The City of Sunderland College

Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Northumberland College at Kirkley Hall Northumberland College at Kirkley Hall Northumberland College, Kirkley Hall, Kirkley, Newcastle upon Tyne NE20 0AQ Inspection of residential provision Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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residential accommodation

Northumberland College Kirkley Hall campus offers a rural setting eight miles from the city of Newcastle.

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residential accommodation

The college offers a vast range of full- and part-time work-based further education courses and apprenticeships. This includes land-based education and training. On-site facilities, which are also open to the public, include a zoo, an outdoor activity centre, a café and a wedding venue, where students can take up employment opportunities.

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residential accommodation

The college provides residential accommodation on site, which consists predominantly of a three-storey building with separate floors for male and female students. Students aged under 18 years have separate accommodation to adults.

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good

How well young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The college provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement

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good

Date of last inspection: 13 October 2015 Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Northumberland College at Kirkley Hall

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Key findings from this inspection

 Students say that they are safe, happy and feel cared for by staff who demonstrate a strong pastoral approach.  Effective safeguarding practice ensures that students are protected from harm. Staff oversee their safety and well-being and encourage them to develop personal strategies for staying safe.  Leaders and managers have a clear vision that is set out in a quality-assured action plan. This supports continuous improvement. All recommendations made at the last inspection have been implemented.  Students have their say in the things that are important to them. Their views are channelled through a range of effective student voice platforms. They say that their views are routinely taken into account.  Students work with wardens to set themselves targets for their residential experience. They get good help from careers guidance staff to explore future options. This helps them to achieve their future goals and aspirations.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Students say that they make progress towards their chosen futures because residential staff work well with all college staff to help them achieve academically and achieve independence.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The quality of record-keeping is inconsistent because staff use slang and jargon to describe student behaviour.  The manager does not always update risk assessments to reflect emerging needs of students.  Staff have limited opportunities for professional development because they do not receive regular and planned input from managers. Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Northumberland College at Kirkley Hall

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Recommendations

 Continue to use the self-assessment of residential provision; to ensure that the quality of recording is clear, and avoids jargon and slang. (National Minimum Standards, 8.5)  Continue to develop risk assessments to ensure that information is relevant to any emerging need, and is sufficiently detailed to enable staff to respond consistently to meet students’ needs. (National Minimum Standards, 21)  Provide regular reflective supervision to the wardens and student wardens. (National Minimum Standards, 30.1)  Ensure that the training plan is implemented, for the hall’s manager to obtain a care or management qualification on completion of her childcare qualification. (National Minimum Standards, 30.3)  Provide regular opportunities for the wardens and hall’s manager to meet for team meetings. (National Minimum Standards, 30.10)

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

Students receive good-quality care and support. They say that they are safe, happy and feel cared for. They like the wardens, who look after them and who respect their growing independence. Student wardens provide warm and enabling peer support that creates a homely atmosphere in the residence.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

Students say that they like the range of activities available to them, and really enjoy being kept busy. They expressed frustration and disappointment when certain activities, such as access to the gym or cookery skills, are cancelled because it limits their opportunities to stay fit, or learn essential skills. Their learning is supported by a whole- college approach that allows students to stretch and develop skills in being independent in a variety of ways.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

All students resident this year are making good progress in most areas of their development. They told inspectors about the positive impact that living at college has had. Students said:

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

 ‘There are better chances to access resources for my coursework.’  ‘I can get assignments in on time as I spend less time travelling.’  ‘It’s good to socialise with others, and easier to get to classes.’  ‘Having learning support is like having a mum here at college.’

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

Students set themselves targets for their residential experience. These help them to achieve future goals and aspirations. They talk about these with wardens in individual Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Northumberland College at Kirkley Hall support sessions, and reflect on their progress throughout the year. This helps students to see that their efforts are bearing fruit. Wardens guide them through any problems they encounter. This support motivates them to work hard and achieve well. The pastoral team offers additional help to students outside of the college’s formal curriculum. They address matters that are important to students, such as relationships, money management or equality and diversity.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

As a result, students are well-rounded and tolerant young people who have a clear idea about the next steps they want to take, and how they are going to get there. Their abilities and goals are diverse, but all are confident that they can achieve success. They say this is because of the caring support provided by the residential team, as part of a whole-college approach.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

Students share their views in a number of ways. These include direct conversations and student mentor representation. The residential team has developed a safe Facebook page. The residential manager uses this to give out messages and seek feedback. Students value this method of communication as it is immediately accessible to them on their phones. They enjoy simple comments like a happy birthday message, but also know that they get information and reminders to keep their day well organised. Students value immediate messaging as a means of alerting them to any potential risk across the extensive college site. This enhances their sense of security and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

Students value the independence of living away from their families. They also appreciate the way that residential and other college staff balance their right to independence when sharing information with their parents. This helps them to feel fully supported in their college life.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

College accommodation has much improved since the last inspection. Due to financial investment by the college governors, students have a brighter and safer place to live. Students say that learning to live with others and learning independence skills are all good parts of being residential. Students talked and laughed about each other’s cooking skills, saying that they cook together, share food, and laugh about those who burn everything but a cup of tea!

