Huntercombe Hospital School Norwich

School report Huntercombe Hospital School Norwich Buxton, Norwich, Norfolk NR10 5RH

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Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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This is a good school

 The acting headteacher is clear in her aspirational vision for the school and provides strong leadership with the active support of the Head of Education for the Huntercombe Group.  Together they have secured good teaching and good outcomes for pupils and are making certain that the school continues to improve.  The headteacher and the head of education have ensured that all the independent school standards are met.  Working in close partnership with the medical and care staff of their partner hospital, teachers ensure that the safety and well-being of pupils are promoted well.  Pupils make outstanding progress in their personal development, behaviour and welfare because school support is highly effective and forms an integral part of each pupil’s therapeutic programme.  Teaching, learning and assessment are good. Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and show perseverance and flexibility in how

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This is a good school

they respond to a wide variety of needs. Because of this, pupils make good progress from their starting points in English, mathematics and in other subjects.  For all pupils, the acting headteacher and her staff consistently foster pupils’ ambitions and ensure that they are prepared well for their next placement.  Sixth-form learners are well taught and supported effectively. They achieve well on courses they have begun at Huntercombe or at their previous school or college.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Monitoring of pupils’ progress is not detailed enough fully to inform teachers’ planning.  Too often, pupils do not take enough pride in the presentation and organisation of their work.  Pupil progress information is not sufficiently integrated into the setting and review of teachers’ improvement targets.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 The school meets the schedule to The Education (Special School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop teaching, learning and assessment and continue to raise outcomes by: improving the monitoring and assessment of pupils’ progress so that more account can be taken of the complex patterns of pupils’ attendance when planning future activities improving the quality of presentation and organisation of pupils’ work, so that they are able to take pride in it and to facilitate the checking of progress by leaders and managers.  Improve the quality of performance management so that it takes full account of pupil progress information when setting improvement targets for teachers.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The acting headteacher and proprietors have ensured that all the independent school standards are met.  The acting headteacher, supported by the head of education, has achieved a high degree of unity of purpose following a rapid expansion in the numbers of teachers employed by the school. Impressive progress has been made in a very short time to forge an effective team.  Leaders have successfully communicated a distinct vision, well suited to the specialist nature of the school, in which the key features are high expectations and flexibility of response to pupils’ needs. Teachers are expected to be unremitting in their encouragement of pupils.  The school’s view of its performance and developmental priorities is accurate. The acting headteacher acknowledges that some initiatives are at an early stage of development. For example, the tracking of pupils’ progress is improving rapidly but is not sufficiently detailed to inform teachers’ planning,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

particularly in the context of pupils’ attendance patterns and the fluid programmes followed by pupils. The performance management of teaching is developing in sophistication, but the setting of targets for teachers is not sufficiently linked to information about pupils’ progress.  All teachers carry subject leadership responsibilities. They are relatively new to their roles, the most recent member of the team joining in January. They are beginning to have an impact on further broadening study programmes and ensuring that new members of staff are quickly and effectively inducted into the essential routines and expectations of the school.  Acknowledging the challenge of maintaining high levels of professional knowledge and skill in a small and very specialised establishment, the acting headteacher is seeking to establish links with other schools, both mainstream and specialist. So far, partnerships are limited, restricting the training opportunities

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

available to teachers. The headteacher’s meetings with the other headteachers in the Huntercombe Group offer valuable opportunities to share good practice.  The school’s curriculum is well organised. Literacy and numeracy are given due prominence and covered well. Pupils’ attendance in the school follows a complex and frequently interrupted pattern as a result of their treatment regimes, medical conditions and associated risk assessments. Because of this, the curriculum is designed so that it can readily be adapted to individual needs and take account of the widely differing previous educational experiences of pupils. It is also successful in meeting the challenge of accommodating unpredictable amounts of time that pupils are able to devote to their learning.  The school has achieved an effective balance of specialisms within a small team and is able to meet a broad range of pupils’ needs efficiently. The school adds subject areas when required, so that a pupil can

