Cicely Haughton

Inspection report for residential special school - Cicely Haughton 1 Cicely Haughton Cicely Haughton School, Westwood Manor, Wetley Rocks, Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire ST9 0BX Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential special school

Cicely Haughton is part of the Manor Hall Academy. It offers day and residential places to children aged five to 11 years with social, emotional and mental health needs. There are 59 pupils on role and the school offers 33 residential places in its residential provision. The residential provisions are called Wedgwood and Coalport. The residential provision is part of the school’s education curriculum offer. The head of care is suitably experienced and qualified.

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Information about this residential special school

The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this school.

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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 outstanding

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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: 24 January 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding Inspection report for residential special school - Cicely Haughton 2

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outstanding

The residential and extended day experiences clearly benefit children. This is because they stay in a highly inclusive setting where their individuality is recognised, supported and celebrated. Children make excellent progress in all aspects of their development. They receive individualised nurturing care and support, which means that they make sustainable progress. Residential staff work collaboratively with staff across the school and use their in-depth knowledge of each child to support their development.

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outstanding

Children who have experienced previous challenges in education, are now flourishing as part of the residential community. Children’s educational attendance and achievement are exceptionally high. Children who attend the residential provision have significantly better educational outcomes from their starting points. This evidences the commitment that residential staff have to supporting children to achieve their potential.

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outstanding

Residential staff are highly effective at monitoring children’s health needs and ensuring that they have the appropriate support. Through liaising closely with parents and carers, the staff have the necessary detailed knowledge of the children’s medical conditions and medication requirements. Effective processes are in place to administer medicines safely.

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outstanding

The head of care oversees planning processes for the children accessing the residential provision. Each child has an individual plan that sets achievable targets that are focused on the child’s personal and social development needs. Children are involved in setting targets and the review of their targets. This helps them to understand the progress that they are making and the areas that they still need to work on. Targets are shared and reviewed across the school and residential provision, and this contributes to the excellent progress children make.

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outstanding

Transitions in and out of residence are carefully and sensitively planned. Children can try activities and visit for tea before they stay overnight. Transitions are at the child’s pace. A child-friendly children’s guide contains photographs of all the staff and details about what the child can expect when they stay overnight. A parent said, ‘Before my son attended residential, he struggled to be independent and stay away from home despite wanting this. The residential staff supported and encouraged him to overcome his difficulties and emotions with this, and he now stays one night per week. This allows him to develop his social skills with other children.’

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outstanding

Children benefit from a wide range of activities. Activities are fun as well as enhancing the children’s learning opportunities. Children are involved in choosing from the well-organised activities with their peers. This maximises their opportunities to grow and develop and enhances their school day. Inspection report for residential special school - Cicely Haughton 3

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How well children and young people are helped and protected:

Children’s safety is paramount in this school. The head of care, who is the designated safeguarding lead, has an awareness and understanding of each child’s vulnerabilities and strengths. She is exceptionally good at advocating for children to get the support they need from external professionals to ensure their safety and well-being.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected:

Children’s physical, emotional and social development needs are supported well. Children are involved in writing their own support plans, which are reviewed and updated regularly. Clear strategies enable staff to support children to manage their behaviour and anxieties. Support plans outline the child’s preferred method of support. This means that children benefit from a consistent approach from staff.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected:

All staff clearly understand their individual responsibilities regarding keeping children safe. The electronic system for recording concerns provides an effective audit trail that demonstrates how procedures have been followed and how practice is reviewed following incidents. This further underpins the strong ethos of safeguarding that runs through the entire school.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected:

Children benefit from clear routines and boundaries. These are well understood and accepted by the children. They clearly know what is expected of them. Parents are confident in the staff team’s ability to care for their child safely. One parent said, ‘My son attends residential provision, and he looks forward to his evening there each week. I know that he is safe and well cared for.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected:

Staff have an excellent understanding of each child’s emotional needs and this supports a swift response to signs of anxiety or distress. Joint working across the school means that children benefit from a consistent approach to behaviour. A nurturing approach is used by staff, which supports children to reflect on their own behaviours. This helps children to develop resilience and informs them to be able to make safer choices as they progress. Consequently, children are now beginning to identify early indicators of what makes them anxious. As a direct impact of this approach, there has been a reduction in the use of physical intervention and children are developing their own behaviour management strategies.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected:

The recruitment, selection and vetting of staff are effective and promote children’s safety. Health and safety in the residential provision are well managed. Routine servicing and checks take place as required. Fire safety precautions are checked on a regular basis, which includes servicing firefighting equipment, testing alarms and carrying out evacuation drills. Risk assessments are routinely reviewed and updated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

School leaders and the head of care work together with a shared aim of making sure that the residential service continues to make a positive difference to the lives of Inspection report for residential special school - Cicely Haughton 4 children and their families. This is achieved by using research-based practice. Leaders have created a dynamic and inspirational environment where children and staff can grow and gain an extensive range of new skills. Subsequently, children receive the highest quality of care and support and enjoy a seamless journey through school and residential provision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The head of care continues to develop her role and is an active part of the school’s senior leadership team. She is well supported by the care staff and the headteacher. She leads by example, offering support and guidance to the staff to make sure that the children’s needs are consistently met to a high standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive regular training to refresh their existing skills and to extend their knowledge and understanding of children’s needs. All staff across the school and residential provision work in a highly collaborative manner to support the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Effective systems are in place for monitoring the residential provision internally and externally. These include self-evaluation, independent visitors and consultation with stakeholders. Reports are shared with the governing body. This enables governors to have a clear oversight of the impact that the provision has on outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Partnerships between leaders and external professionals are exceptionally strong. These are supported by an active governing body. Together, they fully understand the positive impact that the residential provision has on children’s social, emotional, and academic progress and development. This means that children receive a well- organised package of care and education.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff work closely with children’s families. Parents are exceptionally positive about the care that their children receive. One parent said, ‘My daughter attends residence and she receives the most nurturing experience. She has people around her that really understand her needs, and with the nurture she gets she can be who she is. She always comes home with a massive smile on her face.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There are no breaches of National Minimum Standards or recommendations arising from this inspection. Inspection report for residential special school - Cicely Haughton 5

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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 - Cicely Haughton 6

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: SC038731

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Residential special school details

Headteacher/teacher in charge: Janey Hancock

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Residential special school details

Type of school: Residential Special School

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Residential special school details

Email address: jhancock@cicely.manorhall.academy

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Inspectors

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector (lead) Chanel Bryant, Social Care Inspector Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential special school - Cicely Haughton 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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