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

Some students are indecisive about their futures when they arrive at college. The multidisciplinary team at college includes careers guidance. Students access their services as well as group sessions on writing and enhancing job and further education applications and interviews. Students feel listened to about their hopes and dreams. One student said, ‘I was interested in working with police dogs. The residential manager got us a session when the police dog handlers came in to talk to us. I definitely want to do that now.’ This example is typical of the efforts made by staff to provide residential students with ways to explore their aspirations and make clear plans for their future success.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

Governors and leaders have made major improvements in safeguarding procedures and practice since the last inspection. Staff recruitment practice is much improved, with a Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Northumberland College at Kirkley Hall good audit trail of checks that are completed before employment commences. This ensures the suitable and safe recruitment of staff. The safeguarding policy and procedures are now in line with local area protection protocols, and these are well known by staff. There is effective multi-agency information sharing. Staff provide students with advice and assistance to access external agencies, such as counselling services. This ensures ongoing attention to student safety and well-being.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

Staff understand that it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure the ongoing safety and welfare of students. The effective use of the central electronic recording and information system provides a complete and up-to-date picture of risks, deteriorating behaviour and well-being of students. Regular monitoring by managers captures emerging needs and trends. As a result, prompt action is taken by the appropriate people, and students quickly get the necessary help and support.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

Health and safety has been greatly improved by the appointment of a new estates manager, health and safety manager and a student safety officer. The implementation of a location and systems audit, and action plan, provides a safe and well-maintained environment for students. Fire safety has improved and regular emergency drills and evacuations ensure that students know what to do in an emergency. Records show that staff and students all acted swiftly to ensure the safety of all during a recent fire. A management review of the incident led to a health and safety alert, offering learning points for all staff. This provides enhanced future incident safety management.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

Students do not go missing. They say that they like being on site and enjoy the activities on offer. Students are educated well about risks they may encounter in the community. However, wardens are vigilant in checking students’ whereabouts through security walkabouts. Improved site safety, such as increased lighting and closed circuit television (CCTV) coverage, increases students’ sense of security and safety.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

Since the start of this academic year, the residential students have an individual risk assessment that is reviewed and updated on a monthly basis. This helps staff recognise the individual vulnerabilities of students. However, the information is not always consistent with emerging needs and risks, or is not updated to reflect progress or decline in students’ needs. On occasions, the language used contains jargon or slang. This does not ensure that staff have all the information available to them to ensure that they respond consistently to young people. However, students confirm that when they have additional needs, residential and other staff provide them with excellent support to make them feel cared for. This leads to improved emotional well-being.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

Staff understand that students are emerging adults, and students recognise and value this approach. They said: ‘We are treated like adults. If college have to intervene, they will. Little things they don’t, as they know it can be dealt with unless it is serious and you want your parents involved.’ As a result, the use of disciplinary action is rare, but all students know what the code of conduct sets out and the consequences of failure to follow it. When there are disagreements, wardens use a restorative approach by getting students together to explore feelings and attitudes and the impact that poor relationships can have on each other. A student Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Northumberland College at Kirkley Hall said: ‘We talk it out and get things resolved. We say sorry to each other.’

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

Students experience effective role modelling by student wardens, wardens and the residential manager. This is reinforced by the learning opportunities of compulsory life skills sessions and reflective one-to-one discussions with a range of support staff. A strength of the college is the highly pastoral approach to relationships, nurture and oversight of needs. Students quickly adopt this style in their relationships with each other. The current group of students speak of enjoying spending time together and offer each other warmth, tolerance and support. One said: ‘We have had a round table talk when people haven’t felt good. We recognise each other’s body language and pick up on moods.’