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

continue to study a subject that they had been pursuing in their previous school. In all subjects, particular emphasis is given to personal development, broadening pupils’ horizons and emphasising future steps in education and life, which is a well-judged response to the needs of the pupils and to the school’s specialist purpose.  The school makes every effort to continue or to provide examination courses for pupils. Effective liaison with pupils’ previous schools is undertaken to ensure that courses are followed in as seamless a way as possible. Careers guidance forms part of the school’s broad preparation of pupils for their future, after discharge. This has been delivered on a tutorial basis by teachers up to this point, but the school recognises the need to strengthen the external, independent component of advice and guidance and has implemented plans to add this element.  The school’s programme, designed to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain, is thorough and often

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

innovative. The school has devised means to encourage pupils to consider carefully issues of citizenship and social behaviour that complement the therapeutic programmes pupils receive in the partner hospital. Consistently, in a range of different subjects, pupils are required to be reflective, and this promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well.  The school seeks to maintain close partnerships with parents and with the external agencies involved with the pupils. Each pupil’s progress is reported in full via the six- to eight-weekly multi-agency meetings attended by all involved in the planning of provision and support for the individual pupil.  The governance of the school: The board of the Huntercombe Group is kept well informed about the school’s performance by the head of education who is effective in providing support and challenge to the acting headteacher. Performance comparisons are made with the other five schools across the country in the Huntercombe

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Group, which provides a valuable benchmark for expected pupil progress. Policies draw on the practice of the whole group to good effect. They are adapted for the school’s particular circumstances.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All staff are trained to the appropriate level. Polices and protocols are regularly reviewed, and teachers are required formally to confirm their knowledge and understanding of them. More recent duties such as that for ‘Prevent’ are fully referenced in school documentation and evident in teaching programmes.  The secure character of the school and its partner hospital places a wide range of additional responsibilities on teachers to be mindful of the consequences of all actions and attentive to specific protocols. Teachers are trained to consider the impact of all aspects of their teaching on pupils’ emotional states very carefully. Teachers are diligent in adhering to these routines. They are attentive to pupils’

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

needs and communicate rapidly and effectively with care and medical teams of the partner hospital.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Learning programmes, in the particular circumstances of pupils in the school, are necessarily highly individualised. Teachers are skilled in working in this way and, consequently, pupils make good progress.  The school liaises closely with the previous education placement of pupils. It supplements the information obtained with comprehensive testing on admission, although the degree of intensity of the latter is carefully modified in the light of pupils’ emotional and mental health needs. Teachers are ever mindful of the anxieties that many pupils experience and adjust course demands sensitively.  Teachers are unfailingly positive in their responses to pupils and usually communicate high expectations. Because of the requirements of their therapeutic regimes and other restrictions on their regular attendance, pupils arrive in lessons at varying times and have a timetable that differs from day to day.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Teachers quickly modify tasks, initiate new learning or resume existing tasks, but records of pupils’ progress do not always show enough detail to inform teachers’ planning fully. Pupils’ science folders, for example, do not record how long has been spent on a piece of work or how many sessions it took to complete it. Assignments are sometimes undated and tasks left incomplete. Without this information, an evaluation of the pace of pupils’ progress is not as accurate as it might be. Additionally, in information communication technology (ICT), pupils’ folders do not clearly distinguish between their finished work, uncompleted tasks and resources for future use. This makes it harder for pupils to value their work fully and for teachers to assess progress.  The teaching of communication skills, reading, writing and mathematics is woven effectively into the teaching of a range of subjects. The school holds ‘collapsed curriculum days’, when all teaching is

