Highest Standard of Care at Hereward College - Care Quality Commission

Hereward College's high standards of care have been recently recognized in a published report by the Care Quality Commission, the official regulator of health and social care in England. Apart from its non-residential provision, the College offers accommodation with specialist facilities to students with a wide range of learning and physical difficulties and/or disabilities.

After the last inspection at the end of October, Hereward has been found to be compliant in all areas that were inspected, which is a fantastic achievement and a testament to Hereward's sustained improvements over the last few years. The inspection consisted of checking how people were cared for at different stages of their treatment and discussions with care staff.

The CQC highlighted the fact that the college's biggest improvement in the way it delivers its care services is how it fully involves students in expressing their views as to what is important to them in relation to their care needs. One students said "the college is good at recognizing people's individual needs; they accept everyone, the students and everyone else". The commission also observed that students were being treated with dignity and respect, as one student highlighted "the staff ask us for our opinions...yes I think they do listen to what I say".

Another positive was the fact that staff have received training to help identify and understand what to do in case of safeguarding issues and students pointed out that they feel safe at College. Good care planning and assessment records which ensure the safety and well-being of students were also considered a big positive.

Additionally, care and nursing needs were properly met with sufficient staff on duty, who have been well trained to understand the individual needs of students, both physical and emotional. This was backed up by a student who affirmed that "we have consistent staff, they have different titles, some are care support, some are mentors, and there are also nurses...staff work in the same flats so we get to know them pretty well".

Last but not least, the Care Quality Commission pointed out that good recruitment practices ensure people who worked in the college were safe to work with students. The college had good systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of residential provision and care support provided to students living on campus.

Jon Clugston, Vice Principal of Student Independence and Progression said:

"This is indeed a great achievement for Hereward College; over the last couple of years, the quality of our care services has improved greatly, partly due to a change in how we tailor our services according to students' individual needs. We realize that each student is different and has different needs therefore a bespoke service is required for each student. We must carefully listen to their views and work with them to be able to meet and even exceed their expectations."

"Another reason for our achievement is due to the integrated approach we use for our care service, with care enablers, education enablers, nurses, mentors, youth workers and counselors all working together as a team in order to develop students' independence and progression."