The Marchant-Holliday School

Inspection report for residential special school – The Marchant-Holliday School 1 The Marchant-Holliday School North Cheriton, Templecombe, Somerset BA8 0AH Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential special school

The school is an independent residential special school located in rural Somerset. The school is a registered charity that provides education and residential provision for boys aged between five and 13 years who have behavioural and/or emotional and/or social needs.

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Information about this residential special school

The total number of pupils on the roll at school at the time of this inspection was 49 pupils. The school provides a weekly residential provision for up to 20 boys during term time. At the time of this inspection, 10 boys were resident. The residential provision forms part of the main school building.

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Information about this residential special school

The head of welfare, who is also the designated safeguarding lead, oversees the residential provision. She has been in post for three years and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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: 18 October 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good Inspection report for residential special school – The Marchant-Holliday School 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive very good quality care and support when staying at the residential provision. Staff know the children exceptionally well and positive relationships are developed between children and the staff. At the time of this inspection, the inspector observed the supportive, warm and nurturing care given to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are very happy and are making good progress. Parents and staff are able to identify the progress that children are making. Parents who contributed to the inspection say that their children’s self-confidence, self-esteem and independence skills have improved. In addition, children are learning how to manage their feelings and emotions more effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that there is a wide selection of activities, games and play opportunities that reflect the children’s interests. Children say that they love the after-school clubs and evening activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy nutritious and good-quality meals. Children say that they love the food. However, children have all their meals, including breakfast, in the school’s main dining areas. Consequently, they do not always experience a family-style meal away from the school environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly seeks the views and opinions of the children. This includes termly surveys and children’s participation on the school council. However, the most recent surveys have not been evaluated. In addition, children’s meetings or ‘catch-up meetings’ do not occur in the residential provision. Therefore, leaders and managers cannot demonstrate the actions they have taken after seeking children’s views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s healthcare needs are met and the management and storage of medication are good. A child told the inspector that the encouragement and support he has had from staff have helped to improve his health outcomes.

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

Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Since the last inspection, one referral has appropriately been made to the local authority designated officer and one to children’s services. Good records are kept of the actions taken and the outcomes.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that all staff, including school governors, receive regular safeguarding training appropriate to their roles, and in line with statutory responsibilities and guidance. Staff spoken to at this inspection have a good understanding of safeguarding protocols. Children say that they feel safe and can Inspection report for residential special school – The Marchant-Holliday School 3 identify many staff that they would speak to if they were worried or upset. In addition, parents who contributed to this inspection say that their children are safe.

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

Behaviour is well managed. Restraint is used as a last resort to keep children safe. Staff ensure that children are spoken to after incidents by someone who is independent of the incident. In addition, staff reflect on their practice to ascertain if incidents could have been managed differently.

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

Leaders and managers scrutinise restraint records effectively to look for any triggers and trends. Data is collected to inform leaders and governors of the incidence of restraint across the whole school. Leaders recognise that extrapolating the residential restraint data from the whole school data would assist the monitoring and evaluation of this by leaders and governors.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that children’s support plans, behaviour support plans and risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated. Staff have a good working knowledge of these documents so that risk is managed effectively.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that there are effective systems in place in relation to staff recruitment and selection. This supports the safeguarding of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The headteacher and head of welfare have high expectations for what all children can achieve. They ensure that children receive a high standard of care and support. The headteacher and head of welfare are visible and involved in the day-to-day operation of the school and residential provision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The headteacher has a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision. Through his regular review and monitoring of the provision, he has identified where improvement is needed and has action plans and a development plan to further improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have developed an informative child-friendly children’s version of the statement of purpose. However, this does not appear on the school’s website pertaining to the residential provision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent visitor conducts visits effectively and ensures that they speak to the children to gain their views. Information from these visits is used by leaders and managers to develop the residential provision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The chair of governors met with the inspector at this inspection. She ensures that the school’s governing body monitors the leadership, management and delivery of the residential and welfare provision in the school effectively. Since the last inspection, Inspection report for residential special school – The Marchant-Holliday School 4 there have been some changes to the governing body and its members’ roles and responsibilities continue to become embedded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular mandatory training and effective supervision. Staff speak highly of the head of welfare and senior leadership team. They say that they are approachable and feel very well supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from parents and an independent reviewing officer is extremely positive. They speak of the high quality of care that children receive and the effective communication with leaders and managers. This demonstrates the importance that the school places on working together to improve the outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The four recommendations that were made at the last inspection have been met. Inspection report for residential special school – The Marchant-Holliday School 5

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Points for improvement

 School leaders should review the current arrangements for mealtimes in the residential provision in order to enhance the children’s dining experiences.  School leaders should ensure that children’s ‘catch-up meetings’ are held in the residential provision. In addition, they should develop an agenda and provide the children with the outcome of the meetings.  School leaders should consider reviewing the standard 3 format to extrapolate the residential restraint data from the whole-school data.  School leaders should ensure that the children’s version of the school’s statement of purpose that pertains to the residential provision is posted on the school’s website.

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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 – The Marchant-Holliday School 6

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: SC033089

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Residential special school details

Type of school: Residential special school

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Residential special school details

Email address: office@marchant-holliday.co.uk

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Inspector

David Kidner, Social Care Inspector (lead) Inspection report for residential special school – The Marchant-Holliday 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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