City College Norwich, Paston College and Easton College

Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: City College Norwich, Paston College and Easton College City College Norwich, Paston College and Easton College Easton, Norwich, Norfolk NR9 5DX Inspection of residential provision Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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residential accommodation

Norwich City College is a large general further education college based in Norfolk, which now has over 9,000 students. Over the last three years it has merged twice, first with Paston Sixth Form College (2017) and most recently with the Easton College campus of Easton and Otley College (2020). The Easton campus includes residential accommodation. This is the first inspection of the residential accommodation since the merger. The Easton campus has 28 residential places for students aged 16-18. At the time of the inspection, 10 residential students were in accommodation.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: City College Norwich, Paston College and Easton College

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

Young people are positive about their experiences at this college. They feel that the staff care about them and know them well. Young people said that they are well looked after and that the staff understand them and know their interests. Young people have a sense of pride about being a residential student.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

Young people said that there are many benefits to staying in residence. They have made progress with their social skills and confidence and they have become more independent.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

Good systems are in place for young people to discuss their experiences at the college and share their views. Managers make changes because of listening to the views of the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

The young people enjoy good-quality food. They hold the chef in high regard. The catering staff teach the young people to cook. Individual dietary requirements are well catered for.

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Overall experiences and progress of young people: good

Some of the accommodation for young people lacks homeliness. Some fixtures and furnishings are broken, paintwork is marked and carpets in communal areas are worn. These shortfalls reduce young people’s positive experience of living at the college. Managers recognise this and have begun a process of improvement. However, the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and the need to prioritise immediate large-scale repairs mean that there is yet to be significant improvement to the living spaces.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

The young people say they feel safe and that they can talk to staff if they have worries or concerns.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

Skilled and confident safeguarding lead staff are available to the young people. When necessary, safeguarding staff work well with external professionals such as social workers.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

The staff escalate concerns appropriately. Managers maintain good safeguarding records. These are easy to navigate and provide a clear picture of actions taken.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

Senior managers and leaders respond strongly to incidents of poor behaviour. They use a combination of guidance and reprimand. This leads to improvements in young people’s behaviour. It also results in increased understanding of issues and concerns that the young people have. Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: City College Norwich, Paston College and Easton College Incidents of bullying are infrequent. The staff are alert to the potential for such incidents to take place. Young people have confidence in the way in which staff support them and respond to any incidents.

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How well young people are helped and protected: good

Generally, safeguarding staff share good-quality information with the relevant people. Designated officers have a high level of confidence in the safeguarding staff. However, on one occasion, information was not shared as promptly as it should have been. This did not result in any harm to a young person. Nevertheless, delays in raising concerns can delay the implementation of appropriate safeguards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new leadership team is ambitious. Leaders have high expectations of the young people and the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have a good understanding of the progress that young people make. Clear systems are in place. These enable the identification of young people who may be struggling academically. This has enabled successful interventions to take place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

No complaints have been received. All the young people spoken with felt able to raise concerns and were confident that staff would act on them. Managers have ensured that staff continued to meet with families during periods of lockdown due to COVID-19. These have enabled good relationships to improve further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have a good understanding of equality and diversity issues. Education staff explore equality issues relevant to the courses that the young people are completing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have access to and undertake appropriate training. However, some staff had not completed first-aid training. This resulted in occasions when no first-aid trained staff were working. Senior managers took immediate action during the inspection to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior managers monitor the residential service and provide reports for governors. Governors have a balanced and proportionate view of the quality of the residential service. However, monitoring of the residential accommodation has not been effective. As a result, some issues identified during this inspection had not been identified by managers. Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: City College Norwich, Paston College and Easton College

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the residential accommodation is appropriately monitored, cleaned and maintained.  The registered person should ensure that all potential safeguarding concerns about staff are discussed promptly with the designated officer in the local authority.

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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.

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accommodation details

Social care unique reference number: 2576569 Principal/CEO: Corrienne Peasgood

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Inspectors

Ashley Hinson, Social Care Inspector Lianne Bradford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for further education college with residential accommodation: City College Norwich, Paston College and Easton College 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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