Kings Mill School

Inspection report for residential special school - Kings Mill School 1 Kings Mill School Victoria Road, Driffield YO25 6UG Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential special school

Kings Mill School is a residential special school that is maintained by a local authority. The school is in the heart of the town of Driffield. It provides education for 135 children aged from two to 19 years. The school teaches and supports autistic children and other children with complex learning needs. Many children have multi-sensory needs.

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Information about this residential special school

Up to 36 children access the residential provision. Children can stay in the residence for up to four nights per week. The residence is open one weekend in four for one child with a specialist care package. All children have education, health and care plans.

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Information about this residential special school

At the time of this inspection, 24 children were using the residential 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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The residential special school provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good Inspection report for residential special school - Kings Mill School 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s lives are enhanced through accessing the residential provision in the school. Inspectors saw the children having fun and appearing at ease in the residence. The residence is a sought-after provision and is highly regarded by the children’s respective families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are committed and dedicated to the children who stay in the residence. There is a focus and drive to give the children memorable experiences. Enjoyable outings are captured through the staff taking photos. Poignantly, photos are shared with the children’s parents. In doing so, the parents have a tangible insight into their children’s experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The head of care and the staff make extensive efforts to establish trust with the children’s parents. This is further aided by the school’s home liaison officer. The inspectors noted that parents used terms such as ‘amazing’, ‘unique’ and ‘fantastic’ to describe life for their child in the residence. One parent wrote that the residence feels part of their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The joy of food is promoted in the residence. This has resulted in some children broadening their diet. Additionally, mealtimes are structured but enjoyable experiences for the children. Combined, these efforts promote wider benefits on the children’s health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The school applies a specialised programme to promote a consistent approach to the children’s care between school and the residence. This is enabled through meaningful link meetings between the child’s teacher and their link worker from the residence. As a result, the children make progress in several aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s plans are crafted through effective partnership working with the children’s parents. This means that the children’s written plans are personalised and bring the child to life. Additionally, the plans detail fundamental aspects of the child’s care needs. This joint venture better equips the staff to carry out their duty of care to the children.

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

The head of school and the designated safeguarding lead have instilled a culture of safeguarding across the school. Safeguarding processes are made clear to the children’s parents. Additionally, good links have been made with the local authority to aid the school with its safeguarding responsibilities. Cumulatively, this joined-up approach strengthens the school’s ability to better protect the children.

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

Low-level concerns associated with staff conduct and practice are acted on by the head of the school. Alongside other safeguarding leads, the head of the school Inspection report for residential special school - Kings Mill School 3 evaluates information first hand and implements a risk management plan. In doing so, the head of the school reinforces their expectations around how the school’s values must be upheld. These efforts uphold standards and demonstrate a transparent approach to safeguarding.

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

The staff are insightful about the children’s complex needs. This is owing to the substantive relationships that the staff have nurtured with the children. Furthermore, the staff are accomplished at applying agreed strategies that are clearly recorded in the children’s behaviour support plans. Therefore, when a child is in a state of distress, the staff are quick to better support the child to recover.

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

The children’s medication is well managed in a busy setting where there is a constant turnaround of children. Senior staff lead and take responsibility for managing the children’s medication. The system reduces the risk of errors associated with what is a vital part of the children’s care.

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

The staff are adept at organising and planning trips into the community for the children to enjoy. The staff are confident in applying the risk management processes that surround these activities. Additionally, the staff apply alternatives to using wrist straps and other restrictive practices, such as holding hands and linking arms, where they are able. This supports children to become more independent and is more likely to improve their self-confidence.

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

The head of care does not consistently evaluate incidents involving the children. Although the children have not been affected by this oversight, the lack of management oversight creates vulnerable gaps in practice. Notably, opportunities to better support the children and the staff are at increased risk of being missed.

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good

Some of the staff are fatigued and feel that their concerns are not fully heeded by the school’s leadership team. There is no clear evidence of how the staff’s concerns are acted on. This diminishes accountability. If the staff’s concerns are not actively resolved, this is likely to eventually affect the children’s experiences of their care in the residence.

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good

Although the staff receive regular supervision sessions, the opportunity to promote accountability and staff cohesion is not consistently exercised by the head of care. This has resulted in some staff feeling that their concerns are not being addressed. This has added to the sense of frustration among some staff.

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good

The head of care uses an auditing tool to help with their oversight of the residence. However, the auditing tool does not target the head of care’s attention to all aspects of the residence. An example of this is the need for improved and consistent evaluation of incidents that involve children. Consequently, this process is not entirely helpful to further develop practices in the residence. Inspection report for residential special school - Kings Mill School 4 The residence is valued and consistently scrutinised by the board of governors. A governor visits the residence in addition to the board of governors holding termly residential committee meetings. The minutes from these interventions are comprehensive and show good oversight and respectful challenge to the school.

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good

The independent visitor makes good use of their time spent in the residence. There is a good mix of time spent with the children and the staff and observing staff practice. This has enabled the independent visitor to develop a deeper understanding of life in the residence. Following visits, the independent visitor converts their findings into a comprehensive and insightful written report.

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good

Staff in the school, whether this be across the senior leadership team or staff in residence, care for one another. There is a strong sense of community across the school and residence. This is irrespective of the frustrations that the staff voiced to inspectors during the inspection. Inspection report for residential special school - Kings Mill School 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 must fulfil their responsibilities consistently and effectively so that the standards are met. In particular, the head of care must have a clear plan to seek resolutions to the issues that staff raise. Additionally, the head of care must have oversight and a plan in response to incidents that involve the children. (‘Residential special schools: national minimum standards’, 2.4)

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Point for improvement

 Leaders should ensure that the learning and development programme is evaluated for effectiveness at least annually and is updated if necessary. (‘Residential special schools: national minimum standards’, 26.4)

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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 - Kings Mill School 6

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: SC055984

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Residential special school details

Headteacher/teacher in charge: Alison Hall

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Residential special school details

Type of school: Residential special school

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Residential special school details

Email address: kingsmill.specialschool@eastriding.gov.uk

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Inspectors

Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential special school - Kings Mill 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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