Shapwick School

Station Road, Shapwick, Somerset, TA7 9NJ

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Inspection dates 28/09/15 and 29/09/15 to 14/10/15

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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 Good 2 How well children and young people are protected Good 2 The impact and effectiveness of leaders and managers Good 2

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Summary of key findings

The residential provision is good because

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Summary of key findings

 Children and young people make good academic progress at the school. A large number move on to further education or higher education and some undertake an apprenticeship. They enjoy their experience in the residential provision and speak well of the residential staff and of the care, support and guidance they receive.  Positive behaviour is promoted and children and the young people behave well. There is mutual respect and they are considerate and respectful of each other’s cultures.

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Summary of key findings

 The school has a comprehensive policy for safeguarding. Children and young people say that they feel safe. The residential staff team has a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and protocols.  The residential accommodation is safe, and thorough checks are undertaken of the schools utility services, fire safety is promoted. Accommodation areas provide children and young people with a homely, well-maintained and decorated environment, furnished to a good standard.  Healthcare plans identify the specific needs of the children and young people who live in the school and how their needs are to be met. They are well looked after and confirm that they can seek help and support at night if need be.  The children and young people enjoy a wide variety of social, leisure and recreational facilities. They have a choice in the activities that they wish to pursue, and say that they thoroughly enjoy these.

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Summary of key findings

 In order to improve further, the school needs to ensure that there are robust audit trails of the stock of all medicines and that placement plans and health care plans are clearly signed and dated. A review of the admissions process needs to be undertaken and managers need to ensure that all residential staff have regular supervision, annual appraisal and further training opportunities. In addition, there needs to be a review of the arrangements in one accommodation area to promote a separation from ‘school life’ and ‘home life’.

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Summary of key findings

Compliance with the national minimum standards for residential special schools The school meets the national minimum standards for residential special schools

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Summary of key findings

What does the school need to do to improve further?

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Summary of key findings

 review the arrangements for one identified accommodation area to promote a separation from 'school life’ and 'home life'

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Summary of key findings

 review the arrangements to ensure a robust audit trail for all stock levels of prescribed medicines and other remedies

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Summary of key findings

 ensure that all placement plans and healthcare plans are clearly signed and dated

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Summary of key findings

 review the schools processes to further strengthen the gathering of information about each child’s health and care needs prior to their admission

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Summary of key findings

 give consideration to provide residential staff with specific training in child sexual exploitation and mental health awareness

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Summary of key findings

 ensure all members of the staff team receive regular formal supervision, and an annual appraisal. Inspection Report Shapwick School, Page 2 of 12

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Information about this inspection

The school was contacted on the morning of the inspection and the inspectors arrived at the school at 11:30am. The inspectors visited all the residential provisions, observed staff interaction, and arranged group meetings with children and young people and with the residential staff. They also met with the headteacher, the head of care and the person responsible for the management of medicines. In addition, the inspectors scrutinised a variety of records, documents and policies and procedures.

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Inspection team

David Kidner Lead social care inspector Nicola Lownds Social care inspector Inspection Report Shapwick School, Page 3 of 12

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Information about this school

Shapwick School is registered with the Department for Education and with the Council for the Registration of Schools Teaching Dyslexic pupils (CReSTeD) under the 'special provision' category. It is inspected by both Ofsted and CReSTeD. The school specialises in supporting pupils whose education has been adversely affected by dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia. The school does not accept pupils whose primary need is emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this school

There are four residential accommodation areas spread across three sites. A mixed gender house for the preparatory school and three single gender houses for the senior school and sixth form residential students. The school currently has 107 students on the school roll, of which 68 are residential students. Inspection Report Shapwick School, Page 4 of 12

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Inspection Judgements

The overall experiences and progress of children and young people Good

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Inspection Judgements

Children and young people make good academic progress and learn new life skills. This ranges from some learning to make a simple snack or doing their laundry, to others using public transport and accessing the wider community more independently. One young person said ‘the school is good for me, I am getting better grades than I was’.

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Inspection Judgements

They enjoy their time in the residential provision and feel supported and listened to. They make good friendships, show consideration for others, and show respect to those from different cultures and backgrounds.

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Inspection Judgements

The children and young people behave well. They develop good friendships and get on well with each other. They enjoy their time in the residential provision and furnish their bedrooms with personal items and family photographs.

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Inspection Judgements

There are good arrangements for safeguarding. The children and young people know how to keep themselves safe and can identify staff and peers who they could speak to if they needed advice and support.

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Inspection Judgements

The residential provision is well led and managed, and adequately staffed. The children and young people receive good healthcare support and say that they feel well looked after.

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Inspection Judgements

They use the school’s student council meetings to have their say about their school and residential life. They are confident to request things that will make a difference to their experiences, such as more play equipment, activities at weekends and camping trips.

