St John's Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa

Inspection report for residential special school - St John’s Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa 1 St John’s Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa Church Street, Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 6DF Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this residential special school

This is a non-maintained day and residential special school for children aged from 3 to 19 years with a range of special educational needs and/or disabilities, including hearing impairments. Residential accommodation is in the main school building and is arranged in separate groups according to the ages and needs of the children.

p.1

Information about this residential special school

There is a significant emphasis on supporting the development of children’s spoken language. The school has 90 children on roll. At the time of this inspection, 14 children were accessing the residential provision. Several of these children are post 16 students, most of whom attend local colleges to complete their education.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The residential special school provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of previous inspection: 21 January 2025

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding Inspection report for residential special school - St John’s Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children view residence as an opportunity to make friends and relax in a homely environment. Importantly, children and their parents believe that staying in residence provides a further opportunity for children to develop various life skills.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between staff and children are at the heart of life in residence. Staff, alongside leaders and managers, make notable efforts to celebrate children’s birthdays. Furthermore, children love to attend various school events, such as the Christmas fayre. These efforts, which are an embedded feature of the culture in school, have created a tangible sense of community and belonging for the children.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a sense of pride in the school’s residential setting, from children and staff. Indeed, leaders and managers shine a light on life in residence through inviting community figureheads to frequent ‘Talk at teatime’ sessions. This gives children an opportunity to learn about and pose questions to a range of individuals who serve their community. Equally, community figureheads learn more about how the wider community can better champion the children’s needs and aspirations.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s parents are encouraged by how their child has developed their independence, both at home and in the community. This is through children being supported to use public transport and access their local community. One parent said, ‘They travel independently, which was unimaginable.’

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are knowledgeable around meeting the children’s dietary requirements. Moreover, staff are skilled at broadening the children’s diet. This is achieved through staff adopting a fun and curious approach to food. An example of this are the fun taster evenings that staff arrange, which entice children to experiment with their food.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children have poignantly described the positive impact that life in residence has had on their lives. In one instance, a child wrote a powerful and insightful letter to demonstrate this. Furthermore, former pupils return to school and talk about their positive experience of residence to other children. Notably, leaders and managers talk proudly about children who have gone onto further education, including accessing various Universities.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although children experience various fun outings in the community, children have requested access to a wider range of activities. Leaders and managers have acknowledged the need to review their stance on this.

p.2

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

Embedded systems and structures enable effective communication between all practitioners in school. Indeed, leaders and managers meet weekly to discuss, review Inspection report for residential special school - St John’s Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa 3 and plan how worries and challenges associated with children will be mitigated. Outcomes from these meetings are clearly recorded, therefore promoting accountability.

p.2

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

There is a swift response to any concerns noted about a child’s welfare. Furthermore, accurate information is shared with safeguarding agencies, enabling agencies to effectively evaluate risk and act. In one instance, the school collaboratively worked alongside a child’s family, resulting in social care formulating a plan to better support the child’s home situation.

p.3

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

Notably, there has been no incidents in residential where staff have deemed it necessary to hold children. The school value a therapeutic approach to care and invest in training that has supported this outcome. Again, demonstrating the school’s value of residence and their relational approach to supporting children.

p.3

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

When children have had a challenging day in school, teaching staff ensure that staff in residence understand the context. As a result, staff are better able to support children’s transition to residence. In doing so, children are supported to recover and resume school the following day in a healthier state of mind.

p.3

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

Specialist professionals guide staff to effectively communicate with all children. This includes training staff on better understanding children’s hearing devices. Additionally, for children that require them, hearing passports give staff more understanding and confidence around supporting children to effectively use their hearing devices.

p.3

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

There is a robust response from leaders and managers when staff conduct raises a cause for concern. It is clear that leaders and managers actively reinforce the school’s value base in such instances. However, on one occasion, school processes were not followed in respect of providing a former employee with a reference. Although this situation was immediately resolved, school policies need to be understood and implemented accordingly.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In addition to Ofsted, there has been input from two other regulatory services who have conducted inspections at separate points in the year. Furthermore, leaders have sought input and guidance from the host local authority. Leaders approach these interventions as a learning opportunity. In doing so, leaders and managers continue to promote an open school culture.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Parent surveys are comprehensive and sent out by school on a termly basis. This is a meaningful information seeking exercise. Views from parents are published on the school’s website for transparency. Additionally, leaders ensure that data is compiled to learn how to improve children’s experiences. Notably, parents of children who access residential are distinguished in the data, which enables better clarity around the experiences for these children. Inspection report for residential special school - St John’s Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa 4 The delegated governor has good working knowledge of life in residence. This is due to leaders providing open access for the governor to enact their role. Likewise, the independent visitor is supported and encouraged to objectively carry out their role. Any findings from these respective individuals are considered and formally acted on. Again, this shows the value that leaders have for external constructive advice.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The head of care has an effective system to monitor training and supervision sessions with staff. Importantly, staff say that these mechanisms better support them to carry out their role effectively.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External professionals speak highly of the support and care that children experience in residence. A social worker said that staff in residence are ‘child focused’ and ‘go above and beyond’ for children. These sentiments reflect the embedded culture in residence.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s behaviour plans are not updated to reflect important changes in the child’s circumstances. Although there is no identified impact on children, there were various examples that showed that staff cannot rely on the information recorded in some of the children’s plans. Inspection report for residential special school - St John’s Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa 5

p.4

special schools

The school does not meet the following national minimum standard for residential special schools:

p.5

special schools

 Placement plans are regularly reviewed and amended as necessary to reflect significant changes in the child’s needs or progress in his or her development. Also, that emerging concerns are noted and there is a clear guidance for staff to support the child. (Residential special schools: national minimum standards, 7.2)

p.5

Recommendations

 All children take part in a range of developmentally appropriate peer activities. Decision-making should be undertaken from the perspective of a reasonable parent. In particular, the school should review its stance on offering a broader range of activities for children to enjoy. (Residential special schools: national minimum standards, 23.2)  Safer recruitment processes are aligned with the school’s own policy. In particular, ensuring that only people who the school have designated respond to requests for references from other places of work. (Residential special schools: national minimum standards 24.1)

p.5

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 - St John’s Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa 6

p.5

Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: SC001535

p.6

Residential special school details

Headteacher/teacher in charge: Kevin Harrington

p.6

Residential special school details

Type of school: Residential special school

p.6

Inspectors

Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector (lead) Gina Lightfoot, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential special school - St John’s Catholic Specialist School, Boston Spa 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.

p.6

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7