Chalk Hill

Inspection report for residential special school - Chalk Hill 1 Chalk Hill Cats Lane, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2SF Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential special school

Chalk Hill is a residential alternative provision academy for boys aged between eight and 14 who have been permanently excluded, or are at risk of permanent exclusion, from mainstream school.

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Information about this residential special school

The school is in a residential area of Sudbury, Suffolk. There are 16 pupils on roll, of whom 12 can use the residential provision. Two children are currently staying in the residential provision for four nights a week.

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Information about this residential special school

The head of the residential provision has been in post since 2015. She has the relevant experience and qualifications to manage the residential provision.

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Information about this residential special school

The inspector 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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The residential special school is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of previous inspection: 17 October 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good Inspection report for residential special school - Chalk Hill 2

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improvement to be good

Children have benefited from several positive experiences and interactions because of staying in residence. However, since the inspection in October 2022, there have been a number of shortfalls in the quality of the service. More recently, leaders and managers have overseen some progress in several areas. This progress is in its infancy and is not yet sufficiently embedded. However, this indicates that the provider has the capacity to make the necessary improvements.

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improvement to be good

Staff shortages have meant that the provider has been unable to open on several occasions as the safety of children could not be assured. More recently, the provider has had to close the overnight provision while fire safety work took place. During this time, the provider offered children evening activities.

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improvement to be good

The provider uses care plans to support staff to care for the children. However, these have not always given staff the information needed to look after the children. For example, on occasion, the plans fail to consider children’s cultural needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff generally have a good knowledge of the children and are aware of the progress that children make. Children who stay in residence have improved emotional and social outcomes compared to those children who do not.

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improvement to be good

The support from staff has enabled one child to return to mainstream education. The headteacher advocated on this child’s behalf to ensure that he can continue to live at the school during the phased move.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they love staying in residence. They spoke about having friends because of staying in residence. They said that staying in residence means that they do things that they would not otherwise be able to do, such as being part of a football team. As a result, children experience enriching opportunities.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have overseen recent improvements to the help and protection offered to children at the school. There have previously been occasions when staff did not respond appropriately to some safeguarding concerns. However, recently, the provider has significantly increased the capacity of the safeguarding team. This has resulted in there being four, rather than one, senior staff members trained as designated safeguarding leads. Leaders and managers have also increased their oversight of safeguarding incidents and are beginning to use this oversight more successfully. However, these improvements are not yet embedded, and further work is needed to ensure consistently good responses to safeguarding concerns. Inspection report for residential special school - Chalk Hill 3 Leaders and managers did not initially respond with appropriate pace or rigour to serious concerns about fire doors that required immediate attention. However, more

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improvement to be good

recently, senior leaders have closed the residential provision to enable further action to be taken to explore fire safety concerns.

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improvement to be good

The provider uses individual risk assessments for children. However, these have not always been reflective of known concerns, such as children’s exposure to domestic violence and risk of being sexually exploited. Some risk assessments have lacked specific detail to guide staff to manage risks such as swimming, road safety and exposure to criminal exploitation.

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improvement to be good

The staff have managed children’s behaviour well. There have been no incidents in the residential provision since the last inspection that have required physical intervention.

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improvement to be good

Staff speak to children about safeguarding issues to provide them with guidance and support. In addition, staff discuss children’s time spent away from school to assess their welfare after weekends and holidays from school. Opportunities are routinely created to support children and educate them on matters relevant to their lives.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have provided responsive and flexible support for one child following wider concerns about their safety and welfare.

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good

Leaders and managers have recently strengthened the monitoring and oversight arrangements for residence. Previously, these arrangements have not always been sufficient. Some issues were not identified by internal or external monitoring, leading to governors lacking knowledge of some shortfalls. The provider now has a better understanding of the areas in which improvement is necessary. However, it is too early in the implementation of these improvements to fully assess their effectiveness.

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good

Leaders and managers are keen to ensure external scrutiny of the provision. They have recently commissioned an external audit to review safeguarding. In addition, they are using the expertise of other local residential provisions to regularly visit the school and provide an independent written report on the conduct of the school.

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good

A lack of accessibility has meant that governors have not always visited the sleeping accommodation or the upstairs area of the residence. However, more recently, governors’ visits have included visits to all appropriate areas of the provision. This recent change reduces the risk of governors lacking awareness of any issues with the environment.

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good

Staff said that the head of care is accessible, approachable and supportive. They said the head of care provides them with support on matters in and out of the school. The head of care is aware of the importance of maintaining the well-being of staff. Inspection report for residential special school - Chalk Hill 4 The staff receive regular supervisions. The headteacher has recently identified additional supervisory support for the head of care from an appropriately experienced peer. However, this has not yet taken place. Inspection report for residential special school - Chalk Hill 5

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special schools

The school does not meet the following national minimum standard(s) for residential special schools:

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special schools

 The school’s leadership and management fulfil their responsibilities consistently and effectively so that the standards are met. In particular, ensure that recent improvements are sustained and embedded. (Boarding schools: national minimum standards 2.4)  The records specified in Appendix B are maintained and monitored by the school and action taken as appropriate. In particular, in relation to the use of risk assessments and care plans. (Boarding schools: national minimum standards 2.8)

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Points for improvement

 School leaders should ensure that responses to fire risk assessments are timely and rigorous.  School leaders should ensure that the additional support identified for the head of care is provided.

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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 - Chalk Hill 6

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: 2640599

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Residential special school details

Email address: office@chalkhill.sendat.academy

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Inspectors

Lianne Bradford, Social Care Inspector Ashley Hinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential special school - Chalk Hill 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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