St Leonards School
St Andrews
Fife

23 January 2007

Contents

1. Background
2. Key strengths
3. What are the views of parents and carers, pupils and staff?
4. How good is the environment for care?
5. How well are pupils supported?
6. Improving the residential provision
Appendix 1 Summary information
Appendix 2 Indicators of quality
Appendix 3 Summary of questionnaire responses
How can you contact us?

1. Background

The inspection of St Leonards School took place in October 2006 as part of a programme of integrated inspections of mainstream school care accommodation services by the Care Commission and HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE). It follows from the commencement of integrated inspection under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act, 2001 on 1 April 2005. This report has been prepared and published jointly by the Care Commission and HMIE.

The inspection covered key aspects of the school's residential provision, including the environment for care, support for pupils, processes for self-evaluation and capacity for improvement. Members of the inspection team interviewed teachers, care staff, and groups of pupils. They analysed responses to questionnaires issued to pupils, their parents or carers, and care and teaching staff.

St Leonards is a coeducational independent school which provides boarding accommodation for pupils aged 10 to 19. It is located in St Andrews. At the time of the inspection there were 427 pupils on the roll, of whom 105 were boarders, 64 girls and 41 boys. Boarders were accommodated in four single-sex boarding houses. The agreed maximum roll for boarding was 142.

2. Key strengths

The inspection team identified the following key strengths.

• Very strong ethos within which pupils were courteous and mutually supportive.
• The commitment of staff to their pupils and the quality of their care for them.
• Very good support for pupils with additional needs by learning support staff and the headmaster’s wife.
• The successful development of pupils’ personal and social skills.
• The strong leadership provided by the headmaster and the depute head responsible for boarding.

3. What are the views of parents and carers, pupils and staff?

Parents and carers were very positive about the boarding provision. They appreciated the care and concern shown by staff for their child’s welfare. They felt that they could contact their child easily and in private, and that they were welcome when they visited. They thought that staff were helpful and approachable and consulted them appropriately on key decisions affecting their child’s welfare. Almost all pupils were positive about most aspects of provision. They felt that their house was a friendly place to live in and that pupils got on well together. They thought that staff listened and helped when they went to them and they felt safe and well cared for. They felt that the quality and choice of food had improved recently. About a fifth of pupils would like to have more opportunities and places to be quiet on their own, and better security for their personal belongings. Staff were very positive about all aspects of the boarding provision. They all thought that pupils behaved well and were good at accepting responsibilities. They felt that the care provided was of a good standard. Information about the responses to the questionnaires appears in Appendix 3.

4. How good is the environment for care?

Climate and relationships

The atmosphere of the boarding houses was warm and welcoming. Pupils and staff had developed very positive relationships in the houses and morale was generally high. Pupils felt comfortable about having friends to visit. They conducted themselves very well and behaved respectfully towards each other. They contributed to decisions about boarding through regular house meetings, discussions with house staff and forums such as the food committee and pupil council. Pupil heads of house provided further representation of pupils’ views at meetings with house and school staff. Pupils felt that staff listened to them when they expressed their views on their boarding experience. Overall, they were very proud of their house and school.

The school kept parents and guardians well informed of pupils’ personal development and academic progress through regular reports, helpful handbooks and, as appropriate, by letter and e-mail. In addition, the headmaster’s wife and Chinese-speaking staff made important contributions to the school’s arrangements for communicating with parents from overseas.

Comfort, safety and security

There was a very good standard of accommodation throughout the boarding houses. Most pupils had their own study bedroom. Younger pupils said they were happy to share bedroom accommodation when they first arrived. Pupils personalised their bedrooms. They had good opportunities at the end of each term to state preferences for rooms and with whom they wished to share. Valuable facilities within the houses included access to computer rooms, with wireless connection throughout the buildings, and a wide range of books and newspapers. Pupils could make snacks readily but would benefit from having fresh fruit available in the houses. Social areas were attractively decorated and provided pupils with comfortable places to relax and receive visitors. Pupils made good use of the school’s ample sports and leisure facilities for a wide range of activities at the end of the school day. In the evenings and at weekends, they could also spend leisure time in and around St Andrews.

