Elemore Hall School

Inspection report for residential special school - Elemore Hall School 1 Elemore Hall School

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Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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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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Information about this residential special school

Elemore Hall School is a maintained residential special school for pupils who may experience social and emotional difficulties and may have mental health difficulties. The school operates across three sites following an expansion in September 2021. There are two sites for children aged 11 to 16 years old, both of which have a residential provision. The expansion also involved a third site, which offers an alternative educational provision.

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Information about this residential special school

There is one headteacher across all three sites, who is supported by his senior leadership team. There are 206 pupils on roll at the two sites with residential provision. Accommodation is provided for up to 25 boys at the Elemore Hall site and for up to 20 girls and boys at the Windlestone site.

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Information about this residential special school

The school provides flexible stays for pupils, from one to four nights per week, depending on the children’s needs. Accommodation is provided in single rooms in, or close to, the main school buildings. Both sites have large outdoor spaces that can be used by children for activities such as playing sport and bushcraft skills. One site has a farm that children can access. Each site has a head of care, and both individuals have suitable skills, experience and qualifications for their role.

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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: 10 May 2023 Inspection report for residential special school - Elemore Hall School 2 Overall judgement at last inspection: good Inspection report for residential special school - Elemore Hall School 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting relationships with the adults who care for them and said that they ‘love staying in residence’. Their lives are enriched because of the experiences available to them. Children develop friendships and make progress in relation to their health, education and emotional and social well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make efforts to ensure that they know the children well, which extends to the whole family network. Parents value the staff and the role that they play in their children’s lives. Because of these relationships, children are confident and confide in the staff, sharing some of their biggest worries. One child said, ‘They are easy to talk to. The staff really care.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a variety of activities, such as trips to the beach and cathedrals and going swimming at the local pool, among many other opportunities. These enjoyable experiences are captured in photos and shared with family members, giving them an insight into their children’s experiences. Staff’s tangible enthusiasm and encouragement help to nurture the children’s self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A seamless transition between school and the residential provision helps children to be well prepared for their day ahead. The integrated staff team that works day and night provides children with continuity of care. As a result, children develop their resilience to learning because they are surrounded by familiar adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with good-quality and nutritionally balanced meals and have access to a variety of foods and drinks. They are encouraged to try new foods and often enjoy shopping for groceries for the residential provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Preparation for adulthood is supported through the 24-hour curriculum. The children develop their independence and life skills through this structured programme of activities. A combination of enthusiasm and a ‘can-do’ attitude excite and engage the children, helping to develop their confidence to learn new skills. For example, one child aspires to be a police officer after staff introduced him to the police cadets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Progress and achievement meetings with children and their parents are pivotal in helping to instil a sense of pride through the outcomes the children achieve. One child said, ‘I like that they tell my Mam when I have done something good, not just when I have done something wrong.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have not previously stayed in the residential provision are welcomed sensitively. Where possible, more established children are invited to share their own experiences with the new children. This helps them to feel more at ease, and new children quickly settle into the prospect of staying away from home. Inspection report for residential special school - Elemore Hall School 4 Effective communication with parents and carers before, during and after residential stays ensures that staff have the most up-to-date information about the children’s health needs. Clearly written health plans assist staff to meet these needs, including administering the children’s medication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Planned children’s meetings, informal catchups at supper time and more structured educational sessions encourage the children to share their views. They are consulted about the food they eat, the activities they do and their opinion about how the residential provision can be improved. For example, new mattresses were purchased after children said that the old ones were uncomfortable. The children commented, ‘You sink into the new ones, they are so cosy.’ This gives children confidence to share their views, knowing that they will be listened to and their opinions will be respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The residential buildings are well maintained. Children can personalise their own bedrooms to their liking to help create a home from home. Photos on display of the children remind them of the many memories made with staff and their peers from their time in residence. Enjoyment, laughter and an abundance of energy from the children help to bring the environments to life.

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

Children experience a sense of safety at this school. They learn the importance of being kind and helping others. Behavioural incidents are rare, but when they do occur, staff manage them effectively. Through their guidance, staff help children to learn how to live together harmoniously. One child said, ‘It’s great to just come and be happy and safe.’

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

An organised medication system ensures that the storage and administration of the children’s medication are safely managed. The processes are well embedded, and staff understand their roles and responsibilities. As a result, the children’s medication is handled with care and respect.

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

The nurse working with the school undertakes various topical teenage workshops with the children when the need arises. Educational conversations on topics including alcohol and drug awareness, consent around sexual relations and child exploitation broaden the children’s awareness about how to keep themselves safe.

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

Effective measures mitigate and minimise online risks when the children have residential stays. Focused discussions regularly take place with children around current themes and trends on social media to help them recognise unsafe situations in the online world.

