Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales

Children Act 1989 as amended by the

Care Standards Act 2000

Inspection Report

Llandovery College

Llandovery SA20 0EE

Type of Inspection – Baseline Inspection Date(s) of inspection – 19,20,21 November 2012 Date of publication – 6 January 2013

You may reproduce this Report in its entirety. You may not reproduce it in part or in any abridged form and may only quote from it with the consent in writing of Welsh Ministers

Please contact CSSIW National Office for further information Tel: 0300 062 8800 Email: [email protected] www.cssiw.org.uk Version 1.1 07/2012

Summary

About the service Llandovery College is a co – educational boarding and day school for students of either gender aged 3 to 18 years of age. The school accepted students as boarders from the age of 8 years and those aged 3 to 11 years, attended Gollop Preparatory school which was situated within the grounds of the College.

The Warden was Mr Guy Ayling and the Deputy Warden and person who oversaw the boarding element of the College at the time of the inspection, was Mr Nigel Watts.

The College is located in the small market town of Llandovery, Carmarthenshire and at the time of inspection provided boarding accommodation for 113 students.

What type of inspection was carried out? This inspection was a scheduled baseline inspection and took place over 3 days using the following methodology:

 Completion of Self Assessment of Service form (SAS) and Annual Data Collection (ADC) prior to the inspection.  Planning meeting with Mr Watts on 7 November 2012.  Announced inspection on 19, 20 and 21 November 2012.  Discussion with students both at the college and boarding houses.  Observation of student and boarding staff interaction.  Visual inspection of boarding premises – the 5 houses – Llandingat, Teilo, Llanover, Cadog and Dewi  Discussion with various members of staff to include Warden and Deputy Warden.  Inspection of files and documents at the college and boarding houses.

What does the service do well? Boarders reported feeling happy, safe and well supported at the college.

What has improved since the last inspection?  The standard of food at the College has improved.  Staff are now subject to CRB checks that are renewed every 3 years.  Communication was said to have improved among all staff at the college.

What needs to be done to improve the service?

 The boarding houses continue to require significant investment to refurbish them to an acceptable and consistent standard.  The lighting around Llandingat needs to be improved.  Recordings at the boarding houses need to be consistent and more comprehensive.  Recordings of Complaints and Safeguarding issues require more information and detail.  Gaps were identified in staff training.  HR files for staff need to be centralised to fully evidence the required checks on staff have been undertaken. 3 Version 1.1 07/2012

Quality of life

Boarders were encouraged to express their views and opinions about their lives at the college and to make suggestions for improvement where possible. Weekly school council meetings were held where all boarders were encouraged to offer opinions and suggestions and house staff gave them feedback on matters raised in previous meetings. Boarders and students were seen to offer their views and suggestions confidently and eloquently during a school council meeting. Younger boarders also had school council meetings within their preparatory school, where they could raise matters, if perhaps they felt less confident to do so in the main school council meetings.

Students were also encouraged to speak in private to their house parents if they so wished if they had any concerns or issues. Several boarders went home on weekends and occasionally during the week. Boarders were observed to have positive relationships with house staff, where warmth, humour and mutual respect were evident. All boarders spoken to, felt they were looked after by house staff who were caring and supportive and had a good understanding of them as individuals. Boarders privacy was seen to be respected within the boarding houses, with staff and boarders alike knocking before entering rooms, and girls and boys dormitories and bathrooms were segregated.

The College had an independent Counsellor whom boarders could contact if they wished. Her contact details were displayed around the college and during the inspection the Deputy Warden suggested she attended a college assembly to reintroduce herself to boarders and students and promote her role.

Boarders days were long and very structured, with limited free time. Boarders spoken to were happy with the routine and structure of their day and did feel they had adequate time to relax and enjoy free time. Some boarders commented that they occasionally felt tired, but house staff were able to identify if this was the case and take measures to intervene as necessary.

If boarders were feeling especially tired and in need of rest, they were able to go the medical centre during the day where they could sleep and be cared for and supported by the nursing staff. Boarders who were ill were sent home or to their identified guardians. Boarders were seen to use the nursing staff for advice, treatment and support appropriately, and the 2 qualified nurses employed by the college had a good knowledge of the students and were able to quickly identify if a student was looking unwell, tired or behaving out of character. The Medical Centre was equipped with 2 small, 4 bedded wards, basic first aid equipment and over the counter medicines. Nursing staff were aware of the limitations in treatment they could offer and immediately sought further advice, attended the GP with students or the Accident and Emergency Department when necessary.

