Hartpury College

Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Hartpury College 1 Hartpury College Hartpury College, Hartpury House, Hartpury, Gloucester GL19 3BE Inspection of residential provision Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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residential accommodation

This is a further education college situated in Hartpury, Gloucestershire. The college offers a diverse range of academic, vocational and land-based courses, including sport, agriculture, animal and equine management. There are 699 residential students. At the time of this inspection, there were 684 residential students aged between 16 and 18.

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outstanding

How well 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 college provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the college contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for young people.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 1 March 2016 Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Hartpury College 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Students consistently say that they feel safe and exceptionally well supported at the college.  Students become valued members of the wider community and develop vital independence and self-help skills. This prepares them for higher education and employment.  The senior management team is extremely innovative in its approach to maintaining remarkably high-quality care for residential students.  Students are consulted about every aspect of their experience within the college. Students are influential in the strategic development of the college as well as within everyday access to facilities.  Students receive consistently high-quality and immediate support from residential wardens and the well-being service. This enables them to overcome challenges to their health and to their social development. Students feel listened to and respected.  An exceptionally motivated and skilled team provides high-quality and individualised

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Key findings from this inspection

care to students.  Communication between managers and staff is exceptional. This collaborative approach supports the accomplishments of students.  Feedback from students and parents about the college is highly complimentary. Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Hartpury College 3

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

Students make exceptional progress in developing independence and their education and social skills because of the consistently high-quality and specialist care provided. Students receive comprehensive pre-entry information, attend open days and are provided with colourful and student-friendly information packs about the range of services that the college provides. Parents also receive an induction letter and a face-to- face presentation about what to expect. This helps to prepare students and parents for college life while ensuring that they feel confident about where to ask for help if needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

Progress and achievement are focused on being a responsible and worthy citizen within the community in preparation for adulthood. For example, staff help to prepare students for adult life. Working to attain an additional certificate devised by the college is a way of providing students with the wider skills needed to be employment ready.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

Students have access to over 26 wardens on a rota basis and they say that wardens are consistently approachable and very responsive. There is an out of hours duty system that now includes access to a night nurse. This means that students receive timely care and support when needed. This reassures them and promotes their safety and well- being.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

Students talk extremely positively of the excellent service that the nurses, counsellors, chaplain and well-being officers provide. These services help students to talk about any fears or anxieties that they have in a confidential and accessible way. The service helps them with issues, including sexual health and physical and mental well-being as well as general worries about relationships and being away from home. There are designated areas and an engage space for students to unwind, to seek support and to feel safe away from other pressures.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

The well-being service helps students to access primary health services, including general practitioners, sexual health services and hospital visits when needed. Transport is provided, and student prescriptions are delivered to the college. This student-centred service is overseen by dedicated and caring staff, who ensure timely, high-quality healthcare. Specialist services are consulted and encouraged to visit the college, including the eating disorder clinic. This collaborative and progressive way of working improves the ease of access to specialist services for students.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

Students are encouraged to prioritise their physical and mental health through taking part in physical activity on Well-being Wednesdays. Wellfest days throughout the year with over 60 exhibitors provide students with a range of superb activities and educational sessions about how to stay safe, happy and healthy. These sessions are creative and make education fun, with guests including theatre companies, rappers and experienced guest speakers and professionals. Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Hartpury College 4 Students are offered opportunities to be a part of improvements and to share creative ideas through the student council. Senior managers take prompt action in making improvements to bedtime curfews, facilities and food as a result of this feedback. This means that students feel respected and say that ‘we are treated like adults’.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

Students thrive on and relish the range of exciting and fun opportunities available to them as a residential student at this college. There are mandatory, supervised study sessions to enable students to receive guidance on their academic studies. As a result, residential students make significant progress with their studies. For example, residential students enrolled in diploma programmes for 2017–2018 had a 2.2%, and A-level students had a 10.3%, higher rate of achievement than those students living at home or elsewhere.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: outstanding

There are staff present during the evening to oversee, help and advise about any self- care or personal needs. During the evenings, the student communal areas provide snacks, drinks and opportunities to socialise with other students. Planned activities include playing Jenga, basketball, shopping trips to the local community, dog walking and dessert making.

