Elysium Healthcare Potters Bar Clinic School

Elysium Healthcare Potters Bar Clinic School - School progress monitoring inspection report

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Elysium Healthcare Potters Bar Clinic School Barnet Road, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, Potters Bar EN6 2SE

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Main inspection findings

Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils Part 6. Provision of information Paragraphs 7, 7(a), 32(1), 32(1)(c)  During the standard inspection in March 2019, the arrangements for safeguarding pupils were not effective. Leaders had failed in their legal responsibility to safeguard pupils. Leaders lacked a comprehensive understanding about the extent of their responsibility to safeguard pupils.  These two independent school standards were not met during the first progress monitoring inspection in October 2019 because the school’s safeguarding arrangements were not effective. Paragraph 32(1)(c) was met in the March 2019 standard inspection but was not met in the October 2019 progress monitoring inspection. The school’s safeguarding policy published on the school website did not include all the required up- to-date guidance and information. The procedures, protocols and policies for reporting concerns about pupils were not fully embedded across the school. ‘The reporting form

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Main inspection findings

for safeguarding concerns’ was not used consistently according to school policy. Leaders were in the process of retraining staff by using a scenario-based approach to help staff understand the implications of their actions.  In the school’s action plan, leaders proposed to embed clear protocols to safeguard pupils by providing staff with ongoing safeguarding training opportunities. They planned to maintain an open and transparent culture by acknowledging areas to be improved and actioning any lessons learned. Leaders proposed to create clear communication channels between the hospital and the school, especially regarding events that take place outside of school time. Leaders planned to address any actions identified from the external audit. They proposed to continue formal and regular individual and group safeguarding supervision sessions. Leaders planned to ensure that revised policies accurately reflected

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Main inspection findings

the school’s provision and that current policies were published on the school’s website. They stated the safeguarding policy would be updated to contain the latest statutory guidance and referenced in a welcome pack for parents.  Since the first progress monitoring inspection in October 2019, the school’s safeguarding policy has been updated to reflect the most recent legal guidance, and it is personalised to the school. The policy is suitable. It is available on the school website and is readily available as a paper copy to parents, carers and other stakeholders upon request.  All staff have appropriate induction for safeguarding pupils, including information on staff’s conduct. Staff have up-to-date knowledge of their roles and responsibilities for safeguarding pupils. They receive safeguarding training and regular updates on the latest statutory safeguarding requirements, including ‘Keeping children safe in education’,

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Main inspection findings

September 2020. Staff have completed accredited courses on female genital mutilation, child sexual exploitation and the ‘Prevent’ duty, and are highly attuned to possible safeguarding risks.  Formal individual and group safeguarding supervision sessions occur on a regular basis. Sessions are personalised according to the needs of staff. Leaders record staff training and have in place systems to check that staff have received, read and understood the latest safeguarding guidance. Staff now have a consistent approach to protect children at risk of harm.  Staff report concerns immediately to the designated safeguarding leaders. They understand that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Staff understand that they must be vigilant. ‘The reporting form for safeguarding concerns’ is used consistently according to school policy. The procedures, protocols and policies for reporting concerns about pupils are embedded across the school. Leaders use a scenario-based approach

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Main inspection findings

relevant to the setting to help staff understand the implications of their actions.  The designated safeguarding leaders have appropriate, up-to-date training and are well qualified to carry out their role. They have implemented an orderly system for recording safeguarding concerns about pupils. Information shows that pupils are at the centre of the actions taken. All incidents are recorded diligently. Leaders’ actions and follow up are swift and appropriate. Leaders liaise closely with external agencies and make sure that records are kept up to date in a timely manner. Referrals are made to the designated officer for the pupils’ local authority.  There is frequent communication between school and hospital leaders. Safeguarding concerns are discussed during the morning board review. Processes for ensuring that pupils are safe and well looked after are clear and understood by leaders. Staff are attentive to changes in pupils’ attitudes and behaviour and work closely with the hospital

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Main inspection findings

staff. Leaders provide the management committee with up-to-date information in a timely manner about safeguarding pupils and behaviour incidents in the school.  All of the required pre-recruitment checks are carried out when new staff are recruited to work at the school, including a check on medical fitness. A number of staff have received safer recruitment training and staff involved with recruitment are up to date with the latest guidance.  Leaders have ensured that these two independent school standards are now met. Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools Paragraph 34(1), 34(1)(a), 34(1)(b), 34(1)(c)  At the standard inspection in March 2019, the proprietor had not ensured that effective systems and procedures were in place to safeguard pupils. Those with leadership and management responsibilities did not fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards were met consistently.

