Unsted Park School

Inspection report for residential special school - Unsted Park School 1 Unsted Park School Unsted Park School, Munstead Heath Road, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1UW Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential special school

The school provides specialist education and care to children aged seven to 19 years with autism spectrum disorder, Asperger syndrome and associated disorders. There are currently 100 students on the school roll.

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Information about this residential special school

Three students were staying at the residential provision at the time of the inspection. The head of residential care has a relevant qualification as required by the national minimum standards. The residential provision is due to close at the end of the academic year.

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Information about this residential special school

The inspector only visited the residential provision during this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The residential special school provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the school contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people.

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outstanding

Date of previous inspection: 7 November 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding Inspection report for residential special school - Unsted Park School 2

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outstanding

Children enjoy warm and trusting relationships with staff, who offer excellent care and nurture. They are confident in seeking staff support when needed, and staff are highly attuned to children’s needs. These relationships are key in the progress that children are making.

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outstanding

Children are making excellent progress in relation to their own starting points. For one child, they are now more independent and can engage in conversation with others. The parent of this child spoke highly of the impact of the transformative care that their child receives. Children are more engaged in education than they have been before coming to live here, and they are making good educational progress as a result. For children who have left since the last inspection, they have been supported to move on to higher education, with one child now living independently while studying at university. This child was supported to shape and plan their move away from the residential provision.

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outstanding

Children receive well-planned care from a team of skilled professionals who have high aspirations and are committed to ensuring that children have the best opportunities to succeed, to learn and to have fun. They enjoy a range of activities that are chosen by them, such as golf, swimming and bowling, which help them consolidate good social skills and live healthy, active lives. Staff have a good understanding of each child’s needs. They are guided by well-developed plans that help children to become more independent and resilient.

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outstanding

Children’s voices are heard and well understood. Staff actively seek children’s views regularly and are excellent advocates for them when needed. This enables plans to be centred on and developed by the child. As a result of staff’s efforts and skills, children have become more effective communicators and have a better understanding of their rights.

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outstanding

Staff work closely with the school’s specialist therapy team, families and other professionals, such as social workers and mental health services, to ensure that children get wide-ranging, highly child-centred support. Parents speak highly of the team here and the impact they have had on children and their families’ lives. One parent said that their child’s time here was the key to how much progress they had made and how positive their future looked.

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outstanding

Children are being helped to become safer. The relationships that children have with staff help them to feel confident in discussing their worries and to feel a sense of belonging. As a result, there are no incidents of children going missing from the Inspection report for residential special school - Unsted Park School 3 residential provision. In addition, children and families are involved in developing safety plans for children that are highly effective, resulting in a reduced risk of self- harm and fewer restrictions being needed to keep children safe.

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outstanding

There is a positive safeguarding culture in the school. Staff understand their responsibilities and report concerns promptly when they arise. Regular information and training are provided to help enhance knowledge and to keep safeguarding at the forefront of practice. When concerns do arise, these are dealt with promptly and effectively, ensuring that information is appropriately shared with relevant safeguarding partners, such as mental health services and social workers.

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outstanding

Staff work closely with families and professionals, such as social workers, to ensure that there is a collaborative approach to keeping children safe in all contexts.

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outstanding

Children are supported to find positive ways to express their feelings by a team of highly skilled, confident staff who understand children well. As a result, there have been no incidents involving physical intervention. Each child has an individualised support plan that helps staff understand how best to support them. These are clear, accessible and updated frequently to ensure that they reflect children’s current needs.

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outstanding

Staff are highly attuned to potential bullying concerns. They work with children to find ways to build and sustain positive relationships and to manage potential conflict in appropriate ways. As a result, all issues have been managed effectively, and children are supported to resolve any issues. As part of this, staff work with families to identify and report any concerns that occur outside of school so that they can provide assistance and intervention where needed.

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outstanding

The school has effective processes in place to ensure that new staff are suitably checked before coming to work here, ensuring that safer recruitment principles are followed.

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outstanding

The designated safeguarding lead has excellent oversight of safeguarding in the school. They are clear in their role and act as a source of advice, support and experience for staff. In addition, they are supported by a team of competent and well-trained colleagues who ensure that concerns are reported and acted on quickly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders are highly focused on ensuring that children have great experiences during their time here. They have huge aspirations for children and take great pride in children’s successes. They have a great understanding of the progress that children have made and the significance of this for them and their families. In addition, they continue to strive to make improvements for children, based on what children tell them. As a result, a new playground is being developed. Inspection report for residential special school - Unsted Park School 4 Staff have formed excellent relationships with children’s families and the professional network. Parents consistently stated that communication is excellent and that staff truly understand the needs of their child. On occasion, one staff member’s records of discussions with a child do not evidence the use of caring language and are not clear in what they are trying to convey.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are appropriately supported and receive regular supervision sessions that help them to reflect on their own practice, develop their knowledge around safeguarding and think about their ongoing development. This helps excellent practice to continue to thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are experiencing difficulties caused by the pending closure of the residential provision. As a result, there are ongoing tensions and worries. However, staff remain highly focused on supporting children well, and leaders are trying to help staff through the uncertainty that they are facing by taking all reasonably practicable steps.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders are supported to have additional oversight of the provision through regular independent visitor reports, which add an excellent layer of scrutiny. These occur regularly and help leaders to continue to develop and improve the provision. Inspection report for residential special school - Unsted Park School 5

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Recommendation

 Leaders must ensure that the language used in any records is concise, caring and clear in its intent.

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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 - Unsted Park School 6

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: SC363144

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Residential special school details

Headteacher/teacher in charge: Mr Shane Kenny

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Residential special school details

Type of school: Residential Special School

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Residential special school details

Email address: unstedparkschool@aspriscs.co.uk

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Inspector

Jay Shekleton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential special school - Unsted Park 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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