St Albans Mencap receives positive feedback following monitoring visit
Posted Wednesday 19th August 2026
We are delighted to have received very positive feedback following a recent monitoring visit by Hertfordshire County Council's Senior Commissioning Officer to our Short Breaks service at Watling View School.
The visit on 13 August looked at a wide range of areas including health and safety, safeguarding, staff training, children's experiences, partnership working and how we listen to the children and young people who use our services.
The monitoring report described St Albans Mencap as a "well-organised service" with appropriate health and safety measures, strong staff training arrangements and a clear commitment to delivering child-centred support.
Highlights
The report also highlighted the way our team captures and responds to the voices of children and young people. This includes the use of Widgit resources and communication aids, pupil voice activities, school visits and feedback from children and families.
Importantly, the visit found evidence that children's views and interests genuinely influence what we do. Activities and themes are adapted around the interests of the children attending, with previous examples including jungle, circus, nature, transport and emergency services themes.
We were also pleased that the visit recognised the range of partnerships that support our work, including links with schools, the Mental Health Support Team, the police, fire service, local library and social workers.
The monitoring visit follows a recent Ofsted visit to our service. The Ofsted visit reviewed our policies, staff training and the actions and learning implemented following an incident earlier in the year, and resulted in a compliant outcome.
Kelsey Ferrari, Children's Service Manager, said:
"We're really pleased that the monitoring visit recognised the hard work of our staff team and, particularly, our commitment to making sure that children and young people are at the heart of what we do. We want our Short Breaks services to be safe, welcoming and enjoyable places where children can be themselves, make choices and take part in activities that interest them."
We'd like to thank the children, families and staff who continue to help us develop our services. Their feedback is an important part of making sure that our Short Breaks provision continues to meet the needs of the children and young people we support.
