Future Horizons Leeds Ltd

Future Horizons Leeds Limited Report following a monitoring visit to a ‘requires improvement’ provider

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Name of lead inspector: Chloe Rendall, His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 September 2024

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Type of provider: Independent specialist college

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Address:

Unit 7 Landmark Court Beeston Leeds LS11 8JT Monitoring visit: Future Horizons Leeds Limited, 11 and 2 September 2024

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Context and focus of visit

Future Horizons Leeds Limited was inspected in September 2023. At that time, inspectors judged the overall effectiveness of the provision to require improvement.

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Context and focus of visit

The focus of this monitoring visit was to evaluate the progress that leaders and managers have made in resolving the main areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have completed a useful strategic review of the provision of therapeutic services following the previous inspection. They have visited specialist providers to look at the delivery and coordination of their services. Leaders have used the good practice that other providers have shared with them to implement improvements, such as the recent appointment of a therapy coordinator. The role of the coordinator is to work with students at the initial assessment phase of recruitment to identify therapeutic support needs as identified in students’ education and health care plan (EHCP). They then coordinate the support that students receive from a range of therapeutic services. The early actions following this appointment are positive, but it is too soon to see the full impact.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders work well with providers of therapeutic services to deliver training to staff on subjects such as hydrotherapy, rebound therapy, postural management and communication strategies. This has enabled staff to work more closely with NHS physiotherapists, for example to ensure that appropriate plans are in place and that the needs of students are met.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have worked diligently to find alternative hydrotherapy facilities following the temporary closure of a local swimming pool. While undertaking this search and identifying suitable facilities, leaders and staff have continued to work closely with NHS physiotherapy services to find alternative land-based therapeutic strategies to use with students when there is a clinical need for hydrotherapy.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders work closely with speech and language therapists (SaLT) and occupational therapists to meet the needs of students. They are in the process of recruiting their own SaLT, which will provide additional capacity for students. Monitoring visit: Future Horizons Leeds Limited, 11 and 2 September 2024

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Reasonable progress

Leaders provide useful training for staff on planning and delivering tuition and assessment that enables students to make progress towards the outcomes in their EHCPs. Tutors who deliver on the sensory and communication pathway benefit from training from SaLT and occupational therapists. This helps them to embed therapeutic strategies into the curriculum more effectively when teaching students who have profound and multiple learning difficulties.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors use the outcomes identified in EHCP targets to plan lessons effectively. They design activities to help students work towards achieving their targets. For example, on the sensory and communication pathway, students who need to improve their core strength and postural position are transferred from their wheelchairs to a mat and encouraged to sit up to improve their strength and mobility. Students on the towards employability pathway attend creativity sessions and are set tasks that help them to work towards their communication and social interaction targets. As a result, students make appropriate progress towards their targets.

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Reasonable progress

Returning students now begin working on their individual targets in a much timelier way. This enables these students to make more rapid progress against their EHCP outcomes.

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Reasonable progress

In a very few instances on the sensory and communication pathway, support staff are diverted away from supporting returning students as they need to support new students in sessions. This has a detrimental impact on the initial progress that a few returning students make. Leaders are in the process of recruiting additional support staff, so that all students consistently receive the support that they need.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders are ambitious in their intent to upskill staff so that staff are prepared to deliver inclusive teaching effectively. They recognise that staff need to develop the specific skills and knowledge needed to provide effective teaching for students with a range of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

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Reasonable progress

Since the previous inspection, leaders have provided training that helps staff meet the wide range of complex needs of their students. New support staff receive training in team teaching, and a few have completed the level 3 teaching assistant apprenticeship, which helps them to focus on SEND teaching and support strategies. Monitoring visit: Future Horizons Leeds Limited, 11 and 2 September 2024 Leaders visit lessons with an external consultant to evaluate the quality of teaching and support. They use information from these visits to help staff understand how to improve their teaching. Tutors and instructors make adaptations to their teaching in response to improvement actions identified. For example, when leaders identified that teaching needed to be more responsive to the communication needs of individual students, staff undertook training in the use of visual aids in sessions.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have identified the need for teaching to be more purposefully integrated with specialist therapeutic services. They work well with SaLT and occupational therapists to train staff on how to apply sensory regulation strategies within learning. This helps staff to develop their knowledge, skills and confidence about when de- escalation strategies are required.

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quality work placements that are matched to

their individual interests and aspirations.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders have taken positive actions to improve students’ access to high-quality work placements. They have appointed a member of staff to a dedicated role designed to coordinate relevant work placements for those students who are ready for an introduction to the world of work. The coordinator is developing links with new and existing employers to explore a wider range of work placement opportunities. For example, through recent engagement with a national hotel chain, placements are being created to meet the interests and aspirations of students who have an interest in the hospitality industry.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders, managers and the work placement coordinator use information gathered about students’ interests and aspirations to identify suitable placements that meet the needs of students. A few students have commenced high-quality work placements that stretch them beyond the initial goals and aspirations identified in their EHCP. These include placements in hairdressing and working with trains at a model railway. These students are prepared well for their work placements and are proud of their engagement with the world of work.

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Significant progress

Leaders have taken rapid and highly effective actions to remedy weaker aspects of staff recruitment practice found at the last inspection. They use rigorous safer recruitment management systems effectively to monitor the selection and appointment of staff to student-facing roles. Managers assure themselves of the authenticity of professional references received by undertaking further checks, such as contacting employers.

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Significant progress

Trustees have very clear oversight of safer recruitment. They conduct rigorous checks of safer recruitment activities by auditing the systems that are in place. As a Monitoring visit: Future Horizons Leeds Limited, 11 and 2 September 2024 result, they assure themselves that all staff appointed to roles are suitable to work with young people across all sites. Monitoring visit: Future Horizons Leeds Limited, 11 and 2 September 2024 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

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Significant progress

children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Significant progress

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Significant progress

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Significant progress

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Significant progress

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