Newbury Manor School

Inspection report for residential special school – Newbury Manor School 1 Newbury Manor School Newbury, Near Mells, Frome, Somerset BA11 3RG Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential special school

Newbury Manor School is a co-educational, residential and day independent special school for children who have autism spectrum disorders, often with additional complex needs.

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Information about this residential special school

At the time of the inspection, there were 40 children on roll. The residential provision can accommodate up to a maximum of eight children at one time. The length of stay varies from one night to a full term. At the time of inspection, eight children were using the residential provision.

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Information about this residential special school

Newbury Manor School is part of Priory Education and Children’s Services.

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Information about this residential special school

Inspection dates: 10 to 12 September 2019

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and 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 residential special school provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of previous inspection: 11 December 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good Inspection report for residential special school – Newbury Manor School 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from receiving good-quality, consistent, individualised care. Children are making good progress. They are developing, where possible, an understanding of themselves and their behaviours. Staff are skilled communicators. They understand how each child communicates, including the subtleties of body language. Staff are skilled at building relationships with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s day-to-day experiences in the residential provision are good. Children benefit from their residential stay. They take part in an excellent range of activities, which include children’s interests and provide opportunities for new experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s healthcare needs are met. Staff support children to access the medical and support services they need. Each child has a detailed healthcare plan which provides staff with clear guidance. Staff help children understand the reason why they must take certain medications. All medication is securely stored. Clear medication administration records are maintained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The therapeutic input children receive is outstanding. This work is integrated across all aspects of the school. The groups run by the therapist help children develop their social skills, build confidence and self-esteem as well as developing and sustaining friendships with peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are learning about their sexual health and relationships. Since the previous inspection, leaders and managers have redesigned and delivered training for staff to help the team to support children’s learning. This approach is effective in developing children’s knowledge and understanding in this area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff begin this work early to ensure that when a child leaves the school they are as prepared as possible, for adulthood. This reduces the child’s level of anxiety. Staff supporting each child effectively to move on to the next stage of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from living in a well-furnished, comfortable and welcoming environment. Communal spaces are large, providing ample space for the number of children using them. Staff have carried out work to make these areas more appealing.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Safeguarding arrangements at the school are effective. Clear records are maintained of safeguarding concerns. These are reviewed by leaders and managers and lessons learned are used to develop practice. Staff spoken with during the inspection have a clear understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Behaviour is well managed. Staff use a ‘connect before correct’ approach which has a Inspection report for residential special school – Newbury Manor School 3 focus on understanding the child’s behaviours in the context of the child’s needs. This approach is effective as there has been a reduction in the number of incidents and restraints. Children are creating strategies to manage their own behaviours.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Restraint is only used as a last resort to protect children or staff from harm. Records of restraint are scrutinised by leaders and managers. Lesson learned from these events are used to improve staff practice. Records of conversations with staff after they have been involved in a restraint require improvement as they do not consistently provide evidence of staff reflection.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff have a good understanding of risk, which includes the additional vulnerabilities of the children in their care. Staff identify and reduce risks for children effectively. They ensure that each child can access the community and take part in a range of exciting trips and activities. Good-quality risk assessments provide staff with clear guidance. Children are supported to develop their understanding of risk at a level appropriate to the individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management and monitoring arrangements are good. Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development of the residential provision. A clear development plan is in place to support ongoing improvements. Leaders and managers have high expectations, are ambitious and have a clear vision for the school. They strive to enable children to achieve their full potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from working in a supportive environment. Staff receive regular good- quality, reflective supervision which helps them develop their practice. Supervision records are of a good quality as are annual reviews of staff practice. Staff feel well supported in their role by leaders, managers and their peers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of training provided for staff is good. Leaders and managers support staff to access additional training, which benefits the children and promotes the development of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Consultation and communication with children are outstanding. Staff are highly skilled at using a wide variety of communication methods and approaches to ensure that the voice of the child is heard. Staff across the school seek children’s views on all aspects of their lives. The school council is a very effective forum.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have built good working partnerships with parents and other professionals. This serves to create a cohesive approach to children’s care. Leaders and managers challenge professionals effectively to ensure that children’s needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Equality and diversity are promoted, with uniqueness and individuality recognised and celebrated. Children embrace diversity; for example, the school council has decided that the school will hold a winter festival in respect and recognition that not all children celebrate Christmas. Inspection report for residential special school – Newbury Manor School 4 Records maintained by staff have improved since the previous inspection. They are well organised and up to date, except for one child’s education, health and care plan, which required updating. This has been requested by the headteacher and has yet to be received from the placing authority.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The school’s website requires review and updating. Inspection report for residential special school – Newbury Manor School 5

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

In particular, records maintained of discussion with staff need to be of a good quality and include staff reflecting on their practice during the event.  The school follows and maintains the policies and documents described in Appendix 1. (National minimum standards 13.7)

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Recommendations

In particular, the school website needs to be kept under review to ensure that all information on it is current.  The school produces a written placement plan, agreed as far as is practicable with the child, the child’s parents/carers and any placing authority for the child, unless the information is held elsewhere such as in the child’s statement of special educational needs or education, health and care plan. The placement plan identifies the needs of that child that the school should meet and specifies how the school will care for the child and promote their welfare on a day to day basis. (National minimum standards 21.1)

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Recommendations

In particular, one child’s education, health and care plan needs to be updated.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people 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 – Newbury Manor School 6

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: SC033016

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Residential special school details

Type of school: Residential special school

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Residential special school details

Email address: AndyHolder@priorygroup.com

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Inspector

Wendy Anderson, social care inspector (lead) Inspection report for residential special school – Newbury Manor School 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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