Appropriate measures were in place to ensure the safety and security of pupils. These included a key pad system for all external doors which provided secure entry to the boarding houses. Staff had set up effective arrangements for pupils to sign in and out to show their whereabouts in the evenings and at weekends. The procedures to monitor visitors were clear and appropriate. Staff carried out regular fire drills and fire alarm tests and kept clear records of them. Safety checks had been completed on electrical equipment, including the pupils’ personal items. The bursar had developed very effective risk assessments of the accommodation and provided comprehensive health and safety, fire safety and risk assessment training for all staff.

5. How well are pupils supported?

Pastoral care

The quality of pastoral care was very good. Sufficient staff were available at all times. Staff knew pupils well and responded sensitively to their individual needs. Pupils appreciated their care. Staff implemented a very well designed induction programme to ensure effective support for all new pupils. The headmaster’s wife provided effective additional, informal support for them. The school had good arrangements to meet pupils’ spiritual needs, including daily assemblies.

Pupils’ medical needs were met well. The sister in the school medical centre had developed a range of clear and supportive medical care policies and procedures, including those for the administration of medication. Productive links had been forged with local medical and dental services to supplement the provision of the school medical centre. Further improvements to the medical centre were part of the school’s development plan. Communication between the house staff and the medical centre was good and pupils’ medical records were managed very well. School medical centre staff delivered relevant sections of the health education programme. They supported house staff in promoting healthy lifestyles. Pupils reported that evening meals had improved recently and now provided a varied and balanced diet, with an appropriate degree of choice.

Good quality policies and procedures were in place for child protection and to combat bullying and discrimination. Pupils had easy access to the number for ChildLine. The depute head and the bursar had provided very good training opportunities and regular updates to all staff on child protection and equal opportunities. Commendably, all staff had a laminated, pocket-sized card reminding them of child protection protocols. Under the requirements of the Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils’ Records) (Scotland) Act, the school had submitted its policy on disability and discrimination to the Scottish Executive. The policy included the school’s detailed review of its approaches to improving accessibility. A robust policy and procedures were in place to provide Internet security.

Information booklets for each house provided clear and informative detail about the boarding provision. Some booklets provided very helpful features such as ‘top tips’ for boarding and detailed guidance on privacy and complaints. These good practices should be shared across all the houses. A clear complaints policy was available to all parents and pupils. Staff were effective in providing pupils with a range of opportunities to voice suggestions, concerns and complaints. These included house meetings, individual discussions and arrangements to direct complaints and concerns through pupil heads of house. Overall, pupils thought that house rules and sanctions were fair. A significant minority felt that the arrangements for ‘curfew’ were too strict.

Supporting pupils’ education

An effective system of tutor groups, in which tutors met regularly with small groups of pupils, ensured that pupils had well-focused academic and personal support. In addition, school and house staff maintained daily informal and regular formal contact to share information. Pupils were developing good study habits through clearly structured evening ‘prep’. All pupils had access to the school’s very good library and sports facilities. Senior pupils had additional access to the local university’s library and sports facilities. The school had established very good links with a range of educational support agencies to help meet pupils’ specific needs and provide staff training. House staff supported pupils with additional needs effectively, drawing on very well focused training to do so. Support for learning staff provided detailed and appropriate individualised educational programmes (IEPs) for pupils with additional support needs. Pupils with IEPs were making good progress towards their targets. A significant number of boarders had English as an additional language. The school had an effective range of approaches to support their education, including very helpful tutorial support provided by the headmaster’s wife. Pupils had very good opportunities to access the school’s intranet and the Internet to support their studies.