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Inspection Judgements

The school has comprehensive admissions processes and ensures that assessments of prospective children and young people’s needs are obtained prior to their arrival.

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Inspection Judgements

The senior leadership team take robust action if they have any concerns about the health and welfare of children and young people following their admission. They work closely with healthcare professionals and families to address and resolve these concerns. This demonstrates the school’s desire to ensure that all the children and young people settle in well, and that their needs are identified and addressed. The head teacher said that a review of the schools questionnaires in respect of health care needs, would further enhance their processes. Inspection Report Shapwick School, Page 5 of 12 Children and young people received good pastoral care and individualised support. Placement plans reflect their individual needs and these are supported by risk assessments that clearly identify any known risks and provide guidance for residential staff to follow. However, not all placement plans are signed and dated to confirm the

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Inspection Judgements

authenticity of the plan. The newly appointed head of care acknowledges this needs to be addressed and has included an audit of placement plans in the school’s residential provision improvement plan.

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Inspection Judgements

Healthcare plans clearly identify the specific needs of children and young people. This is a significant improvement since the last full welfare inspection. In addition, all children and young people who were spoken to say that they feel well looked after and are able to describe what they would do if they wanted help during the night. There is robust monitoring of accidents and injuries. The health and safety manager undertakes a monthly evaluation and analysis. These findings are shared at regular health and safety meetings and action taken if needed.

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Inspection Judgements

The school accommodates children and young people from various countries with different cultural and religious beliefs. Two young people said ‘there is no bullying or racial tension, we all get on well, and everyone’s culture and heritage is respected’.

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Inspection Judgements

Generally there are good arrangements for the management of medicines. However, the school does not always ensure that records of stock levels are maintained for all prescribed and homely remedies. The school took action at the time of the inspection to rectify this.

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Inspection Judgements

Since the previous full welfare inspection the school has taken robust action to improve the quality of the residential accommodation. Significant improvements have been made and most of the accommodation is homely in appearance and decorated and maintained to a good standard. All of the young people spoken with said that they are happy with their bedrooms, they are able to personalise them and bring in items from home, such as cuddly toys and photos. Toilet, bathing and shower facilities are well presented, clean and promote privacy and dignity.

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Inspection Judgements

The residential accommodation is arranged in four distinct areas. Two of these areas are located a number of miles from the main school site. Due to the location of one of the accommodation areas, the children and young people who live there do not benefit from a distinct separation of life at school, and life in the residential provision. This is a historical issue and a resolution to this problem is further hindered by the fabric and age of the building.

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Inspection Judgements

In addition, this one accommodation offers limited resources in developing the skills of independence of those who live there, such as the use of the kitchen to learn to cook. This is a disparity, as those who live in the other buildings are able to learn the skills that will help them in later life, as the other accommodation provides kitchen facilities and laundry facilities. The head teacher acknowledges this and has an action plan to improve this facility to the level of the others, although it is not clear when this will commence.

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Inspection Judgements

Children and young people enjoy staying in the residential provision. They are happy and feel well cared for. One young person said ‘it’s homely here and staff are friendly’, one Inspection Report Shapwick School, Page 6 of 12 said ‘I like living here, it’s good’. Another young person said ‘I get the best of both worlds as I’m a weekly border so get to go home at weekends’.

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Inspection Judgements

The school provides good facilities for the children and young people to keep in touch with their families, as there is a separate telephone available in all residential accommodation areas for this purpose.

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Inspection Judgements

The children and young people benefit from a wide variety of social, leisure and recreational facilities. These include: ‘Great Burtle Bake Off’, bingo, shopping, jazz, dance, yoga, meditation, martial arts, horse riding, cinema and football. One young person said ‘I go to cadets, I love it’. Other children and young people are very enthusiastic about the activities that are provided.

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Inspection Judgements

They receive a varied, healthy, good quality and nutritious food. All meals are taken in the school’s main dining room. They speak highly of the quality of food that is provided. One young person said ‘the food is loads better; we got to say what we liked on the new menu’. Another young person said ‘the food is much better, it’s hot now’. Fresh fruit, snacks and refreshments are readily available in the accommodation areas.

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Inspection Judgements

How well children and young people are protected Good

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Inspection Judgements

The school has a clear safeguarding policy which is being embedded into daily practice by the head teacher. Residential staff all have a good awareness and understanding of safeguarding procedures and protocols and are confident that any matters raised are addressed. The head teacher acts quickly on any safeguarding concerns that are raised and reports appropriately to the Local Area Designated Officer (LADO) or local authority social care. This contributes to young people feeling safe and listened to when they report concerns. All young people said that they feel safe.

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Inspection Judgements

Where leaders and managers have undertaken internal investigations following consultation with the LADO, they follow the school’s disciplinary policies, procedures and protocols.

