We know that our school cannot replace young people’s homes and families.

However, we do our very best to create a warm, homely environment that makes young people feel safe and cared for.

Before and after school young people are looked after by the Care Team who are a diverse group of people with the title of Residential Social Care Workers (RSCW) who have varying levels of experience and skills.

Most have worked at Farney Close for many years. A number of the RSCW team also help out during the school day, supporting young people who may be finding certain lessons or break times difficult.

All RSCW’s either hold a Level 3 Diploma in Residential Child Care (or equivalent) or will begin working towards it following their probationary employment period. Some staff are also qualified to Level 4 NVQ in Care. All staff undertake continuing professional development (CPD) to further  enhance their practice. This, along with regular training in a variety of subjects, ensures that we provide a quality service.

When a new young person arrives they will receive a welcome pack which aims to give them a range of information to support them through this often difficult and anxious time. The pack includes guidance on how the school day and social time operates and about what will be expected of them as they become more settled. The pack also gives the young person information on the people who they will meet and their role in the school, and tells them what to do if they have a worry or a complaint. This introductory period forms the basis of the New Young Person Care Plan, which itself is developed each half term into a Short Term Care Plan and is always completed working together with the young person themself. Naturally, the aim of all Short Term Care Plans is to help the young person review their progress, acknowledge their successes and to set new targets, supporting them to move on and address the aims set out in their Long Term Care Plan.

Young people stay together on houses in groups of up to 8 and are allocated according to age and gender. Each house has 2 RSCW’s, one of whom sleeps in on the house overnight so that pupils always have someone to call on if needed. To maintain stability and continuity, and to develop relationships for both the young people and their parents and carers, the same set of RSCW’s will work on each house throughout the week wherever possible.

The houses are warm, friendly, nicely decorated and have plenty to keep young people entertained. This includes games consoles, pool tables, TVs and DVD players, books, games and a range of other activities relevant to the house age group and gender. For sleeping, some young people will share a bedroom with one other person, others will have their own bedroom.

As well as providing a range of educational trips and activities, we offer a wealth of evening activities both on and off site.

A wide variety of activities are offered in the evening to cater for all tastes. Some example of the off-site activities we offer include: Swimming, Laser Quest, Bowling, Trampolining, Bouldering / Rock climbing, Archery, Scuba-diving, Canoeing, and Mountain Biking. On site, we offer activities such as Football, Table Tennis, Basket Ball, Cricket, Tennis, Pool, Youth Club, Jogging, Pottery, Fishing, Bingo, Choir, Karaoke, Art and Crafts, Magic Skills, Bush Craft, Chess and Cookery. On the other hand, if a young people just wants to spend some time doing less, they can stay on their house and chat to friends and staff.

The school is also a member of West Sussex Clubs for Young People, which offers activities such as scuba diving, wind surfing, go-karting, and arts and music projects. We believe it’s important for young people to experience activities with other young people in the community.

Throughout the year we celebrate a number of cultural and religious events. For example in October each year we hold a month of Cultural awareness in recognition of the diverse group of people we have both within the young people group and the staff team. Each November we also join in with the national Anti Bullying week which, along with many other parts of our provision, aims to give pupils a common, shared experience similar to that of other pupils in mainstream education. It also forms part of our approach to keeping incidents of bullying to a minimum and to let everyone know that it is a subject that we take very seriously.

At various points over the year we also ask young people and their parents/carers to complete a range of questionnaires in order to gain their views on what we provide and how they feel about life at the school. This helps us identify how we can best continue to offer a high quality service and to let us know when things might need to change.

Keeping every young person happy, well and healthy is our priority.

All meals are served in the in the dining room, except supper. This is served in the houses in the evening.

We follow a healthy living menu, with different choices available for every meal, including a vegetarian option. We’re pleased to say that this approach has helped to earn us the Healthy Schools Award. The main meal is served at about 5 pm, with sandwiches, salads or a snack at lunchtimes.

We work together with their parents and carers to make sure that every pupil stays fit and healthy.

The school has a nurse dedicated to addressing the health needs of all young people when they are at school.

The school offers a wide range of physical activities, good dietary advice and a balanced diet. Staff are qualified to administer prescribed medicines and first aid, and naturally, we offer full assistance with emergency treatment if required.

Like any organisation that cares for children and young people, we aim to work together with their parents and carers to ensure that a high level of health care is maintained. This means that we will help them stay healthy by providing a range of physical activities and offering good dietary advice and a balanced diet. We will also administer prescribed medicines and offer good first aid and support to emergency treatment whenever it is needed.

We are happy to register young people with our local doctors; they can also remain with their local doctor at home, if parents prefer. However, because we want to make sure that we can provide the highest level of staffing possible to support the young people at all times throughout the day, Optician, Dental and Orthodontic appointments need to be arranged by parents/carers in the home area to take place in the school holidays so as to prevent any unnecessary absence.

We do ask parents and carers to arrange all optician, dental and orthodontic appointments in the home area during the school holidays. This way, young people do not miss school and we can offer the highest level of staffing possible throughout the day. Naturally, if a young person becomes ill during the week, with something that is contagious, or stops them from attending lessons, we will make arrangements for them to go home until they are well.