Hailey Hall School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Develop the leadership and management of the school by:
  • clarifying the roles and responsibilities of trustees, governors and interim leaders
  • streamlining monitoring systems so leaders and governors have a shared and accurate understanding of their impact in raising standards
  • closely monitoring the impact of the pupil premium funding and taking appropriate action so disadvantaged pupils benefit from it and achieve well
  • improving the communication with parents and carers, especially with those who feel their children’s needs are not being well met.
• Improve the personal development and achievement of pupils by:
  • adapting the curriculum to meet the ongoing needs of the pupils who do not achieve or attend well so that all pupils secure appropriate education, employment or training at post-16 provision
  • making sure pupils develop greater independence when they are ready and are supported well for the transition into adulthood
  • ensuring that those pupils who are being monitored by external agencies are obtaining high-quality and timely support.
• Develop the practice in the residential provision by:
  • providing training for staff regarding gang culture and county lines, to further safeguard children
  • improving the quality of staff meetings so that there is a sharper focus and purpose to them
  • ensuring that the recording of any behaviour incidents in the sanction book is clear and well documented so staff have a thorough understanding of the behaviour that leads to a sanction in the residential provision.

The school must meet the following national minimum standards for residential special schools

• Standard 13 – Leadership and management
  • The school’s leadership and management consistently fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the standards are met (NMS 13.4).
  • The school follows and maintains the policies and documents described in Appendix 1 (NMS 13.7).
• Standard 20 – Monitoring by independent visitors
  • The headteacher (or school equivalent), governing body, trustees, partnership or organisation responsible for carrying on the school carries out, and records in writing, once each year: a review of the operation and resourcing of the school’s welfare provision in relation to: its statement of purpose; its staffing policy; the placement plans for individual children; and an internal assessment of its compliance with these standards. Where appropriate, such a report may be incorporated within a review of the whole school (NMS 20.4). An external review of the use of pupil premium funding should be undertaken to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of governance should be undertaken to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management The effectiveness of leaders and managers in the residential provision

Requires improvement Requires improvement How well children and young people are helped and protected in the residential provision Good

• Collectively, leaders and governors do not have a precise understanding of the school’s effectiveness. Leaders’ most recent formal self-evaluation, November 2018, contains inaccurate, limited and overly positive information about standards in the school.
• The multiple systems being used to monitor attendance, behaviour and achievement are not understood by all leaders and staff. The information these systems provide is sometimes contradictory or unhelpful in supporting leaders to identify quickly the issues that need resolving.
• Leaders currently exhibit a more accurate understanding about the school’s effectiveness and the areas for improvement than suggested in the school’s self-evaluation. However, there is not yet a formal plan for how these leaders are going to secure more capacity to undertake the strategic work required during the temporary absence of the headteacher.
• Leaders are not ensuring that they have a broad overview about the quality of residential provision. The monitoring activities that they undertake, such as daily staff meetings, too often lack purpose. Leaders have not prioritised important monitoring activities, such as formal overarching reviews of the provision, or essential reviews of section 20 visits. The lack of strategic rigour is limiting the capacity of staff to explore new initiatives and develop the provision further.
• The additional funding the school receives for disadvantaged pupils is not ensuring that the pupils make rapid gains in their attendance, development and achievement. Leaders do not know the difference that the additional funding makes to disadvantaged pupils’ achievement. Leaders’ evaluations in 2016/17 and 2017/18 do not evidence meaningful differences that are being made to this group of pupils.
• Despite pupils’ complex social and emotional needs, leaders cannot account for the recent decision to stop the only on-site counselling provided by this funding.
• Although not well evaluated, the Year 7 catch-up funding is used appropriately. Most notably, pupils with very weak literacy skills are being well supported by one-to-one intervention programmes. These programmes are helping pupils to gain confidence and skills in early reading and writing.
• Interim leadership arrangements are ensuring that the day-to-day running of the school is very well maintained, led effectively by two deputy headteachers. Interim leaders are being diligently supported by assistant headteachers, senior leaders, and staff. This is maintaining the good quality of teaching, learning, assessment and behaviour in the school.
• Leaders ensure that the daily running of the residential provision is effective, despite weaknesses in some of the strategic work. The diligent and enthusiastic work of the head of care and deputy head of care is well supported by a small team of staff. Their work ensures that children receive a high standard of care and support.
• Staff within the residential provision receive appropriate supervision and training. However, this training is not precisely related to the vulnerabilities of children in the provision or the local area.
• Leaders routinely monitor the quality of teaching and ensure that adults have appropriate training and support. Staff are held to account through a well-organised performance management system.
• Staff morale, although improving, is too variable. Ofsted’s survey of staff was slightly more positive during this full inspection than it was in the May 2018 short inspection. However, some staff are unhappy with the leadership and management in the school over time. Some staff do not feel that they have been listened to. They believe too much time has been spent preparing for an inspection, rather than improving the provision for pupils.
• While parents of pupils who stay in the residential provision are wholeheartedly positive, parents are not as positive about their children’s experiences in the school. Some parents in both the short inspection in May 2018, and in this full inspection, would not recommend the school. These parents do not feel leaders communicate effectively with them when they have concerns about the quality of provision.
• Although staff support pupils diligently in the school, and most pupils behave well, many need extensive guidance to manage their complex social and emotional needs independently. Leaders are currently establishing the life skills curriculum to meet the needs of pupils as part of the pathway to adulthood.
• Leaders ensure that pupils access a range of subjects within the curriculum including the core and a full range of foundation subjects. There is also carefully considered outdoor provision with themed links to humanities. Pupils access a range of qualifications and accreditation as they move into key stage 4.
• The provision for pupils who access alternative provision through the alternative learning pathway (ALP) is a strength of the school’s provision. Leaders take meaningful account of pupils’ aspirations, interests and abilities when creating bespoke full-time provision.

