A specialist college in Harrogate has been awarded an across-the-board “good” rating following a recent Care Quality Commission inspection.
Henshaws Specialist College in Bogs Lane works with residential and day students aged from 18 to 25 with a wide range of special needs to help them to achieve their own maximum level of independence.
The Specialist College has been through a period of transition, developing its offering for students with ever-more complex needs.
Principal Angela North said:
To achieve ‘good’ in every category is a great achievement and testament to the hard work and dedication of all of our staff, whether teaching, support or mobility and language specialists, and I look forward to the College continuing to build on this progress.
We are one step below the ‘outstanding’ classification and will continue to work hard to achieve this.
The Care Quality Commission visited the College in February to assess its service, including whether it was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
The inspectors marked the College “good” in each category. Observations on the effectiveness of the service included that staff received appropriate training, supervision and support, helping to ensure people were cared for by knowledgeable and competent staff.
They found that students were supported by caring staff who respected their privacy and dignity and that students and their relatives were involved in decisions about their care and support needs. People’s support plans were personalised and clearly set out people’s needs, wishes and aspirations.
Staff were also alert to people’s moods and any changes in behaviour which might indicate there was a problem.
The inspectors spoke to students and spent time with people who used the service in communal areas, as well as reviewing information they received from people’s families and social workers and speaking to staff, local authority contracts and commissioning team and safeguarding team from the local authority to gain their views.