Boarders reported feeling happy and safe, both within the college and boarding houses. They enjoyed spending time with their friends, were observed to have fun and had clearly developed firm friendships. The atmosphere after the formality of the school day was relaxed and informal and boarders and students were friendly, helpful and positive in their outlook. They stated they felt comfortable speaking to a member of staff if they had any worries or concerns. They felt that bullying was not an issue at the school and that staff dealt swiftly and appropriately with any incidents or issues before they escalated.

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Quality of staffing

Boarders reported having positive relationships with boarding staff and felt they could approach staff if they had any worries or concerns. Most boarding house staff had been in post for several years and had built up a good rapport, knowledge and understanding of boarders in their care. Those house staff seen, were observed to be committed to their role, caring and supportive and made the atmosphere in the boarding houses as homely and comfortable as possible. Staff were proud of boarders achievements and were encouraging and motivating. Staff encouraged boarders to personalise their rooms and bed spaces and add to the décor of the houses were possible. It was observed that boarders in some houses did this to a lesser degree than others.

Boarding staff received 3 yearly CRB checks and new members of staff undertook a period of induction. Staff employed within the college had CRB checks carried out on commencement of employment and these were renewed every 3 years as is good practice. Some gaps were identified in boarding staff training; for example training records evidenced only 7 out of 25 boarding house staff had received Child Protection training, 3 had received anti-bullying training and 13 had undertaken First Aid training. Staff however reported being aware of the college’s Child Protection policy and of the procedures they would need to follow should they have any concerns of this nature.

A sample of staff’s HR files were examined during the inspection and a discussion took place with the college’s recently appointed HR Manager. She was in the process of implementing a new system whereby all staff records, interview notes, references etc were stored on one file as is good practice.

Gap students were employed in Llandingat and were responsible for assisting the house staff in supporting the younger boarders. As both Gap students were from Australia, they were unable to produce CRB checks but did have the Australian Certificate of Good Conduct as an equivalent. They were accommodated in a flat within Llandingat boarding house, on the same floor as the girls and had their own facilities. They were not left in sole charge of boarders. Boarders reported the ‘Gappies’ were an asset to the boarding facilities and were supportive and fun to be around. Llandingat had a Matron who assisted the younger pupils living there and undertook certain chores and duties within the boarding house.

Overseas boarders were required to have educational guardians. This was arranged privately between parents and appropriate agencies and the college had no involvement. Overseas students would stay with their guardians during half term or holiday periods. Some boarders remained in the college during exeat weekends and the college employed additional staff to provide cover for these weekends.

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Quality of leadership and management The college employed a Director of Pastoral Care who oversaw the boarding provision within the college. At the time of the inspection she was on Maternity leave however, did take the opportunity to meet and have discussions with the inspectors. Her role was being covered by the Deputy Warden who had years of experience at the college, having been a house master at Llandingat himself in the past. There was a clear Statement of Boarding Practice and Principle which all boarding staff were familiar with and a clear line management structure for the day to day management of the boarding provision was also in place. The SAS stated all boarding houses were working towards having a clearly defined plan with short and long term objectives to include the development of the buildings.

The college had been through a well reported financially challenging period where its future was uncertain. At the time of the inspection it was in the process of re-establishing itself under the leadership of the newly appointed Warden and several changes, developments and initiatives were underway along with a plan and vision for the future of the college. A new board of Governors and Trustees was being formed and a Foundation Trust was being established to drive investment in the buildings and site itself.

The Director of Pastoral Care/ Deputy Warden undertook regular checks of the boarding house and was in daily contact with boarding staff. Half termly checks were carried out where records kept at the houses were checked such as the Accident Book, house diary etc and also premises were checked. Any issues requiring action were identified and evidence was seen of most of these being addressed.

Communication between boarding staff, teachers, nursing and the Senior Leadership Team was reported to be very good with staff making use of email to share and cascade information easily.

Regular staff meetings took place such as weekly House Meetings where relevant information and ideas were discussed, for example the forthcoming ‘6th form Feast’ and any boarders/day pupils who had particular welfare issues. These meetings evidenced the knowledge staff had of boarders and day pupils alike, and an awareness of their needs on an educational level but also on a personal and welfare level. Staff were seen to be child focussed, empathetic and holistic in their approach to caring and supporting students.

