Meath School

Inspection report for residential special school - Meath School 1 Meath School Meath School, Brox Road, Ottershaw, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0LF Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential special school

Meath School is a day and residential non-maintained special primary school. It fosters an integrated model of support that includes education, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and residential care. It currently provides 56 places to children aged four to 11 years, whose primary needs arise from severe and complex speech, language and communication difficulties.

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Information about this residential special school

The school offers residential services and an extended school day programme. Up to 15 children stay overnight at any one time, each staying between one and four nights a week, as agreed with their parents.

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Information about this residential special school

The school is owned and managed by the children’s communication charity ICan. It is situated across nine acres in the village of Ottershaw in Surrey. The residential accommodation is on the first floor of the main school building.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The residential special school provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the school contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people.

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outstanding

Date of previous inspection: 7 November 2017

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding Inspection report for residential special school - Meath School 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This residential special school is outstanding because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children flourish in their boarding house. They make excellent progress, such as learning to manage their own behaviour.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children benefit from the highly effective specialist services.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Feedback from parents is extremely positive. One parent referred to the impact of the ‘Meath magic’.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children benefit from a dedicated core staff team. Three staff members have a total of more than 60 years of experience working within the boarding house.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Behavioural management is highly effective, minimising the need for restraint.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff continue to be extremely inventive in finding new and better ways to work with children. A new video system allows staff and parents to record and analyse their interactions with children.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Work with parents is a major strength of the school. Staff work in close partnership with parents so that they can replicate learning targets when the children are at home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff advocate on behalf of children to ensure that they receive key services.

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Key findings from this inspection

The residential special school’s areas for development are:

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Key findings from this inspection

 This inspection noted four minor shortfalls. These include the structure of the independent person’s reports, fire risk assessment, provision of training to volunteers and the level of information and views of children in behaviour plans. These shortfalls do not affect the quality of care offered to children. Inspection report for residential special school - Meath School 3

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Recommendations

 Ensure that volunteers in the boarding house receive adequate training and support to ensure that they can care for children more effectively.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that behaviour plans for children contain a full evaluation of progress and the views of children.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that a fire risk assessment is carried out by an approved person.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the reports of the independent visitor contain a full evaluation of the safeguarding of children. Inspection report for residential special school - Meath School 4

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outstanding

Children thrive in their boarding house. Boarding is integral to their development and progress. For many children, staying in boarding is the highlight of their week. Boarding allows children valuable time to socialise with their friends and with staff, developing their independence skills. For many children, their communication difficulties previously limited such opportunities.

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outstanding

Children make exceptional progress. In particular, the development of children’s speech and self-care skills significantly increases their resilience and raises self- esteem.

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outstanding

Partnership work is outstanding. Staff work in close partnership with specialist services offered by the school to replicate the work of speech and language and occupational therapists. The results are clear. One child informed his mother, ‘Somebody turned my sounds on.’

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outstanding

Children who board receive good support for their educational needs. Planning for moving on to secondary provision begins one year in advance. This permits a comprehensive programme of assessments and introduction to the receiving school.

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outstanding

Children enjoy a rich variety of activities. These include attending a local gym and exploring local woodland. Each activity is chosen to help nurture fine and gross motor skills.

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outstanding

Staff are highly aspirational and delight in children’s progress. Children learn a vast array of new and vitally important skills. These range from improved personal care skills, to significantly expanding their vocabulary, to sharing a meal together with other children. Staff support children with compassion and perseverance.

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outstanding

Care is consistently child centred. Staff skilfully adapt the environment to teach children new skills, such as managing their own behaviour. Children now enjoy using a ‘feelings board’, where they indicate their mood and a suggested coping technique such as spending some ‘quiet time’.

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outstanding

Expectations of children’s behaviour are very clear and consistent. The central ethos for the boarding house is showing kindness. Staff use their close relationships with children to intervene quickly when children are struggling. Expectations are adapted to support the development of each child’s language and social skills. There is no use of internet devices within boarding. This enables children to focus on their interaction with their peers and the staff team. Inspection report for residential special school - Meath School 5 Staff are highly skilled in engaging children. Staff use sign language, storyboards or computer programmes to ease communication. Staff listen to children’s views. The recent refurbishment of the bathroom area followed a request from the children’s council.

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outstanding

Feedback from parents and children is extremely positive. One parent refers to the progress of their child as ‘unbelievable’, while a child stated that they ‘love spending time with my friends on sleepovers’.

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outstanding

Care is extremely inventive and effective. Staff use ‘wait wheels’ to help children to understand time, remain patient and take turns. However, at present target setting is limited in detail and does not fully reflect the views of children.

