. In addition, references are not always sought from a candidate’s previous residential care employer unless they are their most recent employer.

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improvement

Since the previous inspection, there has been a change in the senior leadership team. The principal left in September 2015. Currently, the head of care is the acting principal and the lead nurse is the acting head of care. They are both very experienced and well qualified for their roles. They have both worked at the school for some time and together with the senior management team and governors are driving the development of the school forward.

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improvement

At this inspection, one national minimum standard has not been met. This relates to records of staff supervision being maintained. Staff interviewed say that they receive supervision from their line managers and feel well supported for their role. Currently there is only a tick sheet which is dated and signed by the supervisor and supervisee but there are no records to evidence the content of these discussions. Leaders said that they are in the process of reviewing how staff supervision is delivered. They felt that previous methods were not effective. The nurses and therapists receive regular clinical supervision from an appropriately qualified professional. Each member of staff receives Inspection Report St Rose's School, 21 March 2016 Page 10 of 14 an annual appraisal which reviews their practice over the preceding year. Information from these appraisals is used to develop the school’s training programme.

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improvement

The staff team receives good quality training to support them in their work with children and young people. Recently the team has received training on disability awareness from some of the adults in the organisation’s on-site adult provision. All training is regularly updated to ensure that staff are kept up to date with practice developments.

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improvement

The staff team is very established, experienced and skilled to care for children and young people with complex needs. The team has high expectations of itself and the young people it cares for. The staff team effectively reflect on their work and find ways to improve what they do. The staff are committed, very enthusiastic and passionate about their work.

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improvement

The school has a Catholic ethos, yet children and young people of all faiths are welcome. Staff promote tolerance and celebrate different cultures, events and festivals. Children and young people also develop an awareness of their local and wider community as a result of the charity work they do.

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improvement

Leaders, the manager and the staff team work very closely with children and young people’s parents. Parents spoken to were extremely positive about the care that their children receive and the progress that they have made.

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improvement

Effective monitoring systems are in place to ensure that a high quality of care is provided. These systems includes regular unannounced visits from school governors. These visits look at all aspects of the school and are evaluative, which helps to drive the service forward.

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improvement

The school has an appropriate policy and procedure for addressing complaints. These are also available in a ‘young person-friendly’ format. There have been no complaints since the previous inspection.

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improvement

The school’s statements of principles and practice are appropriate, and reflect current practices at the school. The only exception to this is that records of staff supervision are not maintained. Inspection Report St Rose's School, 21 March 2016 Page 11 of 14

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What inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against ‘Inspections of boarding and residential provision in schools: the inspection framework’.

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What inspection judgements mean

Outstanding A school where the experiences and progress of children and young people consistently exceeds the standard of good and results in sustained progress and achievement. The outcomes achieved by children and young people are outstanding and the impact the boarding/residential provision has had in supporting this progress and achieving these outcomes is clearly evidenced. Good A school providing effective services which exceed minimum requirements. Children and young people are protected and cared for and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. Requires improvement A school where there are no serious or widespread failures that result in children and young people's welfare not being safeguarded or promoted. However, the overall outcomes, experiences and progress of children and young people are not yet good. Inadequate A school where there are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not

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What inspection judgements mean

promoted or safeguarded or if their care and experiences are poor and they are not making progress. Inspection Report St Rose's School, 21 March 2016 Page 12 of 14

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School details

Social care unique reference number SC034383

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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 Residential special school

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Headteacher Sheila Talwar (Acting Principal)

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Date of previous boarding inspection 23 March 2015

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School details

Email address admin@stroses.org.uk Inspection Report St Rose's School, 21 March 2016 Page 13 of 14 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

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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.gov.uk/ofsted

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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, please

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School details

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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School details

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

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