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How well young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Students consistently said to inspectors during this inspection that they feel safe at this college. The recent student survey results revealed that 98% of students feel safe on campus. This is because of the highly dedicated staff who oversee the day-to-day needs of students. Highly effective monitoring systems ensure that staff know the whereabouts of students as well as monitoring their education attendance.

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How well young people are helped and protected: outstanding

The safety and welfare of students living away from home are of paramount concern to the college. Student welfare is thoroughly prioritised and managed through education and awareness. For example, students receive a wide range of information about how to keep safe through a variety of mediums such as social media, in written format and through face-to-face training sessions or events.

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How well young people are helped and protected: outstanding

The college is imaginative and diverse in how it educates students about safety. For example, students receive a range of introductory training and teaching on personal safety, bullying, driving safely, e-safety, healthy relationships and consent, radicalisation and the risks of alcohol. As a result, students are well equipped about how to recognise and deal with the risks that they may encounter.

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How well young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Safeguarding concerns are managed by an exceptionally skilled and knowledgeable residential safeguarding manager. Staff receive a range of up-to-date and advanced safeguarding training. For example, the residential manager sits on the national steering group for radicalisation and terrorism. The vice principal for resources sits on the Local Safeguarding Children Board and attends the local suicide prevention partnership forum. She has strong links with the police and emergency services. Systems are highly effective and ensure that allegations against staff are swiftly responded to, with outcomes clearly recorded. Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Hartpury College 5 There are very few incidents of students going missing from the college. This usually relates to students not signing out when they return home with parents. This is because staff are exceptionally proactive at monitoring where students are as well as their

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How well young people are helped and protected: outstanding

behaviour. Staff are clear about the processes for students whose whereabouts are not known and use effective screening tools to identify students at potential risk of exploitation and to keep them safe.

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How well young people are helped and protected: outstanding

The behaviour management policy is well managed and is an effective policy. It includes clear expectations for behaviour and responsibilities to others. A fair and transparent system of sanctions is in place. There is a strict application of behaviour management sanctions in line with the policy for those students accused of bullying or who demonstrate antisocial behaviour.

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How well young people are helped and protected: outstanding

A seamless approach is taken to working together across all departments and disciplines within the college. Regular safeguarding meetings, managers’ meetings and senior leaders’ meetings ensure that communication across all areas is shared and acted upon. This excellent and effective approach prioritises the safety of students, enabling staff to respond immediately to emerging concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The principal and senior leaders within this college are remarkably devoted to ensuring that students receive the highest levels of care while enjoying and achieving as much as possible. Their passion is for students to learn and to grow into independent and extremely able members of society. The leadership team is inspirational and influential in enhancing the life experiences of students attending the college.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have high expectations of staff and work within a culture of positivity and ambition. Research-informed practice is key and underpins the delivery of the best quality of care and education to students at this provision. In addition, learning from peer reviews with other colleges is used to improve and enhance the experience for students.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Students’ progress is exceptionally well monitored through close collaboration with tutors, well-being services, residential care staff and managers. Staff at this college work as a team to improve facilities, to develop opportunities and to be part of the wider community. For example, staff have links with local voluntary agencies, businesses and farming communities, as well as the local nightclub. These highly effective partnerships ensure that the best quality of support and experience can be maintained for students.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Governors feel extremely confident that the welfare of students is prioritised and that processes are safe. Governors did not raise any concerns during this inspection and are completely satisfied with the variety of monitoring processes in place. Criticism is welcomed and there is an open environment for learning. Governors spend time with students to gather their views and students sit on corporation meetings to provide direct feedback about the student experience. This serves to continually improve the quality of Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Hartpury College 6 the residential experience for students.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel highly supported by exceptionally skilled and extremely qualified managers. Nurses and therapists receive in-house as well as external supervision from designated professionals to meet their developmental needs. Staff also receive external coaching sessions to assist in their development and overall well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive a wide variety of training in relation to social media, radicalisation, exploitation, autism, diversity, drugs and domestic abuse. This training supports them in managing a range of issues. Staff also have additional qualifications in management relevant to their roles. This means that students receive excellent care from highly trained and skilled staff. Internal and external monitoring systems are highly effective at capturing the strengths and weaknesses of the college. Areas for development are addressed swiftly.

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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: Hartpury College 7

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details

Social care unique reference number: SC046577 Principal/CEO: Russell Marchant

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Inspectors

Anna Gravelle: social care inspector Janice Hawtin: social care inspector Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Hartpury College 8 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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