Pontville Residential School

Inspection report for residential special school - Pontville Residential School 1 Pontville Residential School Pontville School, Black Moss Lane, Ormskirk, Lancashire L39 4TW Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential special school

Pontville is an independent school that specialises in supporting pupils between the ages of five and 19 with autism and speech, language and communication needs. The school provides up to 155 places. The residential provision can accommodate a maximum of seven children at any one time. At the time of the inspection, three children were staying for four nights a week, Monday to Friday, during term time only.

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Information about this residential special school

All children using the residential provision were spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this residential special school

The head of care is also the headteacher at 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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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 good

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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: 11 December 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good Inspection report for residential special school - Pontville Residential School 2

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outstanding

Children are supported to build positive relationships with others. Staff know the children well and treat them with dignity and respect. Staff speak fondly and with pride about the children that they support. Children said they enjoy staying at the residential provision and feel cared for and respected. Professional practice ensures that children are supported to continually make progress, and staying at the residential provision has enhanced their lives.

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outstanding

Staff encourage and support children to explore who they are, develop a strong sense of self and express their unique identities through play, relationships, hobbies and creative experiences. Parents spoken to were highly complementary of the residential provision. They value its purpose and the consistent, high-quality support provided by staff.

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outstanding

Children are supported to take part in a variety of activities to meet their hobbies, interests and social needs. Staff enable children to take part in community events, clubs and groups such as swimming, Girl Guides, drum lessons and driving lessons. This encourages children to meet new people of similar ages and make friends and provides them with a sense of belonging and a connection to the local area. The residential provision has provided children with opportunities they may otherwise not have had access to.

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outstanding

Staff support children thoughtfully, using skills learned through compassion training delivered by the clinical team. Support strategies are discussed in child-focused reflective practice meetings, which are attended by all professionals involved in children’s lives at school. These meetings identify the purpose of strategies used and review their effectiveness. As a result of this evidence-based model, one child has gained the skills to show empathy and compassion to others.

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outstanding

Children are encouraged to build on their life skills and learn independence skills to support them into adulthood. Independence is a focus of the residential provision and is achieved through daily learning and through more formal processes such as studying for formal qualifications. One child was also supported to complete work experience in a community café to prepare them for the world of employment.

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outstanding

Residential staff work closely with school staff to share information and practice. They encourage children’s high attendance at school. One child was experiencing anxiety regarding their GCSE examinations. Staff identified and acknowledged these concerns and provided appropriate support and strategies to enable them to successfully participate in the exams. This work was underpinned by evidence-based research provided through the clinical team. Inspection report for residential special school - Pontville Residential School 3 When children have moved on from the residential provision, they have been supported by staff who know them well to visit their new college in a planned way. Staff have worked with the child, their parents and the new provision to ensure that their move has been as successful as possible.

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outstanding

Staff in the residential provision support children with creative strategies to help them when they feel overwhelmed and to provide them with coping tools to use if they feel they are struggling with their mental health. This work complements the personal, social, health and economic education that children receive in the school. The clinical team supports staff to identify suitable support strategies for children.

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outstanding

Leaders and managers across the school and residential provision have enhanced and embedded more robust systems for recording, reporting and responding to safeguarding concerns. Managers and staff work together and take a shared approach to managing risk, and there are clear lines of responsibility and accountability.

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outstanding

There have been no safeguarding concerns in the residential provision. However, when concerns have been raised involving day pupils in the school, the team of designated safeguarding leads (DSLs) have acted promptly to respond and escalate to appropriate external professionals and agencies, and they have ensured that children’s safety and well-being are the primary focus. Learning and reflection throughout inform training for staff and promote children’s empowerment to make a complaint.

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outstanding

The chair and safeguarding governor ensure that safeguarding practice is monitored and reviewed. All governors undertake a range of safeguarding training. An allocated governor routinely visits the residential provision to provide scrutiny and confirms robust safeguarding practice. There is a highly transparent relationship between the residential provision’s managers and governors in relation to safeguarding concerns and practice.

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outstanding

Residential staff have exceptional knowledge about each of the children. Staff benefit from comprehensive safeguarding training. Staff are kept up to date with ever- changing risks and potential concerns. Safeguarding training is strengthened through ongoing, ad hoc questioning by the DSL to assess staff’s understanding and identify any further learning needs.

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outstanding

Children’s support plans are detailed documents that are regularly updated to ensure that they include all necessary and current information to help staff provide consistent care to children and to mitigate risks. Children’s voices are heard throughout all plans. Staff understand these plans and put them in to practice. Alongside this, staff are suitably trained in de-escalation. As a result, there have been Inspection report for residential special school - Pontville Residential School 4 no incidents of physical intervention, missing reports or significant events in the residential provision.

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outstanding

Positive behaviour is encouraged, and achievements are suitably rewarded and celebrated to support and encourage children to build their self-esteem and develop good character.

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outstanding

Key-work sessions take place often. These sessions, along with children’s house meetings, support children to prepare for changes, plan for upcoming events and help children to explore their feelings and emotions. Children are supported to take appropriate and age-related risks while staff teach them to understand how to protect themselves from unsafe situations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have improved their systems for the monitoring and oversight of the residential provision through audits and quality assurance systems alongside external scrutiny. These systems are effective to identify shortfalls and areas for development. These systems are also used to drive improvements and provide reflection and analysis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been changes to the leadership and management of the residential provision. This has provided the opportunity for a review of processes and the introduction of a new governor for the residential provision. However, while this was necessary to stabilise the management team, due to the prominent levels of leadership oversight, the lines of responsibility and accountability are not always clearly defined.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff have effective relationships with parents. This enables parents to feel confident in the care provided by the residential provision and understand what the service can offer. Staff are accessible and keep parents informed about their child’s stay at the residential provision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Governors and those with responsibility for the school are effective. They have skills and knowledge appropriate to their role and actively promote the safeguarding and welfare of children. They provide robust scrutiny of the residential provision and regularly review and monitor the school’s policies, practice and records, including those that address safeguarding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All residential staff have completed up-to-date training relevant to children’s individual needs, including the autism spectrum, positive behaviour support, child protection, the ‘Prevent’ duty and safer working practices. Training records are well maintained, with clear evidence of regular refreshers and role-specific modules.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions take place regularly. These are practice related and are a supportive tool for staff. They encourage safeguarding awareness. In addition to this, team meetings are held often; they are well attended, and staff understand their Inspection report for residential special school - Pontville Residential School 5 value. They are used as an opportunity for staff to share information, reflect on practice and as a training and development opportunity. Inspection report for residential special school - Pontville Residential School 6

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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 - Pontville Residential School 7

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: SC061727

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Residential special school details

Headteacher/teacher in charge: Hayley Dorian

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Residential special school details

Type of school: Residential Special School

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Residential special school details

Email address: Hayley.Dorian@witherslackgroup.co.uk

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Inspectors

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential special school - Pontville Residential School 8 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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