Children's Home run by Lonsdale Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children's home: 1183605 1 Registered provider: Lonsdale Care Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 24 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: 1183605 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people have formed valuable and trusting relationships with a competent and nurturing staff team.  Staff consult with young people on a very regular basis. Young people are able to make choices and influence the service they receive.  Healthcare is a clear priority in the home. Staff work sensitively with young people to ensure that their ongoing health needs are met.  Young people are making excellent progress in educational attendance and attainment.  Staff support young people to try new activities and develop new interests and talents. This has helped to increase their confidence and self-esteem.  Young people with a history of significant risk-taking behaviour have settled into the home extremely well. Since they have been living in the home, these risks have greatly reduced.  Staff are recruited safely. They are effectively supervised and supported to meet the complex needs of the young people in their care.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Leaders work proactively with placing authorities and other agencies to produce positive outcomes for young people.  Placing authorities provide highly positive feedback about this home.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager’s review of the quality of care provided at the home could be enhanced by demonstrating that the opinions of young people, staff, placing authorities and any other stakeholders have been considered.  Risk assessments could be further enhanced to outline the steps that staff must take to manage the individual risks identified for young people on a day-to-day basis. Inspection report children's home: 1183605 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/06/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children's home: 1183605 4

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

45: Review of quality of care In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating- (a) the quality of care provided for children; (b) the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and (c) any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (5) The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(2)(a)(b)(c)(5)) 30/11/2017

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Recommendation

 Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one young person has moved out of the home to live with a family member. This is a positive outcome. There have been two new admissions to the home and they are settling in extremely well. Staff work hard to build strong and positive relationships with young people. Young people are encouraged to develop appropriate bonds and friendships. All young people are looking forward to enjoying a summer holiday with staff and their peers. The environment in the home is pleasant and harmonious. One staff member said, ‘It is a lovely, settled house to be in.’ Inspection report children's home: 1183605 5 Young people are provided with a guide to the home and are given information about their rights and entitlements, including how to complain. Consultation is at the heart of the service. Staff actively encourage young people to read their own records and to add information to them. Young people are able to make choices about which staff members

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

will become their key workers, how their bedrooms are decorated and other day-to-day aspects of their care, including food and activities. Consequently, young people feel empowered to have influence over their own lives and this increases their ability to build valuable relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people with a history of non-attendance in educational settings have made significant improvement in their attendance and attainment. One young person will be taking GCSE examinations, which was not previously considered possible. He will be starting a college course later this year to further his education. Another young person has settled in well at the home and incidents of challenging behaviour at school have declined in number considerably. He is engaging well in lessons and participating more freely in individual work. Staff are supporting another young person to attend open days at a local college and apply for health and social care courses. This young person has developed clear aspirations for her future and has completed online training with staff members to support her application. This is excellent progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are registered promptly with local healthcare services. Staff supported one young person to address a range of unmet healthcare needs, including dentistry and eye care. This young person’s diet has improved and she has become more active. Her social worker said, ‘She is flourishing and looks much healthier.’ Staff are proactive in ensuring that young people receive smoking cessation advice. They encourage healthy eating and an active lifestyle. Medication is administered efficiently and staff complete regular audits to ensure that arrangements are robust.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help young people to develop the skills they need for independence. This includes budgeting, cooking and undertaking basic household tasks. A high level of practical support is offered to young people who are seeking part-time employment. Young people are given opportunities to access a wide range of positive activities. These include swimming, outings to local events and attending the gym. Staff provide nurturing activities in the home, such as games, pamper evenings, film nights and baking. This helps young people to develop a sense of belonging and increases their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are supported to have regular contact with people who are important to them. Staff are helping one young person to work towards returning home soon through a progressive contact plan. One family member of this young person said, ‘It’s been amazing, without them I don’t know where I would have been.’ She described the staff as ‘brilliant’.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Historically, the level of incidents of young people being missing from the home has been high. There has been a significant decrease in this behaviour. This is excellent progress. One young person who was often reported missing from her previous care setting has not Inspection report children's home: 1183605 6 exhibited this behaviour while living at this home. She said, ‘If I wanted to go missing I could, but I don’t need to here. I don’t mind being with staff. I enjoy going out with them, they take me places.’ The setting has a clear policy for staff to follow should a young person be missing from home. All young people have comprehensive risk assessments which cover known risks to their safety. Plans could be enhanced by ensuring that all the identified risks have more detailed steps for staff to follow in order for them to reduce risk and respond to incidents appropriately. A best-practice recommendation is made to

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Behaviour management plans are in place for all young people. The staff team is aware of the triggers for negative behaviour and uses agreed strategies to help young people to process difficult feelings. Staff have a consistent approach to rewarding good behaviour. Sanctions are used proportionately, and are restorative. Incidents of challenging behaviour have decreased in number. One parent is highly satisfied with the progress her son has made in this area while living at the home. She said, ‘Before he went to the home, he was getting in trouble all the time with the police. He was taking drugs and drinking. He is now a different child.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people are aware of their personal behaviour management plans and know that should staff need to intervene physically, this will only be to keep them or others safe or to prevent significant damage to property. When physical intervention has taken place, it has been recorded and evaluated by leaders to ensure that it was necessary, to monitor for trends and to encourage staff to reflect on and continually improve their practice.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are trained to understand how to report a concern about the safety of a child. They have accessed enhanced levels of training in safeguarding matters such as radicalisation awareness, child sexual exploitation and understanding e-safety. If appropriate, young people are also able to complete these courses. One young person has completed safeguarding and first aid training; this has helped her to progress her career aspirations and has given her the skills to keep herself safe. This is excellent practice. All young people complete e-safety training and have access to the home computer, which is situated in a communal area of the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Since the last inspection, one safeguarding allegation has been made. This was handled in accordance with procedural guidance. All the appropriate authorities were notified. The setting has robust recruitment and selection procedures to ensure that young people are cared for safely. The physical environment in the home is well maintained to comply with health and safety requirements. Staff and young people take part in regular fire evacuations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified manager with a wealth of experience in providing care for young people in residential settings. He is child centred and demonstrates a high level of knowledge about the needs of the young people at the home. All the young people in placement are making good progress from their starting points. One young person struggled to settle into the home’s routines and the boundaries Inspection report children's home: 1183605 7 set by the staff. The manager took steps to make sure that his care plan was reviewed with the placing authority. The young person was returned to the care of his family in a planned way, which is a positive outcome for him. Care planning is a strength of this service and all the plans are written with young people, in child-friendly language.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that the setting is well managed and say they feel supported and happy in their roles. Staff benefit from regular training opportunities which provide them with the necessary skills to care for young people with complex behavioural needs. The manager conducts regular, effective supervision and holds team meetings that enable staff to contribute their views on care planning and behaviour management for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular internal monitoring takes place. The manager completes a review of the quality of service provided at the home. This review should take account of the views of young people, staff and other agencies. A requirement is made to address the shortfall in this area. The setting is meeting the aims and objectives outlined in the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and staff work positively with placing authorities and other services. All the placing authority social workers for the children living at this home have provided highly positive feedback. One social worker said, ‘It’s gone better than we could ever have expected.’ Another commented, ‘I’m really impressed, communication has been great. The young person has made really positive progress.’

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children's home: 1183605 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 14 Meadowbarn Close, Cottam, Preston PR4 0AG

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Inspector

Nicola Thomas: social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children's home: 1183605 9 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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