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

coordinated on a single theme. For example, pupils were required to respond to the arrival of aliens on Earth. The exercise involved considering how these arrivals would be welcomed and the formulation of rules for them to follow. Pupils confirmed that this required them to think about moral choices and promoted their understanding of the ways in which society functions.  During the inspection, pupils prepared for an after-school masquerade ball by making masks and gift boxes in art, rehearsing songs in drama and trying on historically appropriate costumes. All these learning activities, adjusted for pupils’ different levels of prior attainment, were given relevance by being brought together in a real event, meticulously organised between teachers and hospital staff. At this event, pupils had the opportunity to watch a performance by a recent pupil, a singer-songwriter with considerable talent. This was strongly motivational for pupils.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 In drama, skilled teaching incorporates moral choices and other real-life dilemmas into scenarios that require lengthy scenes to be memorised and then elaborated through improvisation. The challenge to pupils is high and literacy skills and speed of thought are promoted well.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Teaching programmes complement the therapeutic programme of the hospital very effectively. All teaching pays close attention to the imperative of building pupils’ self-esteem. Every opportunity is taken to encourage pupils to be aspirational for their future education. Qualities such as resilience are continuously fostered, not least because teachers model them so assiduously.  Pupils speak warmly of the way their self-confidence is rapidly built in the school. They are strongly encouraged to work in partnership with other pupils. The extent to which pupils are supportive of each other is a striking feature of the school. In doing this, they develop skills of teamwork and trust that have a wide practical applicability and contribute strongly to the psychiatric support they receive in the hospital.  Pupils feel very safe and secure in the school. This promotes free and open discussion that assists them

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Personal development and welfare

in very markedly improving their appreciation of what represents risk, including those present when using the internet. It encourages them very effectively to improve their decision-making with regard to choices in life. They develop a very clear understanding of risks to their well-being, including those presented when using the internet.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. With the comprehensive assistance of hospital staff, who are often required to accompany them, pupils behave very well in the classroom. This represents excellent progress when comparison is made with the behaviour often reported from previous placements. It also constitutes very good progress in the context of medical conditions where symptoms can manifest themselves in aspects of behaviour. Staff are required to be very alert to pupils’ anxieties and moods in order to create and sustain the atmosphere typical in the school, which is calm and productive. Inspectors saw no disruption of teaching.  Pupils display high levels of concentration and a willingness to persevere in their work. In the context of the impact of some medications, for example, this is a considerable achievement on the part of teachers.  Pupils are given every opportunity to shape their own learning. Most pupils make mature choices. This

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Behaviour

assists them in developing their confidence.  Patients in the hospital are extremely closely monitored with regard to their behaviour. The school’s reporting feeds into this system. In the previous year, there were no significant incidents in school, a tribute to the joint work of medical staff and teachers. There were no instances of bullying.  Evaluation of the school’s records confirms that the highest level of attendance achievable is attained, given the multiple impediments to it. Pupils are very keen to attend because they value their time in school so highly.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils arrive in the hospital school with a wide range of educational histories. A significant proportion has low previous attendance in consequence of their medical conditions and associated social difficulties, and some have not attended school for some time. All pupils have experienced major disruption to their learning. Prior attainment covers the full range from pupils needing the highest levels of support in learning to those having achieved, or being predicted, success on GCSE courses.  Inspection evidence confirms that progress is typically good. In the context of their individual programmes, pupils gain in knowledge and skills at a good rate, not least because they respond to teachers’ encouragement to become more ambitious in what they attempt. One pupil selected, entirely on her own initiative, to study the Aztecs as a post-GCSE ‘relaxation’ project.  Achievement in English and mathematics is good. Pupils demonstrate the growth in their skills and can

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Outcomes for pupils are good

apply them well in range of subjects.  Although the school is an examinations centre and enters pupils for GCSEs, the numbers are too low for conclusions to be drawn about typical outcomes. Lengths of stay and pupils’ health determine that most examinations are attempted when pupils return to their original schools or enter a fresh placement.  All groups of pupils make good progress from their starting points, including those who are disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs and/or disability. This is because individual programmes are closely tailored to individual requirements.  The most able pupils make good progress. Not all of the pupils’ original schools provide the same level of support, but the hospital school forges the best links it can in order to provide the necessary coursework and resources in order to ensure that pupils receive a good degree of challenge.  Sixth-form pupils have clear ideas for their future goals in education, training and employment and are

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Outcomes for pupils are good

being supported effectively to work towards them.

