Membership review for Options Kinsale

This is the second time that Kinsale School has been reviewed by Living Autism. The first review was carried out eighteen months previously. I must echo the initial reviewing officer by saying I was also very impressed by the experience I had on the day of the visit.

 

I had been heartened by the openness of the staff in previous dealings and it was no different on the day of the visit. Toni Bailey, Head of Service, and Carol, the Registered Manager, gave up several hours of their time to show myself and my colleague, Kate Race, around and to discuss some key issues about the school. There is a lot of experience in the management team and the clinical and specialised support is really impressive with an Occupational Therapist, Speech and Language Therapist and Assistant Psychologist who are all based on site.

Kinsale School is a 25 bed residential school for children and young adults from the ages of 8 to 19 years. The school also has 5 day places available and is shortly due to have a bespoke short break service attached. Many of the children have severe autism with a learning difficulty and additional complex needs. I believe the school could offer a good service to a young person with autism and particularly complex needs whether they had an additional learning difficulty or not.

Kinsale School is a couple of miles outside Holywell in North Wales. The school is set well back from the main road and is reached via a long drive with fields on either side.  The school itself is set in the hillside with a view of the sea and surrounding countryside. The grounds were seen to be well maintained on the day of the visit. There is a circular seating area as you approach the school perimeter and stone steps up to the front gate. At the gate visitors are asked to enter a given code to request assistance. I was met at the gate by the Administrative Manager and asked to sign the visitors’ book.

 

The reception is large and welcoming with plenty of seating available. An electronic fob is necessary to enter and exit certain areas and the main reception is one of these areas. We met with Toni Bailey, the Head of Service, at reception and went through to his office where we explained in more detail about how we would conduct our visit and Toni described developments at Kinsale since the previous visit before taking us around part of the site.

Kinsale School is enclosed by railings which ensure that the young people who reside there are kept safe. All the young people at Kinsale are all very vulnerable and are as such unable to go out into the wider environment without support .The fencing is not particularly noticeable although Toni (Head of Service) did mention that there were some plans to make it blend in more to the surrounding environment.

 

There was also a newly erected outdoor play area surrounded by fencing. Again I must stress this was brand new and the grass seed had not started to sprout, but it was a welcome addition to what are already quite extensive external outdoor play facilities.

 

At the rear of the property there are numerous fenced areas set into the hillside which enclose a variety of play equipment including climbing areas, swings, slides and a trampoline all set into rubberised soft ground cover making the areas as safe as possible. 

 

There is also a horticultural area with raised beds and a poly-tunnel/greenhouse. Several young people use this area to engage in working toward ‘John Muir Awards’ which are an educational initiative of the John Muir Trust. Four Challenges are at the heart of each John Muir Award - discover, explore, conserve and share.  As the visit took place in winter there was not much being grown, just some preparatory work for the approaching spring.

The young people’s living areas feel really spacious and the bedrooms themselves are also large. Rooms are equipped to meet the individual’s preferences with bed, bedside cabinet, wardrobes and drawers all available. In addition, the children and young people are allowed to personalise their rooms as they choose. There had been consultations with the young people with regard to the colour of the décor and soft furnishings. 

 

The flats have well-equipped, small kitchens with dining areas and at least one lounge or quiet room. Although it is possible for the individuals to move internally between the residential areas and the school, young people are taken home via an outdoor pathway to make the distinction between the two placements. There are a lot of displays of young people’s art work around the building and in the school areas in particular.

 

Classrooms were of varying sizes and were nicely divided and all the young people we saw on the day had one-to-one support. There are both soft play rooms and sensory rooms available and these are utilised both in and out of school time but their usage is structured and has to be seen to fulfil a particular need of that individual.

 

Throughout the home and school all areas were seen to be clean and undamaged. It was very dark in some of the school corridors, but it was probable a young person had turned the lights off. Each school day culminates in all the children getting together in the main hall before going back to their flats.

 

Kinsale is waiting for approval for a new short-term break and outreach service which will be offered from a particular area of the building comprising of 2 adjacent bedrooms and its own outside space.

Kinsale School is well set back from the main road and is about 3 miles from the town of Holywell. None of the individuals on the day of the visit were able to access outside facilities without support. The public transport infrastructure is quite good especially considering it is a rural area and some individuals are supported to use buses to attend vocational placements. The company has several vehicles used for outside trips and some individuals’ risk assessments mean that they require particular arrangements to transport them safely.

 

Carol, the Registered Manager, stated that the school had forged links with Connah’s Quay High School and several young people have undertaken and continue to undertake college courses and vocational placements external to Kinsale School. Overall, the school continues to enjoy positive links with the community on the whole. Some local groups like ‘Jigsaw’ and ‘Daffodils’ also use some of Kinsale’s facilities, such as the Bistro.

Kinsale School provides autism-specific placements for children and young people.  Most are residential although there are some day students. There is a drive to accommodate the needs of all the individuals at Kinsale even if that means one young person is effectively being educated in a classroom on her own because her levels of anxiety would inhibit her learning experience if her peers were present.

 

Prior to admission, each referral is assessed to ensure the placement is appropriate. The assessment procedure has changed slightly with the Head of Service now involved in the initial visit along with either the Clinical Psychologist or Assistant Psychologist. Once accepted, a transition takes place which is tailored to the needs of the individual.  Photos of staff are taken and given to the individuals to introduce an element of familiarity prior to admission and visits take place when the person is introduced to the new environment, peers and the flat they will be living in. The rooms are decorated with the individual’s choice of colours if they have a preference.

