Moor House School & College residential provision provides a warm, friendly, inclusive and welcoming environment where great importance is attached to pastoral care, pupil wellbeing and to being a supportive and tolerant community where students feel safe in their surroundings.

Students thrive at this residential special school. It is a safe, vibrant and inclusive environment which promotes and enables everyone's strengths and abilities. The celebration of individual uniqueness and a culture of high aspirations and equal opportunities mean that the students have life-changing experiences.

Ofsted Care report 2024

Providing a safe, happy and nurturing environment

All residential living areas provide single bedroom accommodation with their own bed, wardrobe and desk area. Boarders like to personalise their areas with posters, photos and duvets from home. During the night, waking-night staff are on duty to provide support for students as and when required. Most children board on a Monday to Friday basis. However, we are able to support students who travel long distances on a Sunday evening. In exceptional circumstances, we may offer respite to some of the day students at Moor House.

The boarding provision provides a platform for students to engage in real-life learning opportunities that are both stimulating and enabling. Boarding allows your child to develop a sense of independence that day education paths cannot always offer. If your child is away from home, they can’t be reliant on others all the time; they must start taking daily tasks and activities upon themselves, for example, getting up on time in the morning and being prompt for lessons. While boarding gives children the opportunity to feel independent, they aren’t completely alone. They can develop independence with the help of a supportive network of peers, tutors, and the residential team. Staff support students to understand risks and how they can keep themselves safe both inside and outside the home. Staff also support the students to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm. Each child has a dedicated support network around them and each child has a nominated key worker from the residential team who provides individual support to each child in Moor House boarding provision.

All our residential living areas provide single accommodation with their own bed, wardrobe and desk area. Boarders like to personalise their areas with posters, photos and duvets from home. During the night, waking-night staff are on duty to provide support for students as and when required. Most children board on a Monday to Friday basis. However, we are able to support students who travel long distances on a Sunday evening.

Becoming confident and independent members of society

Carefully thought-out plans, across the specialisms, break down life skills into manageable steps. The Wheel of Independence^TM and the Compass of Independence^TM framework are life-skills-based programmes of learning that enable students to increase independence in the following areas: activities of personal and domestic living, travel, safety, functional academics, time management, food preparation and nutrition, budgeting, studying, domestic activities, managing medical needs and identifying and participation in leisure activities. Progress is monitored and evaluated through individual targets, individual and shared observations and collaborative working within and between departments.

Regular collaborative meetings are held between class teachers, teaching assistants, speech and language therapists, residential staff, occupational therapists, and psychotherapists. All aspects of the students' needs are discussed. When a student achieves a goal, staff celebrate this success and then sensitively develop new goals. 

 

Ofsted care report 2024

 

Children understand their goals and targets and the steps needed to help them achieve these. There is a good multi-agency approach across the school that sets, tracks, and reviews outcomes for children. This is helping the children to achieve at a pace that is well suited to their needs and abilities.

Ofsted care report 2023

Develop and increase capacity for positive social interaction and communication

We recognise the importance of appropriate social communication.  Language learning opportunities  are provided through structured activities, supported study, meal times, focus groups, group meetings, enrichment activities and unstructured time. Games and activities provide further opportunities to develop speech and language, fine and gross motor skills in a subtle and fun way.

We recognise the importance of local community inclusion, and we ensure all children and young people are given the opportunity to do so. Amenities such as the cinema, theatre, shops, parks, walks, bowling and horse riding are amongst some of the available off-site activities.

Staff encourage students to pursue their interests and hobbies. For example, students attend youth clubs, cadets, football clubs, tennis clubs, and go swimming, shopping and to the gym. Staff are enthusiastic not just to improve progress and experiences for students, but to promote positive life chances.