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16 to 19 study programmes are good

 Leadership and management of the sixth-form provision are good. The acting headteacher takes full account of the requirements of sixth-form learners and the school ensures that age-appropriate targets are in place for all.  All teaching is on the basis of individualised programmes, skilfully adjusted by teachers to maintain a good level of challenge. They are established after the same assiduous liaison with previous providers as elsewhere in the school. Every effort is made to continue whatever programme of study the learners are already engaged in, with materials obtained from the previous school to facilitate this.  Progress from individual starting points is good across English, mathematics and a wide range of subjects. The methodology is in common with that seen elsewhere in the school: learners’ interests and prior courses are starting points, and guidance to increase ambition is empathetic but systematic. Teachers

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16 to 19 study programmes are good

reinforce key concepts about working towards key goals at every opportunity.  The secure nature of the establishment excludes general opportunities to pursue external and vocational options. When a patient’s recovery is suitably advanced and the necessary permission is given, visits to broaden opportunities are made. During the inspection, planning had begun to enable a sixth-form learner to view an exhibition of Cartier-Bresson’s photography being held in Norwich.  In common with other pupils in the school, post-16 learners are encouraged effectively to develop ambition and confidence for their futures and to grow in resilience and perseverance. Conversation with learners showed a good degree of ambition and a determination to continue in education and training. They also spoke of feeling secure and well cared for.  Learners receive the support they need to apply to their future education, training or work placement.

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16 to 19 study programmes are good

Teachers achieve an effective balance between broad advice and acknowledgement of learners’ present circumstances with the constraints that they bring.  Behaviour is exemplary. In a busy environment, in which fellow learners leave and join teaching groups frequently, sixth-form learners apply themselves diligently and avoid distraction.

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School details

Unique reference number 141953 Inspection number 10008627 DfE registration number 926/6011 This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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School details

Type of school Special school – social, emotional and mental health needs School status Other independent special school Age range of pupils 12−18 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 24 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 10 Number of part time pupils 24 Proprietor Huntercombe Group Chair Nicholas Rose (head of education – child, adolescent mental health services) Acting headteacher Annabelle Bolton Annual fees (day pupils) £28,950 Telephone number 01603 277100 Website www.huntercombe.com Email address annabelle.bolton@huntercombe.com Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Huntercombe Hospital School Norwich is an independent day special school, co-located with its partner adolescent psychiatric hospital. The school is one of several hospital schools in the Huntercombe Group.  The hospital is a child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) Tier 4 provider offering psychiatric intensive care and low-secure services. It is registered for 26 male and female pupils aged 12 to 18 years.  All young people resident in the hospital are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 (2007). All have complex social, emotional and mental health challenges, including histories of very difficult behaviour, psychosis and self-harming.  A small minority of pupils have education, health and care plans; about half are in the care of a local authority.  Patients in the hospital are not all immediately admitted to the school roll for reasons of health and risk assessment. Some pupils join after a period of time; others may not be declared fit to do so during their

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Information about this school

stay. All such judgements are supervised by psychiatric consultants.  Patients on the psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) remain for up to 12 weeks. Those in the low-secure provision have stays of widely varying duration: an approximate average would be six months.  During the inspection, the youngest pupils on roll and attending the school were in Year 10 and the oldest in Year 13.  The large majority of pupils attending during the inspection were of White British heritage.  The school received its registration visit in March 2015 when the decision was that all the independent school standards were likely to be met, and the current inspection is its first of the standard type.  The staff group consists exclusively of part-time teachers with the exception of the acting headteacher. No teacher other than the acting headteacher has been in post for more than a year,  The acting headteacher has been in post since November and was previously a teacher in the school. She

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Information about this school

is supported by the head of education from the Huntercombe Group.  The school charges on the basis of actual attendance at lessons.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors visited lessons and saw all teachers. Aspects of the wider curriculum such as the whole school celebration on the first day of the inspection were also sampled.  Inspectors examined pupils’ work, including doing so jointly with the acting headteacher.  Meetings were held with the acting headteacher, subject leaders, pupils and the head of education for the Huntercombe group. A meeting was also held with the hospital director.  Inspectors examined a range of school policies and documentation, including that covering pupil progress, safeguarding, behaviour and attendance. No responses were received to the Parent View questionnaire. Staff views expressed via the Ofsted questionnaire were also considered.

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Inspection team

Paul Copping, Lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Susan Heptinstall Ofsted Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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