Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales
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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. 4 Version 1.1 07/2012 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. 5 Version 1.1 07/2012 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.