St Mary’s School
Melrose

13 December 2005

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 Mary’s School took place in September 2005 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. They also met the and parents.

St Mary’s School is an independent school which provides weekly, flexible boarding accommodation for and aged 8 to13. It is located in the town of Melrose. At the time of the inspection, there were 137 pupils on the roll, of whom 18 were regular boarders. The agreed maximum roll for boarding was 24.

2. Key strengths

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

Parents and carers were very satisfied with almost all aspects of boarding. They appreciated the flexible boarding offered by the school which supported the needs of their children and families very well. All were happy to recommend the care their children received. Pupils were positive about most aspects and all agreed that the residence was good to stay in during the week, even although their homes were near the school. They enjoyed being with their friends and said they had fun taking part in the boarding activities. Almost all liked the school meals and the choice of food. Most would like to stay up later in the evenings. The girls wanted more privacy in the showers to wash and change. All staff were very positive about all aspects of boarding and said that relationships were very good among staff and between staff and pupils. They felt that boarders were very well cared for. Information about the responses to the questionnaires appears in Appendix 3.

4. How good is the environment for care?

Climate and relationships

The school boarding atmosphere was very warm, caring and welcoming. Staff paid very good attention to making the boarding accommodation home-like and ensuring the best care for pupils. Staff and pupils showed pride in their school and staff were particularly pleased with their own and pupils’ involvement in improving the boarding provision. Relationships between staff and pupils were friendly and open. Staff had high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and achievement and pupils responded very well to this through their very good conduct and involvement in boarding activities. Parents were closely involved with the school and boarding provision. They supported pupils and the school very positively through, for example, attending games fixtures and fundraising. Communication with parents was very effective overall. More detail on pupils’ progress in their boarding experiences and the range of policies used would enhance communications with parents further.

Comfort, safety and security

Accommodation throughout the boarding houses was homely and comfortable. Pupils’ accommodation included four dormitories, which had recently been redecorated and were bright and welcoming. Pupils were able to personalise the dormitories according to individual choice. The bathrooms would benefit from refurbishment to afford more privacy. This already formed part of the school’s development plan for the coming year. The pupils had good access to recreational facilities in the school grounds including a rugby and cricket field and netball and tennis courts. Pupils were also encouraged to make use of local amenities, for example the swimming pool, bowling and outings to the cinema. In addition, the housemasters arranged a number of special evenings with activities such as "moonlit mystery tours". The pupils had access to a cosy lounge which had a television and DVD, keyboard and music centre. The accommodation also had home comforts such as books and magazines. The pupils had access to computers with internet links which were suitably screened to prevent access to inappropriate sites.

The boarding accommodation was safe and secure but the school would benefit from making minor improvements to the internal alarm system. The pupils did not leave the premises unsupervised and therefore staff were aware of their whereabouts at all times. There was an appropriate procedure for logging all visitors. Staff carried out and kept records of fire drills and fire alarm tests. The school needed to carry out fire drills more regularly and in the evening to take account of the differing patterns of pupils boarding. Safety checks had been completed on electrical equipment and the school had undertaken comprehensive risk assessments with regard to the accommodation and pupils’ activities.

5. How well are pupils supported?

Pastoral care

Pupils were well cared for and received a very good level of support from house staff. Staff were approachable and responsive to the welfare needs of the pupils. Staff were deployed appropriately to ensure at least two members of staff, one female and one male were on duty at all times to meet the care and welfare needs of the pupils. New pupils had been made to feel welcome by staff and a buddy system operated amongst the pupils to provide further support. The spiritual needs of the pupils were well supported. Pupils were encouraged to form their own opinions through open discussion.

House staff ensured that the medical needs of the pupils were being met at all times. Where necessary, house staff were supported by the school nurse. Staff also ensured that all necessary medical information was passed on to parents. Healthy eating was promoted within the school and the menus offered a varied and well-balanced diet. The school chef took very good account of and catered well for specific dietary requirements and personal preferences. Parents and pupils were informed of the menus a week in advance. The chef welcomed feedback from the pupils and encouraged them to approach him personally, or to post comments in the "food for thought" box.

The school had a comprehensive child protection policy in place and house staff demonstrated a good awareness and understanding of procedures. All staff had received formal child protection training. Pupils had also received relevant information relating to child protection through the pastoral care booklet. The school had an anti-bullying policy in place. Guidance appropriate to the age of the pupils was displayed in the boarding accommodation. Incidents of bullying were dealt with sensitively and the house staff were pro-active in challenging any bullying. Pupils were provided with clear guidance with regard to the standards of behaviour expected. The system focused on rewarding positive behaviour. Appropriate sanctions were used where necessary. All incidents were recorded and monitored by the headmaster.

