"Good" Ofsted rating for Children's Home once again
/priorscourt @PriorsCourt @priors_court Prior's Court Foundation
Farewell to Sarah Butcher
In September, we had to say goodbye to
Sarah Butcher MBE after more than 24
years with us.
Sarah has been with us since the very beginning
of our journey in 1999 and in that time she has
supported more than 220 young people and their
families, worked with more than 4000 colleagues,
and received one MBE.
But these numbers do not come close to covering
Sarah's contribution to Prior's Court on its journey
over the last two decades.
She has also not limited this knowledge to Prior's
Court and our staff members - with training
delivered, conferences presented at, and talks given.
Sarah, who was our Director of Young People's
Wellbeing, enjoyed a farewell assembly at the end
of September, with gifts presented by our young
people, followed by an afternoon tea with staff,
families and other special guests.
Everyone at Prior's Court wishes Sarah the best
of luck in her new role as Chief Executive Officer
at Autism at Kingwood - another autism charity
founded by Dame Stephanie Shirley.
Staffing teams have come in for praise
in the 13th successive Ofsted Care
inspection in a row for Prior's Court with
a "good" or "outstanding" outcome.
Inspectors paid a three-day visit to Prior's Court
School in June to observe and document the
standards of our residential homes for young people
up to the age of 19, which are all registered as one
Children's Home.
Following this, a report has been published rating the
quality of social care provision as 'good', retaining the
rating last earned following an inspection in 2022.
Highlights from the report included:
l "The children are understood and well cared for
by staff, and relationships between staff and the
children are positive."
l "Staff enthusiastically celebrate the children's
individualities and value their achievements."
l "Systems in place to monitor safeguarding
practices are excellent."
l "Managers are striving for the best quality of care
possible for the children. Managers at all levels
know the children well and have a firm grasp of the
progress they are making. Managers are extremely
proud of the progress children make."
This was the first Ofsted Care inspection at Prior's
Court since the appointment of Matt Phelps and Lisa
Pothecary as our joint-registered managers - a rare,
possibly unique, arrangement to have in place but
one recognised by Ofsted in the report as successful.
The report read: "This arrangement works due
to their continuous communication and shared
oversight of the homes. Both managers share the
same vision for the home and have incredibly high
aspirations."
Another area to come in for praise was the approach
to medical support for young people at Prior's Court,
with Ofsted stating that our nursing facilities were
"highly effective, and children make considerable
progress with their health needs."
Prior's Court School's Ofsted Education rating
remains "outstanding".