Kings Mill School

Inspection Report King's Mill School, 17/01/2017 Page 1 of 10 King’s Mill School Victoria Road, Driffield, North Humberside YO25 6UG

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Inspection dates 17/01/2017 to 19/01/2017

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The overall experiences and progress of children and young people Good

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The quality of care and support Good How well children and young people are protected Good The impact and effectiveness of leaders and managers Good

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The residential provision is good because

 Pupils make good progress in all areas of their development.  Pupils benefit from consistent approaches at both home and school.  Pupils’ complex communication needs are supported well. Staff use a range of methods to ensure that pupils can communicate, including sign language, symbols and pictures.  Staff know individuals very well, because they work consistent shifts on a weekly basis. This provides pupils with the predictability that they need.  Pupils enjoy a range of activities in the community.  Pupils have access to excellent on-site facilities, such as a ‘rebound’ room and a swimming pool.  Staff have good knowledge of safeguarding procedures.  New staff undertake rigorous vetting procedures to ensure that they are safe to work with children.  The senior management team has a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development of this service.  The senior management team is focused on continual development. It makes prompt

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The residential provision is good because

decisions and takes effective action to improve the service for pupils. Inspection Report King's Mill School, 17/01/2017 Page 2 of 10

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schools

12.5 All children and staff are given an opportunity to discuss with a relevant adult (who was not directly involved) within 24 hours of incidents of restraint, including reasonable force, that they have been involved in, witnessed or been affected by.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 The recording of restraint records needs consistently to detail all relevant information, such as who carried out the restraint and for how long. The reason for restraint should be clear and concise. The analysis and effectiveness of the restraint needs to be clear.  All children should have risk assessments that clearly separate the risks from the actions needed to reduce risk.  An external independent visitor should routinely visit the service and provide a report covering all the points stipulated in standard 20 (20.2). Particular emphasis should be given to the safety and well-being of pupils.  The governor monitoring reports should cover all the points stipulated in standard 20 (20.2). Particular emphasis should be given to the safety and well-being of pupils. Inspection Report King's Mill School, 17/01/2017 Page 3 of 10

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Information about this inspection

The headteacher was given around two hours’ notice of this inspection. The inspector spoke to residential staff members and senior care officers. The staff were spoken to both alone and in a small group. No individual consultation with children and young people was appropriate in this setting, due to their complex communication needs. Time was spent observing children and young people over two evenings and two mornings. Two different age groups of children and young people were sampled.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector joined the teatime routine and evening activities with both groups. The inspector also joined the breakfast routine with both groups and observed their transition to school and the handover. The inspector met with the headteacher and residential manager regularly throughout the inspection to feed back and to evaluate the inspection as it progressed. The inspector also spoke to class teachers, the safeguarding governor, the chair of governors, parents, social workers and the residential staff who were on shift. Parental views were collated from Ofsted’s Parent View website during the inspection. Staff surveys were also encouraged. The inspector consulted a representative from the local authority safeguarding team, and examined a range of policies and records in relation to the safeguarding and care of residential pupils.

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Inspection team

Jamie Richardson Lead social care inspector Inspection Report King's Mill School, 17/01/2017 Page 4 of 10

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Information about this school

King’s Mill School is a local authority-maintained residential special school. The school provides education for up to 109 children aged from two to 19 years who have a range of learning disabilities and autism. The school has a separate residential facility on site. Currently, 32 pupils use the residential facility. Up to 14 pupils can stay at the residential facility each night, but this number is usually lower. Pupils stay at the residence on one or two nights per week on a regular basis. Some pupils also stay for part of the school holidays. Inspection Report King's Mill School, 17/01/2017 Page 5 of 10

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Inspection judgements

The overall experiences and progress of children and young people Good

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Inspection judgements

Pupils benefit from an environment tailored to meet their complex needs. They access specialist facilities such as the large sports hall, custom-built swimming pool and ‘rebound’ room. This enhances pupils’ life experiences and they enjoy their visits to this residence. One parent commented: `The experience of having being cared for in such a wonderful way has developed his social skills and confidence.’ Pupils continue to make good progress in all areas of their development. One social worker commented: `They are making good progress. They have become more independent.’

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Inspection judgements

Pupils benefit from a consistent staff team. Consequently, there are excellent relationships between pupils and staff, and they enjoy spending time with staff who know them well. Having high levels of staffing makes sure that each individual experiences the quality time that they deserve.

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Inspection judgements

New safeguarding recording systems support staff to share information effectively to protect pupils. Specialist social workers reported: ‘The school is strong on safeguarding. Staff will ring for advice. There are no issues with their safeguarding practice.’

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Inspection judgements

The residential provision is well organised around pupils’ very complex needs. The senior management team strives for continual improvement, which has brought about recent changes to staff’s working patterns. This is promoting greater consistency for pupils and allowing relationships between staff and young people to continue to develop. Two recommendations set at the last inspection are met. One minimum standard and one recommendation around physical intervention remain ongoing, as there have been no incidents of physical intervention to assess this against.