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

When students present with behaviours that cause upset to others, wardens provide good oversight of their interactions, and alert other staff to arising concerns. This includes the use of a contract that clearly sets out expectations and what the student and college can do to improve matters. The contract is used to review the effectiveness of the placement. Support staff go above and beyond to help students identify solutions. This includes changing courses, additional learning, pastoral support, conversations with parents/carers or referrals to external professionals. While this approach is mostly successful, on rare occasions improvement is not achieved, and young people move on.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Students’ successful futures are important to leaders and managers. The principal and governors have improved the residential experience. They have committed significant funding and management planning to improve facilities and support available to students. A comprehensive self-assessment, management action plan and quality assurance tool set out how innovation and improvement will be carried out. A number of key new posts, in pastoral and learning care and support, student voice, and site development have brought fresh ideas and initiatives to the college improvement programme.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All recommendations made at the last inspection have been addressed. Safeguarding practice and student support are embedded into staff knowledge and understanding. Increased pastoral and careers guidance improves academic and social skills for students. This broadens their chance of future employment. This is a work in progress. Some new strategies and systems require further review to ensure that they are fully effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff, including residential wardens, use highly effective electronic recording systems (ProMonitor and MyConcern) to read and enter information about individual students. Staff recognise early any slip in the progress they are making. They meet with students and plan how best to help them. For example, when necessary staff and students agree plans to help them to get up ready to attend college, attend and attain in their education, and mature as responsible young people. Students told inspectors that they get the help they need when they need it, and that staff put themselves out to ensure that this happens. Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Northumberland College at Kirkley Hall The residential manager has developed tools for assessing the progress students make against their life skills targets. While this is not yet fully embedded, it has enabled her to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

take effective action when monitoring shows areas of decline for young people, such as getting up. Some new residential initiatives, such as cooking lessons, have been cancelled due to college staffing issues. This has prevented some students from making the progress they wanted to in self-catering skills. This was addressed by college during the inspection. Students provided examples of how the additional learning support team has provided excellent support for them to improve their basic numeracy and literacy. Their sense of pride in their achievement was a pleasure to see. One student said, ‘I can now get distinction and merit for my assignments because I understand what I need to do to get good marks. I’ve never known how before.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The college has an active approach to promoting equality and diversity. Staff and students create a tolerant and welcoming atmosphere. Staff identify and manage the impact of those who provoke upset or offence. For example, work was completed for all residential students when disrespectful relationships were causing concern. Student workshops promote understanding and tolerance, and there is an increasing cohort of students with complex needs. Some excellent work is being done to support a student with complex needs to benefit from becoming a residential student.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Wardens and student wardens say that they get good support from the residential manager. She generally relies on informal communication and support to oversee staff performance. She uses a generic college structure for their annual review. This is not tailored to the unique demands of residential work. Staff regularly update their knowledge through online training and peer discussion. There is ineffective oversight of wardens and student wardens because staff meetings are irregular, and individual supervision does not occur. This has not affected the good quality of support that staff give to students. It does mean that some improvement plan targets, such as comparative studies on the progress students are making throughout the year, have not been completed. Staff induction is not followed through appropriately. College procedures for progress reviews are not being met in a timely way. This limits opportunities for the residential manager to support new and long-serving staff to reflect

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

on their performance. It limits their understanding of the skills and knowledge required for the residential team to work together to the maximum benefit of students.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The residential manager is working towards a level 3 childcare diploma prior to beginning a level 5 management award. The supervision and support she gains from line management increases her confidence to take responsibility for the residential provision while she undertakes suitable qualifications. They monitor performance targets arising from the residential provision self-assessment, and report progress to governors. This scrutiny, and effective challenge from governors, underpins the ongoing development of the residential provision. Further detail is required in some areas. For example, the quality of recording is inconsistent; students do not receive consistent feedback about all minor concerns they raise; there were minor errors in risk assessments and limited staff development opportunities. These oversights prevent the residential provision from making good progress in all aspects of development, but do not affect students’ positive

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

experiences of college life. Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Northumberland College at Kirkley Hall Line managers made immediate amendment to the residential quality improvement plan to include all shortfalls identified by inspectors, so they could address matters quickly. Managers’ self-assessment includes an end-of-year parental review of how their child has improved from being part of the college. This is compared with the student’s self- assessment at the start of the year measured against the progress they have made by the end of the year. This progress is captured in a report for parents and students. Records demonstrate that students are making progress and are well supported to achieve their personal and academic goals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The college adopts an open, welcoming and co-operative approach to getting student needs met. This is usually successful, but it will remind others of their responsibility if this is necessary. For example, social workers are reminded to visit students who are looked after by their local authority. Inspectors saw lots of examples of effective interdepartmental working, and good use of external professionals in a range of areas. The police, youth justice workers, careers advisers, social work and mental health support and counselling professionals make planned visits. This helps students to develop positive perceptions of services that could help them in the future. Internally, the pastoral team works closely with residential staff, and makes effective referrals to other resources, such as the confidential counselling service or student mentor team, when this is necessary.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of young people. They watched how professional staff work with young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the college knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Children Act 1989 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the national minimum standards. Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Northumberland College at Kirkley Hall

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details

Social care unique reference number: SC046042 Principal/CEO: Marcus Clinton

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Inspectors

Denise Jolly, social care inspector Tina Ruffles, social care inspector Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Northumberland College at Kirkley Hall 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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