Governance

• Difficulties recruiting and retaining people to the governing body have meant that a lot of work has fallen to a relatively small core of committed, yet overburdened, governors. Many of these governors are also trustees of the school. This has made it difficult for governors to provide a breadth of support and challenge to both the school and the residential provision.
• Over time, governors have not held leaders precisely to account for the residential provision, school standards and finances, including section 20 reviews, and additional funding such as the Year 7 catch-up funding and pupil premium.
• Governors visit the school, including the residential provision and ask questions about what they are seeing. However, not all governors feel empowered to follow through on their questions to assure themselves of the accuracy of the information that they receive. Consequently, some governors are heavily reliant on leaders’ information.
• There is not enough clarity between governors about their roles and responsibilities, especially in the residential provision. There is sometimes confusion about the scope and extent of individual governors’ roles even when they do have a defined area of responsibility.
• The new chair of governors, since his arrival in April 2018, has developed a good understanding of the weaknesses in governance. He has provided intensive support for the interim leaders during the headteacher’s absence. He is seeking guidance from the local authority and securing plans to ensure that interim leaders have the necessary capacity required to bring about improvements.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The single central record of checks on staff is appropriate in the school, including the residential provision. Staff appointments meet all statutory requirements.
• Staff are well trained and make appropriate referrals to the designated safeguarding leaders. This is in both the day provision and the residential provision. Having recognised the need to coordinate the work of the designated safeguarding leaders more closely, leaders are currently transferring their residential and school safeguarding records to an electronic system.
• Pupils are taught how to stay safe through lessons, themed days and assemblies. The opportunities also give pupils guidance about how to keep themselves safe from dangers online.
• Pupils say that there are staff who they can go to if they are worried about things.
• Leaders make appropriate checks on pupils when they are absent from school. However, on occasion, where pupils are supported by external agencies over an extended period, staff do not provide the same level of high-quality detail in the recording of their contact with parents, carers and external agencies.
• Children and young people in the residential provision say they feel safe. They feel that staff listen to them and provide support if they have any worries or concerns. Parents have confidence in residential staff to keep their children safe when boarding.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers and teaching assistants have a clear understanding of pupils’ academic and personal starting points. A thorough knowledge of the age-related expectations across the curriculum in all key stages is used to plan learning for all levels of ability well.
• Positive relationships between staff and pupils mean that most classrooms are supportive learning environments. In lessons, pupils vocalise their opinions and views appropriately, and often articulately. Pupils are not afraid to make mistakes in their learning and learn from them. Most staff use questioning well to encourage pupils to explain their answers verbally. As a result, pupils are confident to play an active role in their lessons.
• Teachers use interesting and engaging activities which enable pupils to apply their learning to practical situations. For example, Year 9 pupils were using their understanding of music technology to confidently create and edit pieces of music electronically. Year 7 pupils were practising cutting skills and spice mixing while making fajitas in their cooking lesson. This stimulating curriculum ensures that pupils deepen their knowledge and learn new skills well.
• The work with other schools has made sure that staff are confident in the quality and accuracy of their judgements about pupils’ progress. This is also helping them to have a secure understanding about how to prepare pupils sufficiently for wider qualifications and opportunities when they reach key stage 4.
• The new life skills curriculum is helping to prepare pupils well for future independence. This includes lessons on preparing lunch, personal hygiene, financial management and using public transport. Although it is too early to see the long-term impact of this curriculum on pupils’ outcomes and development, staff have quickly got to grips with planning effective lessons for this curriculum. Staff are already using the opportunities well to support groups of pupils and individuals in their preparation for adulthood.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Pupils’ social and emotional needs are being met on a daily basis by diligent and hardworking staff. However, they do not routinely encourage pupils to use strategies to manage their complex needs independently. Staff apply the same level of support to all pupils and do not always notice when some are ready for more responsibility in their self-management. This is limiting the progress that some pupils make in their personal development.