The college was open to receiving and addressing any complaints and had sought feedback form parents and students regarding the service the college offered– the overall response being very positive. One complaint had been received in the last year and had been resolved. This, and records regarding it were discussed with the Warden and Deputy Warden and it was recommended that more information be included in future and any complaints be investigated by a third party. More information was needed in records of Child Protection and Incident recordings and it was suggested these be typed in order they were easier to read. It was also recommended that more detailed information was recorded consistently in boarding houses, particularly around any incidents or significant events. Discussion took place over the use and potential risks of aerosol cans in boarding houses and the need for a policy to reflect this.

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Quality of environment There were 5 boarding houses, four of which were within the college grounds and Llandingat, the boarding house for the youngest boarders was situated a short walk from the college. The house was accessed by crossing a main road at a zebra crossing. The Warden and Deputy Warden explained that the decision to accommodate the youngest boarders had been made years previously as it was felt a good idea that they had their own space away from the older boarders, with their own garden and outside space where the differences between the age groups, social development and maturity etc would not be so evident. During dark winter evenings, in often poor weather conditions the short walk between Llandingat and the College was not ideal and the lighting around the boarding house itself was very poor and inadequate. Boarders were not permitted to undertake the walk alone but during the inspection, two young boys were seen to trail some distance behind the group and this had implications for their safety. This was brought to the Warden and Deputy Warden’s attention.

It was disappointing to see the fabric of the buildings had continued to deteriorate since the previous inspection. Several boarding houses were very old buildings and were in need of significant refurbishment. Some were in better repair than others – Llanover for example was a newer, purpose built boarding house and was in a far better state of repair. Standards of boarding houses need to be significantly improved and there is a need for consistency in all boarding houses in the interests of equality and fairness for boarders.

All boarding houses had common rooms with televisions, DVD players etc where young people and staff could relax and socialize together. All houses had kitchens with facilities to make snacks and drinks; all main meals were taken in the dining room of the college. Rooms were a combination of dormitory style rooms, double and single rooms. The number of bathrooms, showers and lavatories were seen to be sufficient and were separate for boys and girls. Some young people commented that the water temperature was occasionally too cold and water pressure in some of the showers was occasionally too low.

Some young people raised the issue of not having lockable spaces in which to keep valuable items safe, as broken locks on some lockers had not been replaced. The college was in the process of investigating some valuable items which had gone missing at the time of the inspection.

The boarding houses were accessed via keypad entry or by using swipe cards. Personal files were stored in locked filing cabinets and only accessed by authorised personnel. Young people reported feeling safe in their respective houses.

Risk assessments had been undertaken for each of the boarding houses and regular fire drills were practised. The Deputy Warden confirmed that all boarding houses had valid Gas and Electrical certificates.

Young people were able to visit the local town during their free time and the amount of time allowed varied, depending on age. All visits were recorded in the town visit book and any absences or late returns were quickly identified and acted upon.

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How we inspect and report on services We conduct two types of inspection; baseline and focussed. Both consider the experience of people using services.

 Baseline inspections assess whether the registration of a service is justified and whether the conditions of registration are appropriate. For most services, we carry out these inspections every three years. Exceptions are registered child minders, out of school care, sessional care, crèches and open access provision, which are every four years.

At these inspections we check whether the service has a clear, effective Statement of Purpose and whether the service delivers on the commitments set out in its Statement of Purpose. In assessing whether registration is justified inspectors check that the service can demonstrate a history of compliance with regulations.

 Focussed inspections consider the experience of people using services and we will look at compliance with regulations when poor outcomes for people using services are identified. We carry out these inspections in between baseline inspections. Focussed inspections will always consider the quality of life of people using services and may look at other areas.

Baseline and focussed inspections may be scheduled or carried out in response to concerns.

Inspectors use a variety of methods to gather information during inspections. These may include;

 Talking with people who use services and their representatives  Talking to staff and the manager  Looking at documentation  Observation of staff interactions with people and of the environment  Comments made within questionnaires returned from people who use services, staff and health and social care professionals

We inspect and report our findings under ‘Quality Themes’. Those relevant to each type of service are referred to within our inspection reports.

Further information about what we do can be found in our leaflet ‘Improving Care and Social Services in Wales’. You can download this from our website, Improving Care and Social Services in Wales or ask us to send you a copy by telephoning your local CSSIW regional office.

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