The Hawthorns School

Inspection report for residential special school - The Hawthorns School 1 The Hawthorns School The Hawthorns School, Thornhurst Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 2XT Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential special school

This residential special school is a free school and part of the SEAX Trust. The residential accommodation was registered with Ofsted on 13 November 2025. The school has 70 pupils. The dedicated residential provision can provide care for up to 10 children at any one time. Children at the school have a diagnosis of autism, which often results in them experiencing difficulties with communication and processing information. Children may also have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or attention deficit disorder. Children stay in the residential accommodation between one and 4 nights per week. All the children attend the school on site. The residential provision is led by a permanent manager.

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Information about this residential special school

The children contributed towards this inspection.

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Information about this residential special school

Inspectors only inspected the residential 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for residential special school - The Hawthorns School 2

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Summary of findings

Children who stay in the residential provision receive a high standard of individual care and support that meets their identified needs. Staff working in the residential provision have developed good relationships with children and they are attuned to the children’s needs and methods of communication.

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Summary of findings

Children’s attainment at school is very good. The residential provision contributes to this progress and helps children feel settled and therefore well placed to make progress at school.

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Summary of findings

The manager of the residential provision undertakes a thorough assessment of children’s needs prior to them staying in the residential accommodation. This helps ensure that staff can meet the assessed needs of children.

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Summary of findings

The children are safe and enjoy their stays in the residential accommodation. The children have good relationships with their peers and behaviour is very good.

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Summary of findings

The staff communicate with parents weekly and provide written communication. This helps give parents and carers confidence, and they report positively on the experiences and progress of their children.

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Summary of findings

Some improvements are required to the residential provision. The outside garden area could be improved, the internal doors are heavy for children, and the shower areas could be changed to make them easier to use.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive a good standard of individualised care from staff who know them well. Relationships between the children and staff are strong and support children to do well in school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The consistently high ratios of staff to children enable staff to spend good-quality time with children, which helps to develop strong relationships. Children and staff complete activities together, and children will seek staff out and want to spend time with them. For example, one child who was initially wary of staff when starting in the residential provision is now more relaxed and confides in staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Supporting children’s educational and developmental targets is a key aim of the residential provision. The children’s attendance in school is well above the national average. The transitions between the school and the residential provision are undertaken carefully to achieve quality time for children in education. Consistent handovers between residential and school staff take place to help ensure that all staff are aware and prepared for any changes in the children’s presenting behaviours. The Inspection report for residential special school - The Hawthorns School 3 focus is on helping children to develop their communication skills and functional abilities to help maximise learning and independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have varied abilities in relation to communication. Some children have specific communication devices and use signs and symbols. However, many children can voice their opinions and views. The staff are adept at communicating with all the children. This helps ensure that children are listened to and can provide their opinions. The staff use social stories with children to good effect. This helps them adapt to new situations or people, and this also serves to alleviate any anxiety or worries that children may have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The residential accommodation is a new and purpose-built development. It is designed for children with additional needs and is a safe environment. It is finished to a very high standard and provides a comfortable and relaxed space for children. The manager and staff have ensured the provision is homely and comfortable. Children bring in their possessions from home, develop their room as they wish and have their artwork on display throughout. However, further improvements are needed. The garden area is sparse and lacks outdoor equipment. There is also a lack of privacy from a nearby road. Internally, some doors are heavy and more difficult for younger children, and the showers need some alterations. Leaders and managers are aware of these areas and are working with relevant agencies to rectify them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The communication between staff and children’s parents is good. Staff speak to parents weekly and provide written information about their children’s experiences and progress. Parents are confident that their children are safe and enjoying their stays. One parent said, ‘I would give the residential provision an A star-star for what they do.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager completes a detailed assessment before children stay. This is undertaken in consultation with family members and school staff. This includes all the required information about the child’s life at home and how best to support the child in the residential provision. This is reviewed and amended in line with the child’s needs. For example, for one child, it quickly emerged they struggled to stay for 2 consecutive nights. Consequently, this changed to separating the nights and this helped the child settle.

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

Since the residential provision was opened, it has remained very settled. Staff have not had to restrain children. Children have not gone missing and there have been no concerns over the conduct of staff. The staff implement consistent behavioural boundaries that children can understand. A real strength is how staff help children to understand how their behaviour impacts others. This has helped children to develop caring relationships with each other.

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

The manager and staff benefit from the support and guidance of designated safeguarding leads. The manager attends the senior leadership meetings and works Inspection report for residential special school - The Hawthorns School 4 directly with safeguarding leads. This helps to ensure children’s safeguarding needs remain the priority for all leaders and managers in the school. The policies that guide safeguarding practice are regularly reviewed and amended to consider wider changes with contextual safeguarding.