• Many pupils are keen to take on responsibilities, in both the school and locally, but these opportunities are limited.
• Staff listen to pupils, including the pupil voice panel. They adapt provision in some instances, for example increasing the time allocated to extra-curricular clubs. However, pupils’ and parents’ voices are not used systematically to develop wider provision or services within school.
• Most pupils cooperate and work together well. However, pupils say that their classmates can be unkind. Leaders are reviewing their systems for monitoring behaviour and bullying over time, so that they can be better placed to react to some of the low-level issues, for example through themes such as ‘friendship’.
• Leaders have chosen to cease funding the on-site provision for counselling this year which previously gave pupils routine access to professional expertise. Pupils are offered access to off-site external provision, but this offer is less regular than in previous years. It is too early to see the impact of this change.
• Pupils who attend alternative provision are very well monitored and supported by leaders.
• Pupils who are also boarding receive high-quality support from staff in the residential provision. These staff work closely with school staff to ensure that there is a thorough transition process in the morning and evening. Pupils have an enhanced level of support for their social and emotional needs. The pupils attend, achieve and behave well.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Most pupils behave very well throughout the school day. A significant number of pupils do not arrive at the school with a good understanding about appropriate behaviours. From their varied starting points, pupils are very well supported to behave appropriately. Most are welcoming to visitors, hold doors open and are polite and well mannered.
• Most pupils enjoy their learning and arrive promptly to every session. Lessons start quickly, and little learning time is lost. Pupils bring the correct equipment and their school bags. Most pupils present work neatly, complete the activities set and are proud of the work that they produce.
• Pupils’ behaviour at break and lunchtimes is good. Most engage enthusiastically with the variety of lunchtime clubs on offer. They share lunch facilities cooperatively and engage in positive communication with other pupils and adults during these times. Breaktime and lunchtime are calm and orderly periods in the school.
• There is a significant core of pupils whose attendance is not regular enough. There are short-term improvements in their attendance when staff work directly with them and their families. However, current monitoring systems do not allow leaders to look at pupils’ attendance over the longer term nor their impact in improving this. The pupils who do not attend routinely in key stage 3 do not settle or achieve well by the end of key stage 4.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• From their starting points, the progress made by pupils across the school is too uneven.
• There is a small core of pupils where progress, achievement and attendance are not good. Leaders do not secure the right provision for these pupils quickly in key stage 3. This means that they fall further behind and sometimes disengage with their learning by the end of key stage 4.
• A significant number of Year 11 pupils in 2017/18 did not gain appropriate post-16 destinations in training, education or employment, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Evidence provided to governors and in the school’s self-evaluation about this figure was inaccurate and overly positive.
• Last year, pupils in Year 11 achieved accreditation and qualifications in functional skills, entry level and GCSE qualifications. Leaders widened the number of subjects taught, giving pupils opportunities in new subjects such as GCSE resistant materials. However, some pupils did not achieve as well as they should, and this impacted on their ability to go onto appropriate post-16 destinations.
• Pupils who board at the school’s residential provision achieved and attended well. All of the pupils achieved an appropriate post-16 destination when they left the school.
• Most pupils who take part in the alternative learning pathway achieve and attend well, even when they may not have done so in key stage 3. This successful provision is ensuring that more pupils this year are being offered further training and employment following their placements.
• Leaders assess pupils’ academic ability on their entry to the school using a range of tests and assessments. This year, leaders have implemented a new test of pupils’ social and emotional health through ‘soft skills’ assessments. Leaders do not yet know the impact this will have on meeting the significant needs that pupils arrive in school with.