Ofsted care report 2024

Children feel valued and listened to by staff who care for them. Staff sensitively encourage the children to participate and share their thoughts and feelings in daily meetings and key-working sessions. This helps the children with their target objectives and future planning needs. The speech and language team work in collaboration with the residential care staff and has established effective communication between home and school staff. There are weekly meetings to discuss children's progress and targets and a joint effort to look at how these targets can be met. Additionally, support can be personalised to help the children manage shared living and relationships.

 

Ofsted care report 2023

Developing emotional resilience

Through 1:1 pastoral support, role-playing, group and enrichment activities students are supported to learn more about themselves and consequently prepare them for the wider world. Key-workers provide support for students to develop strategies to help regulate emotions and responses, both in private and in social settings with the aim of increasing underlying levels of self-worth and esteem.

There is a robust well-being and mental health support system that threads throughout the school. Staff are inquisitive about students' mental health. They are alert to changes in their presentation, have regular 'check ins' and talk with students about their worries and feelings. Staff consider students' home lives and work intuitively with families to promote a supportive and collaborative environment.

Ofsted care report 2024

Parents' feedback is unanimous in the support their children receive from staff to help them succeed and achieve. One parent shared, 'Our son regards both his residential friends and staff as his extended family, showcasing their deep bonds and supportive environment the residential team harbours.

Ofsted care report 2023

A sense of belonging

When living and studying in the same place, the students at Moor House School & College develop a sense of belonging which in turn can help them grow as a person.
A sense of belonging promotes children’s wellbeing and has a positive impact on their learning. A sense of belonging is enhanced by environments where children are given the opportunity to feel connected, where they know they are listened to, valued, and supported.

Boarders are consistently involved in extra-curricular activities. This involvement has positive effects including that sense of belonging, academic outcomes, and social outcomes. Extra-curricular activities allow students to identify with and feel part of
their community.

Boarding at Moor House School & College further enhances a sense of belonging with its routines and traditions. Even something as simple as sharing meals together brings boarders a sense of togetherness and connectedness.
 

Hearing students' voices is a real strength of this service, and their views are central to the provision's development. The student board council, and several different committees, champion the students' views, wishes and feelings. Students say that they feel safe and speak fondly of their relationships with staff.

Ofsted care report 2024

Children speak greatly of the experiences and care they receive when staying at the school. They build long-lasting friendships that help them to develop a sense of personal identity and belonging.

Ofsted care report 2023

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Build and maintain good relationships and friendships

Staff are skilled in understanding the range of influences that friendships can have
and encourage those with a positive impact. The students are supported to develop understanding and empathy towards each other, positive relationships are reinforced, praised and encouraged. The development of safe, stable and secure relationships with staff are central to the ethos of the residential homes and enable staff to build constructive and warm relationships with the students that actively promote positive behaviour.

Making friends for life

How many children get the opportunity to live and study with their peers? This is one of the main benefits at Moor House School & College boarding provision. On one hand, you want your child to develop academically but developing life skills and  social skills is equally as important. Moor House School & College boarding provision gives students the chance to integrate with others inside and outside the classroom and offers a whole range of clubs, activities, and games to participate in. The Boarding Houses at Moor House School & College are inherently social with boarders sharing homes and socialising in shared common rooms.

Students thrive at this residential special school. It is a safe, vibrant and inclusive environment which promotes and enables everyone's strengths and abilities.

Ofsted care report 2024

The speech and language team has worked alongside residential staff to establish boundaries in relationships and communication for some children to support relationships to flourish. Well suited to their needs and abilities.

Ofsted care report 2023

Builds a sense of personal responsibility

What better way to prepare for the future than to live away from home? Most young people don’t get this opportunity until at least college or university age. Moor House School & College boarding provision provides a head start on this, which can help to build a sense of personal responsibility. Boarders are ultimately responsible for the actions they take, from organising their weekly schedules to getting their homework done on time.

Students behave impeccably in the boarding houses. Through exceptional support and consistent care, staff have developed trusting relationships with them. Students are very clear that their residential experiences are helping them to grow and develop into appropriate role models.

Ofsted care report 2024