 

The Speech and Language Therapist is involved in setting up communication profiles for all the individuals at Kinsale and ensures all individuals have the relevant communication tools to meet the needs whether it is objects of reference or signs and symbols and these were displayed in key areas around the school and in the residential flats.

 

I understand that there has been a move to embrace the usage of iPad’s particularly within the school setting and that several more are on order to be used out of school. The Speech and Language Therapist is available on site several days per week as is an Occupational Therapist and contributions of both these individuals could be seen throughout the building.

 

Kinsale School can deliver a clear pathway in to an adult service with AALPS (Adolescent to Adult Life Preparation Service) Cymru right next door. Two individuals have moved out of Kinsale and into this service and it is hoped that at least one other young man from Kinsale will follow this path.

 

Kinsale School provides a wide variety of activities and facilities on site including a sports hall and gym, a well-equipped music room, cookery room, art room, IT room, horticulture area and an authentic bistro. 

As previously mentioned, Kinsale has an Assistant Psychologist on site along with an Occupational Therapist who work with staff to develop programmes to help overcome obsessions and anxieties and train staff to recognise and manage potential issues.

 

The pupils are encouraged to eat a balanced diet although they are also given choices of meals. The school staff consult with a local NHS based nutritionist.  Individuals are encouraged to help in the preparation of their own meals after school hours to whatever ability they have. One young lady prepares most of her meals and has actually undertaken a number of cooking and food preparation courses external to Kinsale. 

 

Staff ensure that individuals get as much opportunity to be as physically active as possible both in terms of using the onsite facilities, the gym sports hall and outdoor play areas, and also, given Kinsale’s setting, access to a lot of outward bound experiences supported by experienced staff. This includes days at Dolben Hall outdoor adventure centre situated on a 25-acre site near Rhylon, the banks of the River Elwy. This centre offers limestone rock face and cave and also a low and high ropes course with aerial runway. The river gives access to kayaking and canoeing, raft building and white water rafting.

All of the children and young people at Kinsale have a diagnosis of autism and many exhibit behaviour that can put themselves and others at risk. The majority of young people also have learning disabilities; however, there are other individuals who could be described as higher functioning. The support and environment is tailored to reflect the individual’s needs. It was clear the staff spent a great deal of time thinking about each child’s welfare and have great expectations for every individual. The groupings of individuals in the flats had developed organically and on the day of the visit those groupings seemed to be working well by all staff accounts. A student council has also been developed and young people had the opportunity to vote for their spokesperson.

 

During our visit we met a couple of young people as they were approaching the end of the school day. As mentioned previously, everyone we met had one-to-one support. It was noticeable the staff allowed individuals time and space to make decisions and transitions whilst still being round to offer support.

 

The advocacy organisation Tros Gynnal, visit every month and someone from the National Youth Advocacy Service also regularly sees one young person. Every effort appeared to be made to engage with the young people despite communication differences. Carol (Registered Manager), stated that the ‘I like’ sessions conducted with key-workers were really successful. Kinsale has striven to meet any cultural or religious needs of the individual and one young person is supported to attend church upon request. The school has used an interpreter service where English or Welsh have not been the first language to aid communication with families.

There has been a change in the management structure on the residential care side which allows senior staff and team leaders more time to offer support across a wider area of the staff team whilst they are on shift. Staff turnover was reported to have steadily decreased and use of agency staff (carefully chosen only after permanent and bank staff have been utilised) was considerably less prevalent than 12 months ago.

 

Once staff have been recruited, references and Disclosure and Barring Service (previously Criminal Record Bureau) checks are made and no staff are allowed to start work before clearance has been achieved.  On induction new staff receive two weeks’ instruction in P.R.I.C.E. Training (Protecting the Rights of Individuals in a Caring Environment) Child Safeguarding, Fire Safety, Understanding Autism and other statutory requirements before spending time shadowing experienced staff working with the pupils. 

 

All ancillary staff also receive some autism awareness training and some PRICE training.

 

Staff supervisions take place on a monthly basis. The change in the management structure on the residential side means that responsibility for conducting supervisions will permeate down through to Team Leaders. The Registered Manager’s supervisions are carried out by the Head of Service.

We spent a large part of the visit in the company of Toni, Head of Service, and Carol, Registered Manager. They both demonstrated a great enthusiasm for the school and love and warmth toward the individuals in their care.

 

Recently, a new Education Liaison Coordinator role has emerged to help facilitate communication between the school and residential staff.

 

Systems are in place for tracking staff training including NVQs and DBS (CRB) checks which are renewed bi-annually, one year earlier than the regulations require in accordance with Company policy. The school is visited by the Options Group Quality Assurance team on a monthly basis and the Options Group Head of Quality Improvement also visits regularly.

 

All staff receive a staff handbook on commencing employment and key policies and procedures are available in paper form but also on the Options Group intranet.

 

If pupils possess the ability they are able to make choices about who is to be their keyworker. The first review of care occurs two weeks after admission, then after a month, three months and thereafter six monthly.

Both myself and my colleague, Kate Race, particularly enjoyed our time at Kinsale. The staff team came across as very enthusiastic and dedicated. On the day of the visit the needs of the individuals residing there were manifold and complex. The experience in the management team, the clinical and specialised support on site combined with excellent facilities led me to believe that Kinsale would be able to offer a bespoke placement for those individuals on the autistic spectrum with many complex and varying needs. The newly planned short-term placement and outreach service is also an exciting new venture and we look forward to supporting that in the near future.

 

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Visiting Officer: Craig Godding
Director of Compliance and Client Liaisons, Living Autism