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people in the residential provision Good

• Children and young people have a fulfilling experience and make good progress in the residential provision.
• Staff in the provision, led by the head and deputy head of care, are enthusiastic and committed. They focus continually on how to improve children and young people’s life experiences.
• Children and young people access a wide variety of activities in the residential provision. Staff support them to attend clubs in the wider local community. This enables children and young people to make new friendships, talk through their problems, and develop their social, emotional and independent life skills.
• Staff routinely talk to children and young people about their aspirations and interests. Staff use this information to reflect on how the day-to-day running of the provision can be improved. Children and young people appreciate the opportunities that they get to air their views through regular boarding meetings and regular communication with adults.
• There are appropriate transition arrangements to support children and young people as they move between the residential provision to the school. Night logs and daily handover meetings ensure that any important information is passed between adults who care for the children.
• On the occasions where children or young people exhibit poor behaviour, adults impose sanctions fairly and appropriately. These are recorded in a formal log. However, this log does not record the reason for the sanction, and staff must seek out this information from other sources of information, such as the handover books. This is not quickly helping staff to understand the reason for a sanction, and the behaviour that led up to it.
• Despite high-quality day-to-day provision, senior leaders and governors are not ensuring that they routinely undertake formal quality assurance checks on vital work within the residential provision. The knowledge and skills of staff and leaders help to mitigate the weaknesses in quality assurance, but the weak strategic leadership is hindering the long-term development of the residential provision.

School details

Unique reference number 142257 Social care unique reference number SC056397 Local authority Inspection number Hertfordshire 10056207 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection of residential provision was carried out under the Children Act 1989, as amended by the Care Standards Act 2000, having regard to the national minimum standards for residential special schools. Type of school Special School category Academy special converter Age range of pupils 11 to 16 Gender of pupils Number of pupils on the school roll Number of boarders on roll Appropriate authority Chair Headteacher Boys 69 16 Board of trustees Richard Parperis Heather Boardman Telephone number 01992 465 208 Website Email address www.haileyhall.herts.sch.uk head@haileyhall.herts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Hailey Hall School is a residential special school for boys who have social, emotional and mental health needs. All pupils have an education, health and care (EHC) plan. On average, around one third of pupils who attend the school also board in the residential provision.
• The school converted from a community special residential school to become a single academy converter. The new school began operation in September 2015.
• Some governors also act as trustees to the school, including the chair of governors who is also chair of trustees. However, the scheme of delegation on the website did not reflect the most up-to-date information about this. Leaders provided inspectors with a reviewed governance structure during the inspection.
• The predecessor school was deemed good at its previous inspection.
• The headteacher was absent from the school during the time of this inspection and has been on a leave of absence since December 2018. To cover the headteacher’s absence, the two deputy headteachers are leading the school on a day-to-day basis, while the head of care and deputy head of care are running the residential provision.
• At just over half, the proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is higher than the national average.
• The school uses Paringdon Education and Training Ltd in Harlow, and CTP training academy in Harlow for a few pupils who access alternative provision. Some pupils also access work experience at local garages, zoos and care homes.
• Prior to the inspection, governors contacted the local authority’s chosen school improvement provider, Hertsforlearning, to try to organise an external review of governance and seek further commissioned support.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors undertook learning walks and reviewed pupils’ work alongside senior leaders in the school.
• Inspectors observed staff, children and young people in the residential provision at various times, including at mealtimes, in the evening, and during transition or handover times. They inspected the premises, accommodation, facilities, and health and safety arrangements.
• Inspectors held meetings with the deputy headteachers, the head and deputy head of care, and other leaders. Inspectors met with governors. The lead inspector held a telephone conversation and a meeting with the school improvement adviser employed by the local authority.
• Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including that relating to safeguarding children, health and safety, welfare, achievement, attendance and behaviour at the school, including the residential provision.
• Inspectors reviewed the 31 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and the nine free-text responses regarding the school’s provision. Inspectors also reviewed 11 parental responses to Ofsted’s parent survey regarding the residential provision.
• Inspectors reviewed 26 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and 50 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.
• Inspectors spoke to staff throughout the inspection and noted the views of those who wished to speak to inspectors.
• Inspectors met with two groups of pupils while on the school site and spoke with pupils informally around the school. Inspectors spoke extensively to children in the residential provision.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ conduct at breaktimes and lunchtimes, as well as between lessons.

Inspection team

Kim Pigram, lead inspector Trish Palmer

Lynda Walker Margaret Burke Her Majesty’s Inspector Social Care Regulatory Inspector

Ofsted Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector