Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales Care Standards Act 2000 Inspection Report St Michael`s Boarding House St Michael's School Bryn Llangennech Llanelli SA14 9TU Type of Inspection – Baseline Dates of inspection – Tuesday, 15 March and Wednesday, 16 March 2016 Date of publication – Tuesday, 14 June 2016 Welsh Government © Crown copyright 2016. You may use and re-use the information featured in this publication (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government License. You can view the Open Government License, on the National Archives website or you can write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected] You must reproduce our material accurately and not use it in a misleading context. Summary About the service St Michael’s is an Independent School which is situated in the village of Bryn, close to the large town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire. It offers boarding provision to students in its two boarding houses - Parc House, a short distance away from the main school for the younger boarders and Ty Mawr, a purpose built boarding house situated in the school grounds for year eleven to thirteen pupils. At the time of the inspection there were 47 boarding students. There has been a change of Head Teacher since the school was last inspected by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW), with Head Teacher, Alun Millington, appointed in January 2015. The Head of Boarding is Gayle Gidman. What type of inspection was carried out? The inspection of St Michael’s School was a scheduled, announced, baseline inspection carried out through two announced visits, by two inspectors. The inspection looked at four quality themes; the quality of life of the young people living within the school, quality of staffing, quality of leadership and management and quality of environment. The following methodology was used:- Examination of the annual data collection form (ADC) and self assessment of service statement (SASS) information Discussions with boarding students during their lunch and leisure periods Discussion with the Head Teacher Discussion with the Head of Boarding Discussion with the Matron of Parc House Discussions with boarding staff Discussion with additional key staff, including the Head of Senior School, Health & Safety Officer, Bursar, Finance Manager, Head of Sixth Form, Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (SENCO), Specialist Teachers (EFL) Observation of interactions between boarding staff and students Visual inspection of premises Viewing a sample of general documentation held at the school, including documentation relating to policies and procedures, student and staff records, and quality assurance. What does the service do well? Staff have created a homely, caring environment and developed positive supportive relationships with students Boarding staff and students benefit from the advice and support which is made available from specialists within the school, to meet the additional needs of some students Students benefit from being able to directly access the school’s counselling service The purpose built boarding accommodation at Ty Mawr provides students with high quality accommodation Page 2 What has improved since the last inspection? Risk assessments have been completed for each boarding house, which identify potential risks and the action required to minimise those risks The staff handbook has been updated, to include key policies and procedures Arrangements for the storage of medicines have been improved to ensure the safety of students There are clear systems in place to monitor the welfare of boarding students Efforts are being made by staff to help students to develop their self-care and life skills Work is underway on reviewing and amending the school’s policies and procedures Improvements have been made to the environment of Parc House What needs to be done to improve the service? The following good practice recommendations were made:- The school’s policies and procedures should be consistently adhered to by all staff, with written documentation clearly evidencing that practice accords with the policies and procedures A robust recruitment process should be followed, with information in staff files seen to accord with national minimum standards A supervision and appraisal policy should be drafted. Each staff member should receive regular one to one supervision and an annual appraisal. Minutes of supervision should be completed, with copies held by both the supervisor and supervisee The ability of staff to put their learning from training into practice should be monitored and evidenced, e.g. within the supervision and appraisal process The anti-bullying policy should include the action to be taken by students experiencing or becoming aware of bullying, and the response they can expect from staff The procedure to be followed if a student were to go missing should would benefit from greater detail regarding contact with parents and with the police Policies and / or guidance documents should be drafted, with regard to the role and responsibilities of the student boarders’ council and boarders’ house meetings. Meetings should be held regularly and minuted Staff should continue to expand the activity programme for boarders, particularly at weekends. The school development plan, currently being drafted should include a robust boarding element, and clearly identify the improvements which are to be undertaken. Page 3 Quality Of Life Overall, we (CSSIW) found that the individual needs of boarding students are generally well understood, and they receive timely support and care. We saw that information was sought from parents of prospective boarding students, to gain a “picture” of the young person and to ensure that any additional needs were identified at an early stage. If necessary, welfare plans were drawn up which identified particular needs, e.g. health issues, language support, and how they should be addressed. Advice from the school’s Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (SENCO) could be provided to staff if needed. We were advised by the Head of Senior School, (who had pastoral and welfare responsibilities), that she met with the Head of Boarding each week to make sure that relevant information about students was shared, and to consider how to best meet their needs. We noted from the school’s SASS that the preferred language of over 70% of boarding students was not English, and we met with the school’s EFL teacher, who spoke about the work she was undertaking with eleven boarding students. It was clear from our discussions that she perceived her role to have a strong pastoral care element, and she advised that she met with the Head of Boarding on a weekly basis to discuss students’ progress and to ensure that any difficulties were addressed. We also spoke to one of her students, and observed their social interactions; it was evident that they were making good progress in respect of language skills, and they presented as being comfortable and relaxed with their fellow students. We were advised by one boarding supervisor that, as a qualified interpreter, she was able to communicate with Chinese students in their preferred language. She had also provided staff with information about different cultures within Chinese communities, to aid their understanding. We saw that recordings were completed in respect of students whose needs were being monitored, and we viewed detailed “handover” notes. These were seen to be passed on by staff at shift changes, to ensure that staff had up to date information, and could take this into account, whilst working with those students. Arrangements were in place for students to maintain contact with their families – we were advised by the Head of Senior School that all students had their own mobile phones, and were also able to book out laptops to enable them to skype. The health and physical well-being of boarding students is promoted as measures are taken by staff to ensure that the health needs of the young people are addressed. We saw that health information was sought from students and their families prior to admission and that overseas students were advised that any medicines (including herbal and homely remedies) brought with them to school must have the associated information written in English. After arriving, the young people were registered with a local GP surgery and, if necessary, supported to attend health appointments. Regular visits had also been made to the dentist and optician. All staff were seen to have completed first aid training, and to have up to date certification. We saw that, when students were taking medication, it was appropriately stored, in separate plastic boxes, which were then stored within a lockable cabinet in the supervisors’ staff room (which was also kept locked when not occupied). We did note, however, that, although records were kept of any medicines administered, the templates were not consistently signed by staff. We raised this issue with the Head Teacher and Head of Boarding, and advised that the template would benefit from being revised to include space for both the particular staff member and student to sign. We did not see any evidence during our inspection that staff had Page 4 undertaken training on the administration of medication. A healthy diet was seen to be promoted, with menus evidencing that nutritious, home-cooked meals were the norm, though students were able to buy alternatives, and enjoy a weekly “takeaway” night if they wished to do so. Boarding students have a voice and are able to express their views. The extent to which their views are acted upon is not always clearly evidenced, however. We saw that students were asked to complete questionnaires each year in respect of their school experience (last completed November 2015), and we noted that feedback, overall, had been positive. To enable students to raise issues on a day to day basis, we could see that suggestion / complaint boxes had been sited in communal areas in the houses, to allow students to put forward ideas or concerns anonymously.