Kings London

Inspection report for boarding school: Kings London 1 Kings London United Language Schools Ltd 25 Beckenham Road, Beckenham, London BR3 4PR

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this boarding school

Kings London is an independent school that is part of Kings Education, which runs international colleges in the United Kingdom and United States of America. Students come from all over the world and undertake a range of academic and English language courses. Children under the age of 18 stay with host families during their studies. There are currently 94 students on roll and 15 of these are under the age of 18 and are staying with host families. There are no children under the age of 16. These nine children were placed from several different countries, including China, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, Algeria, Ghana, and Iran.

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Information about this boarding school

The setting was registered with Ofsted on 1 January 2016.

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Information about this boarding school

This inspection was carried out at the same time as an inspection of the school provision.

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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 boarding school provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Date of last inspection: 30 November 2021 Inspection report for boarding school: Kings London 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Students enjoy coming to stay in London and attending this school. Students make good academic progress and enjoy the extensive opportunities to take part in activities outside of the school day. These activities help students to explore the local area, as well as visiting famous London landmarks and museums. These experiences also give students the opportunities to practice their language skills and provide memorable times of their time in London.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Students have support from their host families and school staff. Host families speak positively about students and told inspectors about how many students stay in touch for many years. Tutors complete useful work in mixed tutor sessions so that they can help students to develop socially and prepare them for life outside of school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Students make good progress with their language skills while studying at the school. If additional support is needed school staff put this in place quickly. In addition, the immersive aspect of the hosting approach also strongly supports language and social development which is a key strength of the school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Students have mostly positive experience in their host homes. If students feel that the arrangements are not working, they raise these issues to the accommodation staff. These staff then act quickly to ensure that students move homes, so they feel comfortable to continue their time studying in London.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Students who are new to the country and to London, are helped to settle with a structured induction, as well as with informal support from their hosts. The school arranges sessions to help students understand safety aspects of living in London. The local police support these which emphasises their importance. This helps students to feel safe where they live.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and students in the school come from diverse cultures and backgrounds. The school has a strong multi-national and multi-cultural feel. In addition, staff promote British values across the school. Students enjoy learning from each other, and staff teach them to be understanding of people's differences and equality. As a result, students have a well-rounded experience where everyone celebrates diversity and individuality.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Students have aspirations for their continuing education after school. Most students have plans to attend other schools in Britain and aspire to attend university courses. Staff and leaders strongly encourage this aspiration. Inspection report for boarding school: Kings London 3

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

Students report feelings safe in school. Bullying is not a feature of this school, and due to the relationships and staffing arrangements leaders are confident that any issues are dealt with quickly.

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

Safeguarding arrangements are in place. If allegations about staff are disclosed to leaders, they involve other agencies and work to put appropriate safety arrangements in place. Records about allegations, including actions and risk assessments, are not always complete or well collated. This leads to some confusion about risk management. In addition, not all staff are entirely clear what information they need to share with leaders about their lives outside of work that may relate to safeguarding. However, leaders have plans in place to develop this understanding with staff.

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

Staff act quickly when students tell staff they are not safe. They report information to statutory agencies, and the designated safeguarding lead is tenacious in engaging the necessary professionals to gain support for students. Staff are clear on their duties to record any concerns but not all relevant information is recorded in a timely way. While this impacts on having a cohesive narrative about concerns, practice remains responsive and student focused.

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

Staff know students very well and spot early warning signs that students may be struggling. Staff understand that changes in behaviour can be indicative of underlying worries or concerns. Staff are inquisitive and professionally curious to understand why which helps students to gain support quickly. Leaders have detailed oversight of any concerns using the multi-disciplinary school team which meets weekly.

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

Staff recruitment is comprehensive. As a result, leaders are assured that the staff working in the school are safe to do so. Staff recruit host families in a systematic way. However, staff do not gain references for all responsible adults in host families and not all relevant adults in host families complete safeguarding training. Leaders are addressing these weaknesses.

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

Staff maintain good oversight of host family homes. They visit regularly and review the home environment, as well as ensuring that gas safety and fire safety are in place. This means that staff and leaders can be assured about the safety of the homes students live in.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders are committed to developing the provision of the school and students are central to their thinking. Leaders are responsive to feedback from all areas as they are committed to continuous improvement to help students have the best experience they can. Staff told inspectors they have leaders who they feel support them to ‘succeed not struggle.’ Inspection report for boarding school: Kings London 4 Governors know the school well. They collaborate closely with the school leadership to understand the work that staff do to support students who are staying in host families, as well as making improvements across the school. Leaders are open with governors about the areas of strength and areas to improve so that they can receive help where needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders are aware of the progress students make in their academic studies. The system to understand the progress of students in their social aspects is less defined but this does not detract from the progress students make. This progress is reported and celebrated by teachers, hosts, and students alike.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff help students develop the confidence to challenge discriminatory practice. Students can do this because they are safe in the knowledge that the response they receive will be thoughtful and respectful. Staff encourage students to proudly celebrate their identity and share this with others. This is a strength of the school approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some records are not easily accessible and complete. For example, complaints records do not include all actions taken and there is no evidence that staff provide students with a clear explanation of the outcomes of their complaints. In addition, on one occasion staff did not address a complaint about the cleanliness of a host home in a timely way. Staff did act quickly to move students to an alternative home but there is no evidence that staff visited the home or directly addressed this with hosts for several months. Inspection report for boarding school: Kings London 5

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Recommendations

 Leaders to complete work with staff so staff are fully aware of what events or incidents outside of work must be reported to school leaders in relation to safeguarding and other matters that might impact on the school.  The school should improve the quality and comprehensiveness of records. This includes ensuring that records of allegations against staff, safeguarding records and complaints are well organised, all relevant documents are collated, and outcomes are clear.  The school should ensure that children receive feedback about the outcomes of their complaints, and a summary of this is included in records.  Representatives of the school should visit host homes where concerns about the environment of their host homes are raised by students in a timely way to assess the environment.  Leaders should ensure that they receive references for all relevant adults providing accommodation.  Leaders should ensure that relevant adults in host families complete safeguarding

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Recommendations

training and update this training as needed.

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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 boarding school: Kings London 6

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Boarding school details

Social care unique reference number: 1159264

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Boarding school details

Headteacher/teacher in charge: Mr Daniel Carroll

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Boarding school details

Email address: london@kingseducation.com

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Inspectors

Karol Keenan, Social Care Inspector Dorothy Thompstone, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for boarding school: Kings London 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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Inspectors

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