Breckenbrough School Limited

Inspection report for residential special school - Breckenbrough School Limited 1 Breckenbrough School Limited Sandhutton, Thirsk, North Yorkshire YO7 4EN Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential special school

This is a non-maintained special school, with a Quaker ethos, for boys aged 9 to 19 years. The children have a range of complex needs, including autism.

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Information about this residential special school

The school provide residential placements to 4 children and 1 young person, overall, there is capacity for 22 boarders. Children and young people stay for 4 nights per week. Boarding accommodation is in the main school building.

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Information about this residential special school

Inspectors spoke to 3 children and 1 young person during the inspection.

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Information about this residential special school

The school provides a range of facilities, including an art studio, a dedicated music room and a gym.

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Information about this residential special school

The head of social education has been in post for several years and has the required experience and qualifications.

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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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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 previous inspection: 25 February 2025

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good

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

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who attend and stay at this school have exciting opportunities which enhance their lives. Children are supported and encouraged to follow their interests and dreams, experiencing a myriad of new experiences both in school and in the local community. Children go on to follow these interests in further education or employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children make excellent progress in their education when living in the residence. Staff actively support them to engage with their education. When a student was not making progress academically or socially, leaders promptly identified concerns, acknowledged that the setting could not meet the student's needs, and worked with the family and social care team to support a transition to the next stage.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are experienced, consistent, and committed to the children staying in the residence. Staff demonstrate acceptance, empathy and care towards the children living in the residence. This helps children to build trusting relationships with staff and children can identify staff who they feel comfortable speaking to. Children feel able to speak freely with staff knowing that their views and feelings are respected and valued and this helps them to grow in confidence in their own identities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to stay healthy by being offered a wide range of nutritious food and are encouraged to take part in physical activities which they enjoy. Medication for children is well managed, and staff work with families to ensure the monitoring of any health concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively seek children's views regarding their future as they prepare to leave school. Children are supported to visit universities and staff help them to complete applications and arrange financial support. This helps children to make informed decisions about their adult lives. Senior leaders and staff advocate for the children when they require additional support to aid smooth transitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good support is in place to prepare children for the future in terms of learning to drive, applying for university and pursuing their interests. However, there is no clear co-ordinated approach to learning basic life skills such as preparing meals, and household tasks for the children staying in the residence.

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

The school continues to promote a hands-off approach to behaviour management and has a strong focus on restorative practice and conflict resolution. The school Quaker values continue to show through in creating a place where children feel valued and protected. Inspection report for residential special school - Breckenbrough School Limited 3 Children living in the residence feel safe and value and recognise the support staff offer them. If children struggle to get along with each other staff listen to them and encourage them to understand each other's views to help them to find a way to move forward. Children identify the residential provision as their safe space.

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

A strong safeguarding thread runs through the school and all aspects of the children's care. Senior leaders work closely with safeguarding partners whenever there are concerns to safeguard children and follow the appropriate processes. Prompt action is taken if there are any concerns. The school's own safeguarding practice is kept under ongoing review by senior leaders.

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

Children do not go missing from the residence as it is somewhere they want to be and they are supported by staff who are available to support children when difficulties arise in any area of their lives.

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

Children have detailed risk management plans, and these are kept under review by staff. Communication between staff is timely and effective ensuring that school and residential staff understand any increased risks. This supports staff to offer consistent support for the children's wellbeing.

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

Staff focus their efforts on helping children to recognise and manage their own feelings. Children learn strategies to help them to self-advocate and express their feelings in healthy ways. Staff role model positive behaviours and the school ethos in the way that they interact with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The headteacher is forward-thinking and responsive in their approach. They are committed to the children and supporting their journeys, advocating for them and shaping an inclusive culture in the school where each child understands that they are valued and accepted and can express themselves freely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior leaders have high aspirations for the children and communicate this to them. This helps children grow in confidence in their time at the school and supports them to achieve academic success and develop social skills which will help them to navigate life and relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior leaders work closely with other professionals including specialist wellbeing practitioners to ensure effective support is in place for each child. Families express confidence in senior leaders and their approach. Most families feel supported and included in their children's day-to-day lives through the regular communication from the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy their roles and senior leaders ensure that they receive appropriate training and supervision. The core staff team remains consistent, and they work together closely and understand the children and their needs very well. The staff's approach to each child is individualised to the child's needs and experiences. Staff Inspection report for residential special school - Breckenbrough School Limited 4 acting as named workers for each child facilitate clear communication with families and professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

School governors fulfil their responsibilities towards the school and hold the headteacher to account. An independent visitor visits regularly and their reports provide particularly useful feedback to the senior leadership team and governing body about the safety and wellbeing of students. The report is evaluative and considers information from a wide range of sources.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some incident records for children were inaccurate, and staff struggled to locate some records of communication between staff after an incident. This made it difficult to see what actions had been taken. The child was not placed at any risk because of this, but the child's records were difficult to follow should they choose to look back at them in the future. Inspection report for residential special school - Breckenbrough School Limited 5

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Points for Improvement

 School leaders should ensure that children's records accurately reflect actions taken following any incident and identify increased risks and should be safely stored but accessible. (Residential special schools: national minimum standards 5.1)

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Points for Improvement

 School leaders should ensure that children are supported to learn and practice independent living skills such as cooking and cleaning in preparation for adulthood. (Residential special schools: national minimum standards 8.3)

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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 - Breckenbrough School Limited 6

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: SC007922

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Headteacher: Simon Bannister

Type of school: Residential Special School

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Headteacher: Simon Bannister

Email address: simon.bannister@breckenbrough.org.uk

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Inspectors

Carol Jagger, Social Care Inspector Jane Titley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential special school - Breckenbrough School Limited 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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