Saint Felix School Inspection report for Boarding School

Unique reference number SC024583 Inspection date 23/03/2011 Inspector Wilfried Maxfield Type of inspection Key

Setting address St. Felix School, Halesworth Road, , , , IP18 6SD

Telephone number 01502 727042 Email Registered person St Felix School Southwold Suffolk Head/Principal David Ward Nominated person David Ward Date of last inspection 30/01/2007

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004 and the relevant National Minimum Standards for the service.

The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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Service information

Brief description of the service

Saint Felix School is an independent, co-educational school catering for pupils aged from to the age of 19 years. It consists of three separate schools which merged in 2002 including Saint Felix School, Saint George’s School and the Dragons’ Nursery. The various school and junior school buildings occupy separate facilities on the same site, while sharing the dining room, sports and swimming complex and extensive grounds. A total of 455 pupils were on-roll at the time of this inspection.

Boarders are allocated to one of the three boarding houses depending on their age and gender. Boarding arrangements at the school are flexible with the majority of boarders being full-time. There are 49 full-time, 19 weekly and 15 flexi-boarders at the time of this inspection. Each house is managed by a resident housemaster and/or housemistress with the assistance of non-resident house tutors, a matron and gap year students.

The school is situated on the outskirts of Southwold, Suffolk. A board of governors administers Saint Felix boarding school as a charitable educational trust.

Summary

The overall quality rating is good.

This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

This was an announced inspection of all of the boarding and boarding related provisions at the school. The reason for this visit was to look at the progress the boarding school has made with the one recommendation made at the last key inspection conducted by the Commission for Social Care Inspection in January 2007.

All of the key national minimum standards for boarding schools were inspected and evaluated during this visit. As part of the inspection process boarders and parents were offered the opportunity to anonymously complete pre-inspection questionnaires. An almost full return of questionnaires was received from boarders. Twenty-one questionnaires were returned by parents. Views expressed by boarders and parents contributed to the outstanding, good and satisfactory comments and judgements contained in this report.

The being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving and organisation outcomes for boarders at the school have been rated as good. Positive contribution and economic wellbeing have been rated as satisfactory. The overall quality of boarding was judged to be good.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The school was last inspected by the Commission of Social Care Inspection. One recommendation was made relating to the recruitment and vetting of staff. This inspection found that the school has made excellent progress in this area. The school complies with the relevant national minimum standards and the safer recruitment practices as detailed in the Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education guidance.

Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good.

The school provides its pupils with good personal, social and health education. Academic, boarding and medical centre staff follow good policies and guidance and provide good support to ensure the health and welfare of all pupils and boarders. Staff know the school's policy on how to respond to pupils smoking and drinking alcohol and are effective in preventing the use of illegal substances.

Children are provided with good health care. The recording of health needs is good and the depth and range of some assessments is outstanding. Pupils and boarders with significant health and emotional needs benefit from a well co-ordinated approach and excellent communication between the schools different departments. This process is supervised by the highly effective pastoral and medical teams. There is good consultation with parents, guardians and the external health professionals that might be involved.

Boarders benefit from outstanding medical attention and care. The school employs three registered nurses who staff an excellent medical centre and coordinate the medical arrangements for all pupils. Medical centre staff are used extensively by boarders who seek support for health and/or personal problems. Boarders praise the care and attention they receive and speak of the nurses very highly. The medical centre contains a number of adequate sick bays. Staffing levels are adjusted to provide day and night care for ill boarders, if and when needed. Resident staff in all of the boarding houses provide good and rapid assistance when necessary. Access to a range of external dental, optical and other medical services is managed effectively and essential information regarding this is recorded in good detail. Boarders benefit from outstanding levels of support by a wide range of staff in times of stress and homesickness and with emotional and health related difficulties.

Medication is stored securely and recorded in satisfactory detail in the boarding houses. The school ensures that staff are trained in first aid and that first aid equipment and boxes are widely available across the school and the boarding house.