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Main inspection findings

 At the first progress monitoring inspection in October 2019, leaders had not made sure that all of the independent school standards were met. As identified above, leaders had continued to improve systems and procedures for safeguarding pupils since the standard inspection, but the reporting of concerns was not yet fully embedded. Some school policies on the website had not been updated to meet the latest statutory requirements.  In the October 2019 progress monitoring inspection, there were unmet standards identified in part 1 of the independent school standards. For this progress monitoring inspection, these unmet standards were not inspected due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) restrictions.  The school’s action plan proposed a number of appropriate actions. The proprietor proposed to maintain and further improve communication with the daily, ward-based staff and the hospital director. The proprietor aimed to complete the daily reporting log

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Main inspection findings

on serious incidents and safeguarding concerns on a consistent basis. The proprietor planned to develop training for senior leaders and staff and to make senior leadership positions substantive to provide stability for the school.  Since the October 2019 progress monitoring inspection, leaders have worked effectively to address the requirements within the unmet standards in part 3, part 6 and part 8 of the independent school standards that relate to the arrangements to safeguard pupils. A permanent headteacher has been appointed and has worked relentlessly to ensure that safeguarding is effective by acknowledging areas to be improved and actioning any lessons learned.  Leaders demonstrate knowledge of the independent school standards that were checked at this progress monitoring inspection. They understand their ongoing role is to ensure that the standards are met consistently. Leaders have commissioned external quality

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Main inspection findings

assurance support to review the school’s ongoing compliance with the independent school standards. The management committee routinely challenge school leaders to ensure that safeguarding arrangements are effective.  Leaders have ensured that this independent school standard is now met.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements that were checked during this inspection. This included the standards and requirements that the school was judged to not comply with at the previous inspection. Not all of the standards and associated requirements were checked during this inspection.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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School details

Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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School details

Of which, number on roll in sixth form 8

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School details

Website www.elysiumhealthcare.co.uk/education/sch ools/potters bar clinic school/ Email address info@elysiumhealthcare.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous standard inspection 19–21 March 2019

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Information about this school

 Pupils who attend this school are patients at Potters Bar Clinic.  Potters Bar Clinic provides child and adolescent mental health services tier 4, low secure services through the National Health Service for children and young people with personality disorders and complex social, emotional and mental health needs.  The proprietor for this school is also the proprietor for two other specialist schools: Rhodes Wood Hospital School and Brighton and Hove Clinic School. There is a head of education, who undertakes quality assurance work across all three schools.  Following a pre-registration inspection in June 2018, the school was registered with the Department for Education (DfE) in July 2018. At that time, the school’s registered name was Potters Bar Clinic School. The school provides full-time education to pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Some of the pupils have an education,

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Information about this school

health and care plan.  Admission to the school is via admission to the clinic. Pupils’ places are funded by their local authority. The school is registered to take a maximum of 30 pupils from the age of 11 to 19 years.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school does not receive additional funding for disadvantaged pupils or Year 7 catch- up funding.  Inspection history – Ofsted conducted a pre-registration inspection of the school in June 2018. – The school received its full standard inspection in March 2019. The inspection judged that the school’s overall effectiveness was inadequate. There were 10 unmet independent school standards. – Following the March 2019 inspection, the DfE required the proprietor to provide an action plan to highlight how unmet standards were going to be addressed. On 1 July 2019, the action plan was judged as acceptable. – Ofsted conducted a progress monitoring inspection in October 2019, commissioned by

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Information about this school

the DfE. Five of the independent school standards were unmet. – The second evaluation of the school’s action plan in February 2020, following the progress monitoring inspection in October 2019, deemed it not acceptable.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was carried out at the request of the registration authority for independent schools. The purpose of the inspection was to monitor the progress the school has made in meeting the independent school standards and other requirements that it was judged to not comply with at its previous inspection.  Part 1 of the independent school standards was not inspected due to the COVID-19 restrictions in force at the time of this progress monitoring inspection. Inspectors only looked at the requirements within parts 3, 6 and 8 that relate to the school’s arrangements to safeguard pupils.  This is the second monitoring inspection since the standard inspection in March 2019. The inspection was announced with a telephone conversation to the headteacher 10 minutes prior to the arrival at the school.  The proprietor remains the same as at the March 2019 standard inspection. The proprietor was available to meet inspectors at this second progress monitoring inspection

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Information about this inspection

via an online meeting.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the executive teacher and head of education.  Inspectors met with the designated safeguarding and child protection lead.  Inspectors held a telephone conversation with a representative from Hertfordshire local authority children’s services.  A range of documentation was scrutinised, including that relating to safeguarding pupils, the welfare, health and safety of pupils and provision of information.

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Inspection team

Stefanie Lipinski-Barltrop, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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The school now meets the following independent school standards

Standards that were unmet at the previous inspection and are now met at this inspection

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

 7 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that– – 7(a) arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school.

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Part 6. Provision of information

 32(1) The standard about the provision of information by the school is met if the proprietor ensures that– – 32(1)(c) particulars for the arrangements for meeting the standard contained in paragraph 7 are published on the school’s internet website or, where no such website exists, are provided to parents on request.

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

 34(1) The standard about the quality of leadership and management is met if the proprietor ensures that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school– – 34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently; – 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently; and – 34(1)(c) actively promote the well-being of pupils. guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

Parent View You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/ofsted .

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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