common inspection framework

New standards

The original NMS contained 52 standards covering welfare policies and procedure, organisation and management, welfare support to students, staffing and premises. This was slimmed down to 20 key areas over time as schools grew used to the requirements of the original version and these expectations became embedded. The September 2022 version of NMS has expanded to 23, including new standards on preventing bullying and promoting good relationships, plus a standalone standard on educational guardians.

The standards are now divided into 10 areas, each articulating an aim to be met by adherence to the relevant standards. Part A requires schools to have a statement of their key boarding principles and practice [1], and for this to be accessible to pupils, parents and carers. Standard 2 focuses on the essential elements of leadership and management, with expectations relating to the knowledge, skills, experience and training of boarding practitioners, plus guidance on policies, documents and records, and the ways in which they should be audited and monitored. Standard 3 looks at inclusion, equality and diversity, with the requirement that schools should address pupil needs relating to any of the Equality Act (2010) protected characteristics. It also includes those other important elements relating to cultural or linguistic background, special educational need or disability, and also academic or sporting activities, and any other relevant factors.

Good rather than adequate

The standards in part B focus on boarding accommodation [4], boarders’ possessions [5] and food and drink [6]. The key element here, and indeed throughout the standards, is that the bar has been raised, and all these areas are now required to be ‘good’ rather than ‘adequate’ for a school to be compliant.

Schools are required to ensure their accommodation is well lit, heated and ventilated and that the quality of the fixtures and fittings, including bathrooms, is also good. In my own experience as a boarding inspector and later as a consultant, it is sometimes the case that provision within a school can be variable, with some dorms and bathrooms of high quality and others less good, even within the same house. Refurbishing bathrooms can be particularly costly and challenging. Schools can also find themselves constricted by listed buildings regulations and requirements, or other structural issues, especially in houses not originally designed as accommodation spaces. However, sensitive refurbishment can enhance the look and feel of even the most challenging spaces.

The bottom line

Under the 2022 standards, the bottom line is that all accommodation spaces must be at least ‘good’, this applies also to catering and laundry provision, and to the care with which schools look after pupils’ possessions. The key principle that pupils must be able to personalise their own spaces has been retained, but there has been a significant upgrade relating to the use of CCTV and biometric technology, making it clear they must be used in accordance with statutory guidance and never as a substitute for appropriate levels of supervision.

Part C consists of a single standard [7] relating to health and wellbeing. Many of the wellembedded elements of previous standards have been retained, particularly around storing medication and recording its use. The standards recognise that boarding school medical provision will vary tremendously between schools with fully staffed 24/7 health centres run by qualified nurses and other, often smaller, schools where much of the healthcare is provided by houseparents or equivalent, in conjunction with services such as NHS 111. Enhanced in this version of the NMS is the guidance around engagement with external services, which also links to Royal Pharmaceutical Society and Royal College of Nursing advice.

Safeguarding

Previously, the standard on safeguarding (now Standard 8, comprising Part D) required schools to follow all the guidance in the Department for Education’s ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’. This is still the case, but there are additional requirements now, in particular recognising the challenges presented by the online world, including the management of pupils’ own devices. This standard also requires schools to consider the additional factors and vulnerabilities for children living away from home in boarding schools. Not surprisingly, there is also a higher bar for the way schools respond to any issues of child-on-child abuse.

Part E contains standards relating to safety of boarders [9] and to fire precautions [10]. The focus here has always been on ensuring staff have appropriate training in any relevant areas, and on schools ensuring all relevant aspects are properly risk-assessed. In the newest version there is also reference to ensuring the safety of boarders when offsite and under the control of the school. There has always been a requirement for boarding houses to undertake fire drills in ‘boarding time’ but now at least one of these each year needs to be overnight. Schools are also required to take account of any flexi-boarders when scheduling drills, so even those children who board infrequently are aware of the procedures, regardless of how often they stay. F