Pupils are provided with satisfactory catering arrangements and meals which are adequate in quantity and quality. A two week menu outlines meals for lunchtimes but does not provide information for the evening and weekend meals. Boarders report differences in the provision of meals at weekends and are not always happy about

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the perceived lack of choice and variety. There is a satisfactory range of suitable snacks and drinks outside the set mealtimes. There are good quality refurbished kitchens in the boarding houses which boarders can use for snacks and drinks in the evening. A new and well used 'cyber café' has been introduced for the pupils of the upper sixth form since the last inspection and is praised by day pupils and boarders alike. The cafe is allocated a good range of snacks, fruit and other produce.

Good levels of care and attention are afforded for boarders' clothes and personal items. The team of boarding staff and ancillary staff ensures that boarders' bedding and clothing is washed and maintained to a good standard.

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good.

The school has an effective approach to countering incidents of bullying. A number of boarders report low-level bullying in one boarding house. Good levels of awareness amongst the group of staff ensure that victims and perpetrators are known and suitably supported. Good recording enables the school to track possible clusters and trends. Boarders have access to information about the safer use of electronic means of communication and are adequately safeguarded from potential harm. Boarders do not report any cyber-bullying at the time of this inspection.

Boarders are protected from abuse. An experienced and well-trained senior member of staff is designated to take responsibility for the implementation of the safeguarding and child protection policies. Teachers and boarding house teams benefit from good guidance and leadership in this area. Documents related to child protection and safeguarding are of a good quality and updated regularly to reflect the latest developments in legislation. However, the school's child protection guidance does currently not specify the services provided by the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). All teaching and boarding house staff receive good child protection information and training except for ancillary staff who do currently not receive adequate refresher and induction training.

Pupils and boarders feel that members of staff treat them fairly and with respect. The range of rewards and sanctions is well advertised in boarding houses and in school and is known to all. Boarders report that they are clear about what rules are in place. Staff follow a clear policy regarding all aspects of managing behaviour effectively and appropriately.

Complaints are taken seriously and are appropriately responded to. A comprehensive complaints policy is in place and is available in the different school publications aimed at external as well as internal stakeholders. Boarders know how to complain and the procedure is adequately summarised in the individual boarding house handbooks.

Boarders and boarding staff are protected from the risk of fire and know the emergency evacuation procedures. There are clear and up to date records for the testing of fire related equipment. Evacuation records for each term show good

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compliance with the school's comprehensive policies and procedures. Adequate and appropriate safety measures are provided for a wide range of activities. The school can evidence good control over high risk activities. Such activities are supervised by competent and trained members of staff.

Boarders' privacy is respected and boarders do not report that there are any inappropriate intrusions. Clear procedures ensure that privacy is paramount when staff supervise boarders. Boarding staff are sensitive to gender issues. Female boarders report they feel safe and secure in areas where male staff have supervisory duties in the girl's boarding house.

Boarders are safe from people unsuitable to work in a school and residential environment. Appointments since the last inspection have included all the required safeguarding measures. There has been excellent retrospective checking of staff who where employed in the more distant past. The vetting of staff is assisted by employing a well-maintained central register. The school implements the safe recruitment practices as detailed in Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education guidance. Key staff implementing the school's policies in this outcome area have had relevant safer recruitment training. Boarders are protected from unsupervised contact with adults who have not been subject to the school's full recruitment checks, such as visitors and external contractors.

A range of good measures are in place to prevent any unauthorised access to the boarding houses. Sleeping, living and recreational areas, indoors and in the school grounds are free from avoidable hazards. The school implements a good system of risk assessment in the boarding houses in order to identify, monitor and reduce the risks to boarders.

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good.

Boarders report that the range of activities available to them is satisfactory. A significant number state in questionnaires and during interviews that activities during weekdays are normally based on academic tasks only. Discussion groups with boarders revealed that a significant number want the school to review the choice of activities available to them with a view to providing more choice.

Boarders receive good levels of personal support. The network of supportive staff includes a range of health professionals such as a trained counsellor external to the school. Pastoral systems are managed by a highly effective group of senior staff. The school enjoys a boarding community rich in diversity of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. There is a clear and successful effort to integrate overseas students into school and boarding life. Boarders do not report on issues of discrimination and intolerance. Minority groups feel well integrated and describe an atmosphere of healthy respect and mutual care.

