Warwickshire College

Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Warwickshire College 1 Warwickshire College Warwickshire College, Royal Leamington Spa & Moreton Morrell, Warwick New Road, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV32 5JE Inspection of residential provision Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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residential accommodation

Warwickshire College delivers vocational and academic education and training to young people and adults. The college operates from seven campuses: Royal Leamington Spa College, Moreton Morrell College, Pershore College, Warwick Trident College, Rugby College, Evesham College and Malvern Hills College.

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residential accommodation

Residential services are provided at the Royal Leamington Spa College, Moreton Morrell College and Pershore College campuses. At the time of inspection, there were 62 full-time and international students, and apprentices under the age of 18 residing on these residential sites.

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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

Date of last inspection: 21 November 2016

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Warwickshire College 2

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

Staff are skilled at building excellent, trusting relationships with residential students. This process starts straight away during induction. Staff introduce tasks that require students to focus, listen to instructions, navigate the residential and college sites, learn about the college’s ethos and values and become valued members of the college community.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

Staff work in close partnership with families and other professionals to ensure continuous holistic support to students throughout their college life. Aspirational educational and residential targets are set and regularly reviewed. These initiatives develop students’ self-esteem and confidence, increase their independence and prepare them for further education and employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

Students receive well-coordinated support from health and welfare, education and residential staff. There are established systems in place that ensure regular and effective communication between these various specialists. This has been further enhanced by the introduction of a tailored recording system that is accessible to all of the relevant professionals in a student’s life. Students enjoy their time at college and make lifelong friends. They actively participate in a range of well-coordinated activities. Staff value and encourage students to contribute to college life. There are a range of forums that promote students’ voices and ensure that their feedback is listened to and acted on. For example, this term has seen the introduction of a new catering firm that is working with students and college leaders to develop menus and dining areas.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

Vigilant staff keep residential students safe and help them to understand how to keep themselves safe. The focus of all staff is to educate students so that they can make informed decisions that will promote their long-term well-being.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are very skilled at calmly managing challenging incidents. When necessary, staff work closely with social workers, families and the police. They continually monitor patterns and trends of incidents nationally, in the local community and in the college. They use this information to identify training for staff and students. They invite guest speakers into the college, which helps to inform practice. As a result, incidents are low, and behaviour is good.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

The standard of residential accommodation and facilities vary across the three sites. One site requires more work to bring it up to the standard of the other two. Leaders have developed a refurbishment plan, which they regularly monitor and review. This accurately identifies and prioritises areas that require work to ensure a consistently good standard across all college sites. Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Warwickshire College 3

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Governors, leaders and staff are student-focused and passionate about the service. They are aspirational for students. They ensure that students make good progress, which supports them to successfully move on to the next stage of their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Residential staff provide students with reassuring support and are excellent role models. Their practice is built on a firm foundation of well-understood policies and procedures, which are reinforced through staff induction, supervision, mandatory and refresher training, annual appraisals and focused team meetings. Staff are continually developing their knowledge and skills to meet the changing needs of students. They visit other residential colleges to observe practice, and attend meetings to discuss and share ideas and attend specialist training. For example. one member of staff is attending training that is enabling her to run sessions for students on relationships and sexual health.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and governors know the service well and continue to make improvements that drive up standards for staff and students. For example, enhancing procedures to manage adverse weather conditions and ensuring that students are safe on site, listening to and supporting international students and increasing funding for an additional counsellor to support students’ emotional well-being.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that suitable sleeping accommodation is provided for all residential students. (NMS 5.1)

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Recommendations

This specifically relates to ensuring that student accommodation is of the same standard across all three sites.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of 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 further education college with residential accommodation: Warwickshire College 4

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accommodation details

Social care unique reference number: SC034225

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Inspectors

Dawn Bennett, Social Care Inspector Sue Young, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: Warwickshire College 5 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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