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outstanding

Children communicated to the inspectors that they felt extremely safe in the boarding house. They form very close and trusting relationships with staff and each other. Staff understand the complex needs of each child. Such supportive relationships are the basis for children’s outstanding progress.

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outstanding

Excellent case recording supports comprehensive and thorough risk assessments. Assessments allow children to take managed risks and reach their potential. Risks are identified very quickly, and safeguarding action is proactive and creative. Assessments incorporate all of the recommendations of statutory education assessments and give clear guidance to staff as to areas of concern or development.

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outstanding

Work with parents is a major strength. Family support work helps to prevent family breakdown. One parent described the support as ‘invaluable’ and commented on dramatic improvements in their child’s behaviour and sleeping patterns. A family support worker offers home visits and works in partnership with placing authorities to ensure that children and their families gain excellent access to support services.

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outstanding

Support for children is holistic. For example, a recent referral to a carers’ project helped to provide support for a child’s brothers and sisters. Staff share very helpful hints and important strategies with families on topics such as safe use of the internet, which helps to ensure consistency and safety for children.

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outstanding

Partnership work is prioritised and helps to improve outcomes for children. Boarding staff are employed in the day school and demonstrate excellent knowledge of the behavioural and academic progress of children. This enables boarding staff to set appropriate behavioural and academic goals for children, such as spelling the days of the week and managing meal times.

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outstanding

Safeguarding work is highly effective. Advice and guidance are promptly accessed Inspection report for residential special school - Meath School 6 from the host local authority and any recommendations are acted on.

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outstanding

Highly effective direct work supports children to keep safe. Children engage and learn from work on issues such as safe touching.

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outstanding

Children do not go missing from the boarding house. Staff understand the procedure that they should follow in the event of such an incident occurring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children who board at the school benefit from a committed and highly dedicated head of care. She has been in post for over 16 years and is highly respected by staff and children. Managers promote an outstanding child-centred and caring ethos.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers are highly ambitious. They have implemented all of the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection. In addition, managers have updated the school website following a suggestion made during this inspection. The website now contains more information regarding the boarding provision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The ongoing development of boarding is a key focus of the school. The high quality of management audit and oversight drives service improvement. A new computer system is in place to further monitor and evaluate children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers have known the children and their families for a lengthy period of time and, as a result, they understand the dynamics within families. Managers enjoy an extremely supportive and cohesive relationship with the school’s senior management team and the governing body. Governors are visible and provide strong oversight and challenge to the school.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

At present, the reports of the independent visitor offer insufficient analysis of the safeguarding arrangements within boarding; this limits the scope of managers to implement and monitor improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers promote a strong sense of community with parents. A parent recently completed a cycle ride from John O’Groats to Land’s End to raise more than £20,000. These funds are being used to purchase new equipment and subsidise activities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers advocate extremely strongly for children. When difficulties occur, managers quickly convene reviews. These meetings assess the possibility of further support or consider the viability of a child’s placement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Admissions to boarding are handled in a very thoughtful and caring way. Children are introduced to boarding at their own pace and are supported by high levels of nurture and care. Managers are very well informed about the individual needs of each child and their behavioural plans. This informs extremely good decisions on issues such as the allocation of rooms. Inspection report for residential special school - Meath School 7 Staff morale is very high and staff turnover is minimal. One staff member commented, ‘I love my job here.’ Staff reported that they receive high levels of support and supervision from managers. This supports staff confidence and security in their working practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Volunteers working in boarding do not currently have access to restraint training. While volunteers do not work alone with children and are not expected to take part in incidents regarding the use of restraint, this shortfall poses a potential risk to children. Managers acknowledged the need for such training to be provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers ensure that the boarding house is safe and well maintained. Repairs are completed promptly and all necessary health and safety risk assessments are adhered to. Despite a recent fire risk assessment being conducted by the experienced site manager, the boarding house lacks a formal fire risk assessment from an approved provider.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There have been no complaints or allegations since the last full inspection. Rigorous systems are in place to address complaints or allegations, should they arise.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the school knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and 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 residential special school - Meath School 8

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: SC013925

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Residential special school details

Headteacher/teacher in charge: Rob Walton

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Residential special school details

Type of school: Residential special school

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Residential special school details

Email address: meath@meath-ican.org.uk Inspection report for residential special school - Meath School 9

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Inspectors

Barnaby Dowell, social care inspector (lead) Kate Malleson, Her Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for residential special school - Meath School 10 to 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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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