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Inspection Judgements

A local safeguarding children’s board member said ‘the head teacher has a good grasp of what good safeguarding practice should look like and the motivation and commitment to put this in place’.

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Inspection Judgements

Not only do the children and young people know which members of staff, to speak to about any concerns that they may have, but the accommodation areas provide them with contact details of independent people they can contact if they so wish.

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Inspection Judgements

The children and young people do not go missing from the school. It is rare if they go absent from the residential accommodation without permission; if they do, the residential staff take robust action to ensure that their safety and welfare is protected. There have not been any concerns raised in respect of child sexual exploitation.

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Inspection Judgements

Positive behaviour is promoted effectively, so that children and young people behave well. The children and young people do not raise bullying as a concern. One young Inspection Report Shapwick School, Page 7 of 12 person said ‘if I feel I am being bullied I know that if I tell my tutor it will be sorted out’. Another commented that they are confident staff ‘would do something about it’. The school deploys bullying ambassadors and one young person said ‘we have anti-bullying ambassadors and that’s good’. One young person who is an ambassador said ‘I am a bullying ambassador, so if someone is being bullied and does not want to tell their parents or a teacher they tell me, it works well’.

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Inspection Judgements

The school provides a secure and safe environment. There are robust and effective systems in place to monitor and promote health and safety. Comprehensive risk assessments are completed for each accommodation area in order to identify any likely risks, and how these are to be managed. Regular checks are undertaken of the school’s utilities and portable appliance testing is carried out in order to promote safety.

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Inspection Judgements

Fire safety is promoted well. There is regular servicing of the fire system and firefighting equipment. The children and young people clearly understand and are confident in what to do if the fire alarms go off. They are able to demonstrate the action that they would take if this happened.

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Inspection Judgements

The impact and effectiveness of leaders and managers Good

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Inspection Judgements

Since the previous full welfare inspection there have been two monitoring visits undertaken at the school by Ofsted. These visits focused on the weaknesses that were identified in the education provision and in the residential special schools national minimum standards. The previous monitoring visit took place on 30 June 2015 and at the time of the visit the school met all The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 and associated requirements, and the national minimum standards for residential provision.

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Inspection Judgements

In addition, since the last monitoring visit the interim head has now been confirmed into post and a new head of care has been appointed.

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Inspection Judgements

The residential provision is well led and managed. Residential staff all refer to a ‘culture change’ and one staff member said ‘We are now listened to, young people are now listened to, and I am amazed at how things have changed’. Another staff member said ‘We feel more involved now’. Children and young people speak well of the head of care, one young person said ‘He’s great, he talks about football’. Another young person said ‘He’s going to take us fishing’.

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Inspection Judgements

The head of care is a member of the senior leadership team, and the residential provision is seen as an integral part of the school. Since his appointment, he has developed an action plan to further improve services. These include reviewing the risk assessment process, developing and promoting independence programmes and reviewing staff deployment.

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Inspection Judgements

The senior leadership team has a good awareness of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The improvement plan identifies areas for improvement and reflects on recent achievements. There are regular visits by an independent visitor and strong internal evaluation procedures, with regular and effective monitoring. Inspection Report Shapwick School, Page 8 of 12 Not all of the residential staff team receive regular formal supervision, or an annual appraisal. This shortfall has been identified by the head of care and forms part of the school’s improvement plan. They do, however, receive regular training opportunities and the required mandatory training. In addition, they also receive training in specific learning disabilities, epilepsy awareness and medication. However, they have not yet had training in areas such as mental health awareness or training in child sexual exploitation awareness. Undertaking this training would enhance their knowledge, awareness and

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Inspection Judgements

understanding, and develop their skills in these areas. Those members of the residential staff team who do not have a formal qualification to level three diploma are enrolled on a course to achieve this.

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Inspection Judgements

Staffing levels are regularly reviewed and the head of care ensures that there is an adequate number of residential staff deployed to each accommodation area in order to meet the individual and collective needs of the children and young people who live there.

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Inspection Judgements

Complaints received are dealt with in line with the school’s complaints policy. Good audit trails are maintained to demonstrate the action taken. The school identifies ‘lessons learned’ and reflects on its practice. Inspection Report Shapwick School, Page 9 of 12

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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

Judgement Description 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

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What inspection judgements mean

children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded or if their care and experiences are poor and they are not making progress. Inspection Report Shapwick School, Page 10 of 12

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School details

Unique reference number 123929 Social care unique reference number SC031481 DfE registration number 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. Type of school Residential Special School Number of boarders on roll 68 Gender of boarders Mixed Age range of boarders 8 to18 Headteacher Mr Adrian Wylie Date of previous boarding inspection 07/05/2014 Telephone number 01278 722 012 Email address office@shapwickschool.com Inspection Report Shapwick School, Page 11 of 12 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

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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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