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Inspection judgements

Joint working between residential and school staff has significantly improved since the last inspection. Pupils are benefiting from the consistency of the seamless approach. Staff help pupils to learn by working on individual shared targets and approaches from both the residential provision and the school. Consequently, pupils continue to make good progress in all areas of their development.

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Inspection judgements

Staff work closely with other professionals and parents to ensure that care plans fully meet pupils’ very diverse and complex needs. Staff are proactive in requesting support from the specialist nurse to ensure good physical and emotional well-being for all pupils.

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Inspection judgements

Pupils’ complex health needs are well managed by specially trained staff. New medication recording and administration systems are effective in ensuring that medication is administered and transferred between settings safely.

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Inspection judgements

Pupils enjoy an excellent range of activities, both on site and in the community. These include swimming, horse riding and soft play. As a result, their social skills and confidence improve. One parent commented: ‘He’s coming out of himself there, it’s Inspection Report King's Mill School, 17/01/2017 Page 6 of 10 great. He loves going out – he enjoys everything.’

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Inspection judgements

Staff prioritise contact with parents strongly. They offer complete family support. As a result, some families have been able to implement their own coping strategies at home, which has improved family relationships and functioning. One parent commented: ‘When times are tough, they are very supportive. They have supported me all the way, through helping us to cope at home.’

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Inspection judgements

There are significant improvements in staff using individualised communication strategies effectively and consistently between the residential provision and school. This reinforces pupils’ understanding and supports them to communicate with others, whatever their level of ability.

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Inspection judgements

How well children and young people are protected Good

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Inspection judgements

Up-to-date risk assessments ensure that staff have an understanding of individual risks to pupils. Some risk assessments do not clearly separate the risks from the actions that are needed to reduce them. This is a recording issue which could potentially hinder staff consistency when dealing with challenging situations. In practice, staff successfully reduce and manage risk, while allowing pupils to develop their life experience and enjoy a wide range of activities.

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Inspection judgements

Individual behaviour management plans help staff to manage pupils’ behaviour positively. Staff redirect incidents of challenging behaviour effectively. Consequently, there has been no use of physical intervention since the last inspection.

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Inspection judgements

Staff receive regular safeguarding training. As a result, they competently follow safeguarding procedures. Additional staff training ensures that staff are aware of the wider risks that pupils may face, such as from child sexual exploitation, internet safety and radicalisation. The senior management team responds robustly to any safeguarding issues raised and notifies external professionals when necessary in order to keep pupils safe.

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Inspection judgements

The accommodation is well maintained and free from hazards. It is specially adapted to meet pupils’ needs. This allows pupils to have as much independence as possible in a safe environment. Individual evacuation plans and regular fire alarm practices ensure that staff and pupils know how to get out of the building as quickly as possible in the event of a fire.

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Inspection judgements

Robust vetting of new employees ensures that pupils are cared for by adults who pose no risk.

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Inspection judgements

The impact and effectiveness of leaders and managers Good Since the last inspection, the senior management team has focused on improving the joint working practices between the residential provision and school. This has been successful, and pupils’ experience of care is enhanced. They now receive a consistent approach Inspection Report King's Mill School, 17/01/2017 Page 7 of 10 between settings from an integrated and stable staff team. This reduces pupils’ anxiety, reinforces learning and strengthens relationships between pupils and staff.

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Inspection judgements

The senior management team has a good understanding of the strengths of this service. Managers are able to identify areas of development and take effective action when necessary. For example, recent changes in staff working patterns are greatly benefiting pupils, providing them with consistent staff. The head of care efficiently monitors pupils’ progress. This shows small steps in progress which lead to big achievements for individuals. Consequently, pupils make good progress, especially with personal skills such as brushing teeth and washing.

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Inspection judgements

Staff receive regular supervision and an annual appraisal. This has been particularly important through recent changes due to restructure. It provides staff with the opportunity to receive feedback, adapt to change and discuss any issues in practice to improve pupil care.

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Inspection judgements

The governing body has significantly developed since the last inspection. It makes regular visits to the residential provision. Its recording of these is not always consistent. The governors’ monitoring reports at times lack evaluation and a clear focus on safeguarding. This is a recording issue which could potentially hinder management oversight. It is not affecting the quality of care. External independent visits have recently started. This will strengthen oversight of pupils’ well-being and safety.

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Inspection judgements

This provision is operating within the service’s statement of purpose, providing good care for pupils. Inspection Report King's Mill School, 17/01/2017 Page 8 of 10

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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 King's Mill School, 17/01/2017 Page 9 of 10

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School details

Unique reference number School URN 118144 Social care unique reference number SC055984 DfE registration number 811/7016 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 32 Gender of boarders Mixed Age range of boarders seven to 18 Headteacher Gail Lawton Date of previous boarding inspection 20/01/2015 Telephone number 01377 253 375 Email address kingsmill.specialschool@eastriding.gov.uk Inspection Report King's Mill School, 17/01/2017 Page 10 of 10 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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