The school had a complaints policy which was available to all parents and pupils. House staff operated an open door policy and encouraged pupils to discuss concerns, or complaints with them at any time. Pupils were also able to voice their opinions through the weekly boarding meetings and the "suggestions and comments" box. Their views were listened to and taken seriously at the boarders’ meetings.

Supporting pupils’ education

The school made very good arrangements to support the education of pupils after school. Prep was well organised at the end of the day when boarding and some day pupils spent an hour completing activities under the supervision of class teachers. Pupils who boarded had further time set aside in the evening to complete prep, when necessary. This was overseen and supported well by boarding staff who all taught in the school. Appropriate attention was given to pupils who required extra support in their learning and included effective communication between support for learning staff and other teachers. Pupils had very good access to facilities, such as computers and library resources, in the school to complete work or research information. Teaching staff held regular meetings where information on the academic and pastoral progress of pupils was tracked, and any individual needs identified and action planned.

Personal and social development

Pupils followed a well-planned programme for personal and social development. Aspects of the programme were used appropriately in boarding issues, for example, rules of behaviour and responsibility. Very good links had been developed with the local community and other professionals, such as police schools’ liaison officer, fire officer and schools’ nurse, to support pupils’ personal development. Pupils were encouraged to engage in learning practical skills like first aid. They were able to take on responsibilities through membership of the boarding committee, being dormitory captain and making decisions about the activities planned and choice of menu provided. Pupils took part in a broad and balanced leisure programme in the evenings and were supported in trying out new experiences. The school organised an interesting variety of residential visits to France, an outdoor centre in Scotland, and to other boarding schools. Staff encouraged achievements through sporting and challenge activities and taking part in adventure courses relevant to pupils’ ages. Pupils had had success in taking part in debating, chess, lecture and music and drama events. An award system, which included the boarding provision, rewarded good behaviour and academic achievements.

6. Improving the residential provision

The headteacher provided very good, clear strategic leadership. He was committed to the continual improvement in the school boarding and had been very effective in leading the developments in a systematic and supportive way. This was shown in the flexible approach to pupils’ boarding and the improvements in the facilities to better meet the needs of pupils and their families. The headteacher set high expectations for pupils’ welfare and educational development and was fully involved in the care of boarding pupils. The depute and assistant heads had been very supportive to the headmaster. Both housemasters had played a key role in developing the quality of the boarding facilities and had shown dedication to personal improvement through undertaking specific residential qualifications. They managed the day-to-day running of the boarding very effectively and had developed a strong team of house staff to support the pupils’ care and welfare.

House staff were experienced and had the necessary knowledge and skills to fulfil their roles and responsibilities and meet the care needs of the pupils. Staff were deployed appropriately to ensure at least two members of staff, one female and one male, were on duty at all times to meet the care and welfare needs of the pupils. Two gap-year students from overseas provided effective, additional support to staff in meeting the pupils’ welfare needs. The school had an appropriate safe recruitment procedure. All staff had annual professional reviews where specific professional developments were identified. Staff also operated a system of peer appraisal. The school had a clear training plan and staff had taken part in appropriate training and had gained further qualifications to enhance their skills in boarding. An extensive, well-produced range of all required policies and procedures was in place. Although the school kept appropriate records, staff would benefit from reviewing these to ensure confidentiality is respected at all times.

Arrangements for self-evaluation were very good and were very well embedded in the work of all boarding staff. The headmaster, senior management team and boarding staff had systematic procedures in place to identify and address any development needs. The Board of Governors provided good support in taking forward improvements in a measured and planned way. One member of the Board took appropriate responsibility for closer liaison with boarding staff and pupils. The school sought the views of pupils, staff and parents through questionnaires and meetings, and used their responses to make improvements. Staff had made very effective use of national standards and quality indicators to assess and improve boarding. A comprehensive improvement plan was in place and priorities identified were being successfully implemented.

What happens next?

As a result of the strengths in the performance and management of the , HM Inspectors will make no further reports in connection with this inspection. The and the 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. Within two years of the publication of this report, the , working with the , will provide a progress report to parents and carers.

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

13 December 2005

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 and school staff, of the and appropriate members of the Scottish Parliament.

Subject to availability, further copies may be obtained free of charge from HM Inspectorate of Education, T1 Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD or by telephoning 0131 244 8079. 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, 4-6 Melville Street, Edinburgh EH3 7NS. You can also telephone 0870 011 5378 or e-mail enquiries@scottishombudsman.org.uk. More information about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website: www.scottishombudsman.org.uk

Crown Copyright 2005
HM Inspectorate of Education

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