Appropriate facilities are available for both organised and private study. Boarding

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houses benefit from full internet access and wireless networks are available. However, the current system does not cope with the demands and the current numbers. There is a comprehensive policy covering computer use and internet access which is understood by the boarders.

Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory.

Boarders report that they feel enabled to voice their opinions and contribute their views about the boarding provision. Differing degrees of opportunity exist in the three boarding houses for pupils to share their views at house meetings. The school relies largely on informal ways to ascertain students' views on relevant aspects of boarding provision. Formal meetings and surveys do currently not have an impact on the development and practice of boarding.

All boarders are generally able to maintain contact with their families and all have access to landline and mobile phones. The vast majority of boarders, including those from overseas, have problems when using the internet to make contact. An unusually slow system prevents boarders from accessing their preferred email provider's sites and does not adequately support communication software.

Relationship between staff and boarders are sound. Boarders speak of the staff group in a positive and respectful way and are appreciative about the sense of community that exists within the boarding provision.

Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is satisfactory.

Satisfactory levels of protection are provided for boarders' personal possessions. There are currently no reports of incidents regarding any missing or stolen items. The school provides boarders with boarding provision of a satisfactory standard. The three boarding houses have seen various degrees of refurbishment over recent times and the accommodation in many areas shows signs of wear. A development plan is in place to ensure the environment continues to be improved and updated. Recent improvements include the refurbishment of kitchens and bathroom and toilet areas. Dormitories and communal areas are decorated, furnished and equipped to a satisfactory standard. Room sizes are satisfactory and bedrooms are well furnished with good quality bedding. Satisfactory housekeeping provides a well cared for and clean environment.

The numbers of bathrooms and toilets in boarding houses are appropriate for the number of students accommodated. Bathrooms provide adequate privacy. Boarders report on satisfactory amounts of hot water and occasional problems with water pressure.

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Organisation

The organisation is good.

Parents, boarders and staff are provided with a suitable statement of the school’s boarding principles and practice. Regularly updated policies are available for all key areas and reflect the current boarding practice.

The organisation and mangement of the boarding houses is good. Staff and boarders benefit from good management and leadership of boarding in the school. The school's headmaster takes an active interest in boarding developments and regularly reports back to the Board of Governors. Boarding staff are adequately trained and have the background and experience to work with children in a residential setting. The systems for monitoring and reviewing of records and risk assessments are good and positively contribute to boarders' welfare. Records of sanctions, complaints and accidents are monitored by specified senior and medical centre staff.

All new staff undergo an induction process that includes a comprehensive understanding of risk assessment and risk awareness. A rigorous induction process includes information on handling chemicals, the proactive prevention of diseases, being safe around electricity, fire safety, first aid and a thorough risk analysis when working alone.

Duty rotas demonstrate good levels of staff supervision. Staff supervising boarders are sufficient in number and deployment for the age, number and needs of boarders. Written documentation reflects and supports the practices that are implemented. There are clear arrangements for the management of staff. Boarding staff state that they feel well supported.

The promotion of equality and diversity is good. The school welcomes and nurtures a boarding community which is rich in diversity of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. There is a clear and successful effort to integrate overseas students into school and boarding life. Minority groups are well respected, integrated and supported. The individual needs of boarders are well known, respected and supported.

What must be done to secure future improvement?

Compliance with national minimum standards

The school meets all the national minimum standards, with the exception of any listed below. To ensure that the school meets the national minimum standards the school needs to…

provide boarders with a menu which is adequate in choice and variety (NMS 24.1.) update child protection guidance. In particular inform staff about the procedures for raising issues with the designated member of staff or the Local Authority

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Designated Officer (LADO), in the event of a concern, and ensure that boarders and their parents are informed about the possibility to report to the LADO (NMS 3.4; 5.4) provide all of the ancillary staff with training on responding to suspicions or allegations of abuse (NMS 3.5) review the range and choice of activities for boarders outside teaching time (NMS 11) provide for additional and formal opportunities for boarders to express their views about the day-to-day boarding arrangements (NMS 12.2.) ensure that the electronic systems provided by the school enable boarders to stay in contact with friends and family and to write emails home. (NMS 19.1, 19.4.)