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

The headteacher is clear and accountable in respect of his safeguarding responsibilities. School leaders take appropriate action when concerns are raised about staff’s practice. Staff are confident to share concerns should the need arise. The designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and a number of deputies ensure that there Inspection report for residential special school - Elemore Hall School 5 is always a person readily available to listen to a concern, enabling a quick safeguarding response.

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

Staff confidently use the school’s recording system for reporting and monitoring the safety of the children. However, the system does not support the DSL to demonstrate all the subsequent actions taken to keep children safe after a serious concern is raised. This makes it difficult to monitor how concerns are followed through and concluded and weakens the monitoring and oversight of safeguarding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The heads of care have the required leadership qualifications and confidently lead their staff teams. Staff hold them in high regard and appreciate their accessibility and guidance. The leadership team across the residential provisions has high standards and expectations, with a clear focus on helping children to get the most out of their time in residential care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An embedded child-focused culture is maintained by highly enthusiastic and committed members of staff. They are proud of their roles and the school. Cumulatively, these attributes positively influence the children’s view of the school and their sense of belonging in it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Practice-related supervision sessions with the heads of care are comprehensive and supportive to the staff. They explore the staff member’s role and reflect on what support they need to fulfil their responsibilities. Staff share their worries or concerns as part of the process. Allocated training courses from the headteacher provide staff with further support and development to help them to be effective in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong sense of inclusion, acceptance and tolerance that is embedded into the culture at this school. Innovative projects, such as ‘Marras week’, raise the children’s awareness of bullying. The use of a local informal word (‘Marras’) that is familiar to the children not only counters bullying but bolsters the children’s sense of pride and identity to their local area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders promote staff’s commitment to applying the school’s prescribed set of values to shape the school’s culture. The staff revisit and sign their allegiance at the start of the new academic year through the staff partnership agreement. These values help to influence the children’s sense of belonging and reinforce the school’s sense of identity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Arrangements have been made for girls to have overnight stays at one of the residential provisions, after some requested to stay over. Special arrangements have been made to enable this to occur due to there previously only being facilities for boys. Although this is in the early stages, it demonstrates that the children’s voice influences how the school is run. Inspection report for residential special school - Elemore Hall School 6 The suitably qualified and experienced independent visitor completes monitoring visits to the residential provision. Positive signs are visible that this process will be beneficial to helping leaders maintain and improve the quality of the residential service. However, governors read the reports to support their oversight but do not ensure that they record their formal response, as required by the national minimum standards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The residential governor has strong oversight of the residential provision and ensures that residence is held in high regard at the governors’ meetings. The residential governor carried out a piece of work to monitor the progress of the residential provision and assess how the school continues to meet the required regulatory standards. The board of governors’ diverse range of experiences adds further strength to the governing board.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Risk assessments are not consistently individualised to reflect the children’s needs. Information from the children’s education and local authority plans does not always filter through to the children’s placement plan. Some of the information in plans is not up to date or reflective of the current arrangements for children. In one instance, it was not clear who held parental responsibility for a child, potentially creating a legal dilemma for the school. Inspection report for residential special school - Elemore Hall School 7

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Points for improvement

 The integrated safeguarding recording system should allow the school’s governing body, trustees and/or proprietor to monitor the effectiveness of the leadership, management and delivery of the residential and welfare provision in the school and take appropriate action where necessary. (Residential special schools: national minimum standards 2.1)  Written reports of all monitoring visits are provided to the headteacher (or school equivalent) and where applicable the governing body, trust or proprietor. Reports are also provided to each member of that body (or the appropriate committee of that body) within two weeks and as written by the visitor without amendment or summary. The governing body, trustees or proprietor of the school should record a formal response to each written report. Monitoring reports and formal responses should be retained by the school and made available during an inspection and, on

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Points for improvement

request, shared with any placing authorities and with the local authority where the school is located. (Residential special schools: national minimum standards 3.3)  There is a written plan in place for each child resident in the school setting about how their day-to-day needs will be met, known as the placement plan. The plan is thorough and specific to the child and is agreed, as far as is practicable, with the child, the child’s parents/carers and any placing authority for the child. Children have an opportunity to contribute to their plans. The placement plan identifies the needs of that child that the school should meet, assesses any risk and specifies how the school will care for the child and promote their welfare on a day-to-day basis. Where significant changes are made to the placement plan, there is appropriate consultation. Where applicable, the plan is consistent with the education, health and care plan (EHC plan) and reflects any changes to the EHC

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Points for improvement

plan. (Residential special schools: national minimum standards 7.1)

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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 - Elemore Hall School 8

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: SC040508

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Residential special school details

Headteacher/teacher in charge: Richard Royle

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Residential special school details

Type of school: Residential Special School

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Residential special school details

Email address: elemore@durhamlearning.net

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Inspectors

Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector (lead) Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Claire Webster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential special school - Elemore Hall School 9 regulates and inspects 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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