Walton Hall

Inspection report for residential special school - Walton Hall 1 Walton Hall Walton Hall Special School, Walton, Eccleshall, Stafford ST21 6JR Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential special school

Walton Hall Academy is a residential special school for secondary-aged and post-16 children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities, including aspects of autism spectrum disorder, emotional and behavioural difficulties and other complex needs. The school is in a rural part of Staffordshire. Residential accommodation is provided in two buildings sited within the school’s grounds and provides accommodation for boys and girls.

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Information about this residential special school

The residential provision was last inspected in February 2019.

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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 good

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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: 5 February 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding Inspection report for residential special school - Walton Hall 2

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outstanding

Children accessing this residential provision continue to make significant and measurable progress. Staff work closely with education staff and healthcare staff to provide bespoke care and support that meets children’s complex needs. These partnership arrangements mean that children blossom in this environment.

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outstanding

Relationships between children and staff are exceptionally positive. Staff focus on getting to know children and understanding their complex health and medical needs. They continually encourage children to use their language preferences, including sign languages, symbols and gestures to express their wishes and views. Children develop meaningful friendships with their peers and these enhance their life experiences.

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outstanding

Staff work closely with children’s parents and carers. These excellent relationships mean that children benefit from seamless care and support. One parent said, ‘The staff know [name of child] nearly as well as I do. When he stays he does the things that I could never do with him and I can’t thank the staff enough for that.’

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outstanding

The quality of care children receive is exceptional. Staff are highly skilled and continue to develop their skills to ensure that children experience a wide range of meaningful and diverse activities. This means that the residential provision is a stimulating and exciting environment for children. This supports them to develop the social, emotional and cognitive skills that will help them to move towards adulthood. Staff continually celebrate children’s successes and achievements and children grow in confidence because of this.

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outstanding

Children are fully involved in decisions about how they spend their time during their stays and who they spend their time with. Staff ensure that children’s complex needs are not a barrier that prevents them from accessing community resources and activities. This can-do attitude is embedded in the ethos of this residential provision and means that children thrive in this setting.

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outstanding

Children are safe and protected from harm. Staff are extremely competent in assessing children’s risks and focus their risk management strategies on reassuring children and reducing their anxieties. They use clear verbal and non-verbal communication to de-escalate and defuse potentially harmful situations. Consequently, there have been no incidents of restraint in the residential provision since the last inspection.

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outstanding

For some children, their complex health needs potentially place them at risk of harm. In these circumstances, residential staff work closely with nursing staff to ensure that Inspection report for residential special school - Walton Hall 3 they fully understand children’s medical conditions. Since the last inspection, senior managers have renegotiated service agreements with the health provider. This means that children’s health plans include their time in residency. This further strengthens the arrangements in place to continually promote children’s well-being.

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outstanding

In addition to comprehensive safeguarding training, staff have opportunities to develop their awareness and understanding of how children’s attachments impact on their safety and well-being. They are fully aware of their responsibilities and confidently refer any concerns for children’s welfare and safety to the relevant agencies. Senior managers vigorously scrutinise safeguarding practice across the school. This helps to keep children safe and protect them from harm.

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outstanding

All residential and school staff are subject to robust recruitment processes. Recruitment records include verified employment references and a range of suitability checks. This ensures that staff are safe to work with children.

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outstanding

The dedicated maintenance team members embrace their responsibilities for keeping children safe. They quickly address any known hazards or risks to children’s physical welfare and safety. This team ensures that the premises and grounds are maintained to a high standard, with good risk awareness and risk management. This means that the residential accommodation is free from hazards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The residential provision benefits from strong and effective leadership. The head of care and the deputy head of care focus their actions on meeting children’s individual needs, supporting their progress and providing them with an enjoyable residential experience. Residential staff continually demonstrate their commitment and have high aspirations for every child in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The frequent monitoring and evaluation of the residential provision by senior leaders, managers and independent visitors means that the service meets children’s needs. Managers continue to update the care planning process so that children’s care plans capture their progress. However, not all staff complete these plans in detail. This means that for some children information regarding their achievements is not contained within this central record.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the head of care has reviewed internal policies and procedures. These take account of children’s needs and provide children’s families with essential information. Nevertheless, procedures relating to specific arrangements for when children are unwell in residency still need further clarification. This will ensure that parents are fully aware of their responsibilities and that other children’s time in residency is not disrupted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that staff have the skills and experience that they need to support children. They seek to offer new training opportunities and use research to enable them to reflect on and review their practice. Nevertheless, some mandatory training Inspection report for residential special school - Walton Hall 4 courses for more established and experienced staff are not up to date. The head of care is aware of this but has yet to arrange for refresher training to take place. This does not impact on the quality of care for children. Staff receive reflective supervision. These sessions provide them with the opportunity to reflect on their relationships with children and their own personal development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff work in partnership with parents and external professionals. This means that children receive well-organised packages of care and education. Parents are exceptionally positive about the care that their children receive. They say that the residential provision provides huge benefits for their children. Inspection report for residential special school - Walton Hall 5

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Recommendations

 Ensure that children’s case files provide a comprehensive and inclusive description of their individual needs, their developmental aims and goals and their progress.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that policies and procedures for the care of children who are unwell when accessing this residential service are easily accessible and sufficiently detailed to provide families with necessary information.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff are equipped with the skills required to meet the needs of the children as they relate to the purpose of the setting, and that training is regularly refreshed and kept up to date.

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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 - Walton Hall 6

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: SC038723

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Residential special school details

Headteacher/teacher in charge: Amanda Cameron

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Residential special school details

Type of school: Residential Special School

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Residential special school details

Email address: acameron@waltonhall.shaw-education.org.uk

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Inspector

Jo Stephenson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential special school - Walton Hall 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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