Alfriston School

Inspection report for residential special school - Alfriston School 1 Alfriston School Alfriston School, Penn Road, Knotty Green, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire HP9 2TS Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential special school

Alfriston School is a state-funded special school for girls aged between 11 and 18 with moderate learning difficulties or speech, communication and language needs. Boarders stay at the school for three nights each week, from Monday to Thursday.

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Information about this residential special school

At the time of the inspection, there were 15 students using the residential provision. There are currently 163 students on roll in the school.

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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

Staff refer to ‘students’ and ‘boarding’, therefore this report uses this terminology.

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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 last inspection: 19 November 2024

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good

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

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Students benefit from high-quality nurturing care from staff who understand their needs and know them well. Staff are attentive to students’ care and communication needs. This helps students to feel safe and cared for, and to have fun and make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When students move into boarding, this is carefully planned to ensure they cope well with the change and that staff can meet their needs. Before a place in boarding is agreed, consultation takes place with families, pastoral leads, boarding staff and other relevant professionals to ensure that students’ needs are fully understood. Time is also spent with students to make sure their views are known and that they understand what boarding can be like.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the previous inspection, the head of care and several members of staff have left. The interim head of care and senior leaders of the school have worked tirelessly to reduce the impact of this on students. While staff recognise that there was a brief period of unsettled behaviour, leaders were able to quickly re-establish routines and expectations for boarding students. Students have significantly benefited from this and are clear about how much they enjoy their time when they stay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents consistently praise the way that staff work with them and speak highly of the standards of care provided to their children. One parent said, ‘Since boarding, my daughter has flourished in her independence. She is encouraged and supported to develop to the best of her ability.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, there has been a renewed focus on the therapeutic and emotional support provided to boarders. The school has increased the size of the well-being team to include occupational therapists and speech and language therapists. Therapy assistants spend time in boarding each week to support staff to use therapeutic approaches in their care for boarders.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Students are able to choose and participate in a range of activities in boarding and in the local community, such as football, youth club, climbing activities, visiting the park and once a week going shopping with peers and staff. Trips out are well planned and are informed by detailed risk assessments that set out what each student needs to stay safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Students are generally healthy and enjoy healthy routines. When health needs are complex, they are well understood by staff and there is clear guidance in place to support children to be healthy and safe. Inspection report for residential special school - Alfriston School 3

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

Staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. There is a healthy safeguarding culture in the boarding provision. There is excellent oversight and support for staff from the head of care and senior leadership team, which includes an experienced designated safeguarding lead.

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

The number of incidents of concern is very low. There are good systems in place to report concerns and a strong team of well-trained and knowledgeable safeguarding leads who understand how to respond to and escalate concerns if necessary. They work well in partnership with external safeguarding agencies.

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

Students are looked after by staff who have a good understanding of their needs and form positive relationships with them. As a result, when students are upset, staff recognise this quickly, offering care and support, and avoiding situations escalating. In addition, staff use social stories to prepare students well for any potentially stressful events, which reduces moments of crisis and serious incidents. Students talk positively about the relationships they have with staff and the positive impact that staying in boarding is having on their emotional well-being. As a result of these relationships, boarding is a calm and structured environment, and serious behavioural incidents are rare.

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

There are robust systems in place to ensure the environment is safe. Detailed checks are undertaken termly for the whole school and any hazards or repair work identified are promptly addressed. Staff and students regularly take part in fire evacuation procedures to ensure that they know what to do in an emergency.

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

Recruitment of staff entails a thorough vetting process to reduce the risk that people who are unsuitable are employed. However, there is a lack of curiosity in gathering further information to inform recruitment decisions when references only provide limited information, such as dates of employment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been significant change since the last inspection in both the leadership team and governing body. This change has resulted in improved experiences for staff and students over recent months, with leaders introducing improved monitoring systems to ensure their understanding of students’ experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel valued in their work and are well directed and guided in their practice, with regular supervision and good communication. This is combined with an aspirational school leadership team who have raised the profile of boarding to ensure students who board have a positive experience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Boarding is regularly discussed in governors meetings and dedicated governors assure themselves of the quality of support for students. An independent visitor Inspection report for residential special school - Alfriston School 4 provides useful feedback in reports in relation to the quality of support provided to boarders. However, the frequency of visits is significantly less than the expected six visits in a school year.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim head of care has reintroduced supervision for all staff, having recognised there was a shortfall in this area of practice. Supervision notes reflect good conversations in relation to development and understanding of roles and the impact that work can have on staff. Inspection report for residential special school - Alfriston 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 governing body, trustees, or proprietor of the school appoint a representative who is independent of the leadership and management of the school to visit the residential provision six times, spread evenly, over the course of a school year and complete a written report on the conduct of the school. The representative is vetted in line with the school’s safe recruitment policy, in accordance with the safer recruitment requirements set out in Keeping children safe in education and has the skills and authority to effectively carry out this role. (Residential special schools: national minimum standards 3.1)

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Point for improvement

 Leaders should ensure that when discussions are held with referees in response to references with minimal information, that this is documented.

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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 - Alfriston School 6

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: SC023097

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Residential special school details

Headteacher/teacher in charge: Claire Smart

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Residential special school details

Type of school: Residential special school

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Residential special school details

Email address: Claire.Smart@alfristonschool.com

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Inspectors

Mark Newington, Social Care Inspector Shaheda Dhandia, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential special school - Alfriston 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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