Children's Home run by Longdon Hall School Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children's home: SC478001 1 SC478001 Registered provider: Longdon Hall School Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four children and young people who are unable to live at home or with members of their extended family due to trauma. A private company owns and operates this home. The registered manager is suitably qualified.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC478001 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/07/2017 Full Good 02/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/05/2016 Full Good 16/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC478001 3

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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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff seek to involve each child's placing authority in the child's care in accordance with the child's relevant plans and seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child's needs; if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority's or a relevant person's performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child's needs are met in accordance with the child's relevant plans. (Regulation 5(a)(b)(c)) With particular reference to escalating within the placing authority when looked after documents are not provided. 30/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard requires the registered person to use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation (13)(1)(a)(b)(2)(h) With particular reference to ensuring that the training matrix is up to date in order to accurately monitor staff training needs. 30/08/2018

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit hugely from a welcoming, comfortable and homely environment where they have trusting and warm relationships with staff. Young people are happy here and feel that staff care about them. They talk to staff and exchange jokes, as well as seeking them out for support when they are upset. Enthusiastic staff engage young people in a range of stimulating and fun activities including swimming and trips out, which support their emotional, social and physical well- being. One staff member brings her dog into the home, which the young people love to Inspection report children's home: SC478001 4 play with and take for walks. Staff listen to young people, who engage positively in young people’s meetings and key- work sessions. Staff are aspirational for young people and encourage them in their interests, including music and art, their education and future plans. Young people make very good progress in their independence skills, self-confidence and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

relationships. They make significant improvements in their school attendance, with all three young people now attending regularly. One young person has progressed from non- attendance to over 70% attendance. Since being placed, one young person has been able to reduce his need for medication. Staff have supported young people to significantly reduce self-harming and improve their personal hygiene and behaviour by the introduction of an effective incentive scheme. Young people choose their targets and earn rewards.

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

Highly trained staff keep young people safe. Staff work with young people to help them understand how to keep themselves safe. Staff invite other professionals, including the police, to the home to educate young people about the risks of going missing, child sexual exploitation and drugs misuse. Young people become increasingly safe, benefiting from positive relationships with staff who understand their vulnerabilities. Staff undertake excellent key work with young people covering subjects such as social media and relationships. Risk assessments are detailed and relevant and provide staff with clear strategies to meet the individual safeguarding needs of each young person. The registered manager reviews risk assessments and behaviour management plans. She also monitors systems such as the recording of sharps, medication and physical interventions, to make them more robust and to encourage increased reflection about incidents. When incidents occur, lessons are

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

learned. The home is well maintained and safe and there is an up-to-date locality risk assessment. Staff benefit from ongoing safeguarding training and the registered manager has put training in place to highlight the links between young people going missing and child sexual exploitation. Other professionals and family members praise the staff for their safeguarding work. The police have commented that excellent communication by staff prevented one young person, who was subject to child sexual exploitation, from being harmed on at least two occasions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager responded positively to the requirements made at the last inspection. This resulted in improvements in the decoration of the home, key-work sessions and education. There have been many staff changes since the last inspection, resulting in there now Inspection report children's home: SC478001 5 being a relatively new team. The registered manager and senior staff have worked hard to establish consistent working and to minimise the effects of change on the young people. Staffing shortages have been covered by dedicated staff and there has been no use of agency staff in the home. Staff enjoy working here. They have regular supervision and feel supported by each other and by the registered manager and assistant manager. Staff advocate on behalf of young people. The registered manager has successfully challenged mental health services to review and reduce a young person’s medication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager monitors the effectiveness of the home’s records and updates them to ensure that staff have access to up-to-date information about young people. An area for improvement is to challenge placing authorities and escalate when information for young people’s files is not provided in a timely manner. The registered manager also needs to ensure that the training matrix is kept up to date in order to accurately monitor that staff training remains current. The registered manager undertakes in-depth and effective impact assessments in close collaboration with placing authorities when considering any new placements. Staff work closely with professionals and with family members to ensure that the needs of young people are understood and met. One social worker commented, ‘They are excellent, the registered manager and assistant are very good at communicating with the local authority. I couldn't ask for more… They have stuck with him [the child] and worked

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

with challenging issues. Where others would give up, they have carried on and worked through it.’

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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 differences 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 whom 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: SC478001 6

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Longdon Hall School Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 1 Merchants Place, River Street, Bolton BL2 1BX

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Inspector

Louise Whittle, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC478001 7 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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