Personal and social development

The school and boarding houses provided very well for pupils’ personal and social development. The effective programme for personal and social education covered an appropriate range of topics. Aspects of the programme were used appropriately in boarding issues, such as promoting healthy eating and working together. Pupils responded positively to good opportunities to take appropriate responsibilities, such as head of house duties and membership of the pupil council and food committee. All pupils participated in a wide range of activities at the end of the school day, including sports, music, drama and outdoor education. Pupils had been particularly successful at gold level in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Chinese pupils had helped raise cultural awareness across the school through their drama production of the story of ‘The Willow Pattern’. Pupils were also responsible for organising the school’s Chinese New Year celebrations and were keen to build on this by arranging further such festivals.

6. Improving the residential provision

The headmaster provided very effective leadership. He was very knowledgeable about boarding and had a sensitive understanding of pupils’ care and welfare needs. He had a clear vision for the future development of the school and its boarding provision. He had won the confidence and support of pupils, staff and parents. He actively promoted the school and with good success. A significant number of new pupils had enrolled from China and Germany. The headmaster and depute head with responsibility for boarding worked very well together and with other senior staff to ensure a high standard of provision. The depute head was very experienced and highly committed to pupils’ care and welfare. She provided pupils and staff with very effective support and was held in very high regard.

Senior staff in charge of houses had a good range of experience and skills and, with the support of wardens, provided a high level of care to pupils. Year heads and tutors worked closely with house staff to develop the quality of boarding. The bursar provided well-planned and very effective support for the boarding provision. The school had an appropriate policy for safe staff recruitment. Staff had a bi-annual professional review and good opportunities for professional development. The school had an effective induction programme for new staff. Regular informal opportunities were available to provide support for staff and to share best practice.

Senior managers met regularly with house staff and the sister from the medical centre to review and evaluate the boarding provision. The depute head monitored and supported staff who took on a new remit for boarding. Year heads and tutors provided information regularly to help measure the success of aspects of the provision. The headmaster had begun to improve approaches to evaluating the quality of the provision and more systematic arrangements for development planning. He had introduced surveys to gather views from pupils and parents. One such survey had led to improvements in catering. With the support of the headmaster, staff should continue to develop systematic and rigorous approaches to identifying priorities and planning for improvement.

What happens next?

As a result of the strengths in the performance and management of the school, HM Inspectors will make no further reports in connection with this inspection. The school and the Council have been asked to prepare an action plan indicating how they will address the main findings of the report, and to share that plan with parents and carers.

Following this inspection, Care Commission Officers will commence statutory twice-yearly inspections of the school.

23 January 2007

Appendix 1 Summary information

In conducting this inspection the team took account of the following HMIE quality indicators in How good is our school? and National Care Standards.

Evaluations made using HMIE quality indicators use the following scale to describe the team’s judgements:

Reports contain recommendations which are intended to support improvements in the quality of service.

Any requirements refer to actions which must be taken by service providers to ensure that regulations are met and there is compliance with relevant legislation. In these cases, the regulation(s) to which requirements refer will be notified clearly and timescales given.

Appendix 2 Quality indicator summary table

Appendix 3 Summary of questionnaire responses

Important features of responses from the various groups which received questionnaires are listed below.

How can you contact us?

Copies of this report have been sent to the headmaster and school staff, chairman of the Council and appropriate members of the Scottish Parliament.

Subject to availability, further copies may be obtained free of charge from HM Inspectorate of Education, T1 Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh EH11 3XD or by telephoning 0131 244 8371. Copies are also available on the HMIE web site: www.hmie.gov.uk.

Should you wish to comment on or make a complaint about any aspect of the inspection or about this report you should write either to the Care Commission or to HM Inspectorate of Education at the address below. If you are not satisfied with the action we have taken at the end of our complaints procedure, you can raise your complaint with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman is fully independent and has powers to investigate complaints about Government departments and agencies. You should write to The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, Freepost EH641, Edinburgh EH3 0BR. You can also telephone 0800 377 7330 or e-mail enquiries@scottishombudsman.org.uk. More information about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website: www.spso.org.uk .

Crown Copyright 2007

HM Inspectorate of Education

This report may be reproduced in whole or in part, except for commercial purposes or in connection with a prospectus or advertisement, provided that the source and date thereof are stated.