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

Rigorous safer recruitment processes ensure that new staff only work in the residential provision following detailed vetting. Pre-employment checks include references, any gaps in past employment and the undertaking of an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. They also check any social media activity for anything that may raise concerns over a person’s suitability to work in the provision.

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

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children. They have completed the training and development to provide them with the knowledge and skills they need to keep children safe. Staff understand how to report any concerns they may have without delay.

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

The health and safety of children and staff is a priority for leaders. The residential provision is newly built, and all the required fire equipment is in place. Weekly checking of equipment is undertaken. Building maintenance is also reviewed weekly, and action required is taken to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations. However, the manager and leaders have not yet had a nighttime fire evacuation or implemented a plan to ensure fire evacuations take place regularly. This is important to ensure that children and staff are prepared in the event of an emergency.

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

Staff are vigilant over children’s safety and wellbeing and make sure they supervise the children closely. Trips out take place regularly, and children enjoy these experiences. The manager and staff complete risk assessments and ensure there are sufficient staff to provide supervision of the children and that they are well equipped. Consequently, children can enjoy trips out and activities while remaining safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and school leaders are dedicated and committed to the residential provision. They are aspirational for the children and the progress they can achieve at school and for the contribution the residential provision can make towards this aim. The manager is visible and works directly with the children. She is a good role model for staff. The children also have very good relationships with the manager and will actively seek her out.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from good and well-coordinated approaches to their care from different external agencies and professionals. Children may have several professionals working with them, for example occupational therapists and speech and language therapists. There is good multi-agency collaboration through regular meetings, including sometimes daily briefings with all professionals working with a child. This helps the manager and staff to help the child in a focused and well- coordinated manner. Inspection report for residential special school - The Hawthorns School 5 The manager and leaders have a good understanding of the strengths of the residential provision and areas for further development. The manager and leaders have a clear plan to develop the provision further. However, the independent person who was identified to meet the children and visit the residential provision monthly did not attend the provision. Consequently, children have not had the opportunity to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

speak to someone independent, and the residential provision has not been visited. A new visitor has now been appointed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have high morale and are motivated to provide good-quality care to the children. Staff report that the manager is always approachable, supportive and available to them. The staff benefit from regular and reflective individual supervision that reviews their residential practice and places the safety and progress of children as central. The manager is aspirational for staff and has plans to help them develop in their roles to take on more responsibility.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff meet on a regular basis. This takes place through daily handover meetings and weekly team meetings. The residential staff also benefit from training with the school through professional development days, which covers important topics such as safeguarding, changes in policy, practice and team building. This strengthens how staff work together across the school and coordinates approaches to the care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager attends the senior leadership meetings, and she is supported well by the headteacher. The headteacher attends the residential provision regularly and knows the children very well. Governance arrangements are strong and provide a good balance of support and challenge to the headteacher, the manager of the residential provision and senior leaders. Inspection report for residential special school - The Hawthorns School 6

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special schools

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

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special schools

 The school identifies at least one person other than a parent, outside the staff and those responsible for the leadership and governance of the school, who children may contact directly about personal problems or concerns at the school. This person may be known as the ‘independent person’ 22 . Children know who this person is, know how to contact them and feel comfortable talking to them. The person is easily accessible at all reasonable times, visits regularly (at least monthly), and knows the children. The person should have the necessary skills to interact and communicate effectively with the children and be able to recognise good/poor care and safeguarding concerns. Children who cannot communicate verbally are given the means to request individual support. Schools may need to make a range of arrangements for independent support, which might be provided by more than one person, to ensure that the needs of each child are met.

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special schools

(Residential special schools: national minimum standards 17.2) 22 To note: the independent person has a different role to the independent visitor. The independent person’s focus is on individual support for children.

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Points for improvement

 Leaders and managers should consider improving the outdoor areas for children and providing children with privacy while in the garden. They should also consider the internal doors, which are heavy and do not provide a homely feel to the accommodation, and review how the showers operate to make these easier for children and staff.  Leaders and managers should develop a plan to ensure that fire evacuations take place regularly and consider how to help children undertake a fire evacuation at night.

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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 - The Hawthorns School 7

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: 2836834

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Residential special school details

Type of school: Residential special school

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Residential special school details

Email address: admin@thehawthornsschool.com

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Inspectors

Phillip Morris, Social Care Inspector Dan Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential special school - The Hawthorns 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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