Children's home run by Langley House (Harwich) Limited in Tendring

Inspection report children’s home: SC060282 1 SC060282 Registered provider: Langley House (Harwich) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private organisation. The home’s overall aim and ethos is to make a positive difference to the personal, social and learning lives of the children and to create a positive environment in which children are offered experiences and opportunities to help them to achieve their aspirations and goals. The registered manager has been in post since 21 June 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 18 to 19 December 2018

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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 outstanding

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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: SC060282 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/06/2017 Full Good 03/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 28/11/2016 Full Good 21/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC060282 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

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to key-work meetings. 28/02/2019

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Recommendations

 As part of the policies for protection of children, the registered person should include information about whistle-blowing, with clear procedures for how a staff member should report to an appropriate authority any concern that they have about a child at the home being either at risk of, or already experiencing significant harm. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.15) Inspection report children’s home: SC060282 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality, individualised care and support from a motivated and nurturing staff team. Most of the children have previously experienced trauma and many placement moves. However, once they move into the home, they receive a warm welcome and they settle quickly. The children said that they like living at the home, and professionals echoed this. A social worker said, ‘This is an excellent home for children to come and live at.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage well with the staff, with whom they have forged good relationships. The staff act as positive parental role models who offer them good support and guidance. However, key-worker sessions between children and staff need further embedding into practice to underpin children’s plans and to build on the positive and trusting relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a staff team culture that places a high value on education. All children have an education provision. Attendance levels are high, with 100% attendance unless the children are ill. The children maintain their family relationships with the support of the staff team. Good support and preparation to learn independence skills, irrespective of their age and ability, improve the children’s confidence and help them to do more for themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are provided with opportunities to socialise with staff and peers. The children engage in regular, positive activities and enjoy new experiences at the home and in the community. Examples of activities include camping, going to the cinema, fishing trips, playing football, attending a Scout group and taking trips down to the local beach to skim stones.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff use a variety of methods to communicate with the children, some of whom have limited ability to verbalise their feelings. The children are enabled to make choices that influence their day-to-day care arrangements.

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

Allegations against staff are managed well and in conjunction with the designated officer, which ensures a transparent process that supports and protects children and adults respectively.

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

Children are helped to take controlled risks, which helps to promote their independence. No children have gone missing from care. However, robust protocols are in place should an incident occur.

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

The service is resourced well. The level of supervision of children enables the staff to meet the children’s complex needs. Individual risk management plans are created and tailored to meet the needs of each child. The staff understand and follow the strategies Inspection report children’s home: SC060282 5 that have been designed to reduce risks to the children.

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

A restorative and conflict management approach helps children to take some responsibility for their behaviour and reduces the number of incidents. All of the children are steadily learning to self-regulate and to make positive changes. Incentives are used to encourage good behaviour. In one example, a child was able to earn camping equipment because they behaved well.

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

Physical intervention is used as a last resort and only when attempts to de-escalate challenging behaviours are unsuccessful. When restraint has occurred, it has been appropriate and proportionate to the circumstances. The registered manager monitors the use of sanctions to ensure that they are proportionate and fair.

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

Staff training in safeguarding children helps them to recognise and respond to abuse and harm. Most staff demonstrate their understanding of safeguarding and managing risky behaviours. Good risk management and monitoring of the children help to protect them from harm. However, not all staff are familiar with the home’s whistle-blowing procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is ambitious for and has high expectations of the children. The manager is very knowledgeable and passionate about the children’s progress; he pushes for them to do well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is highly supportive of the motivated and caring staff team. He is committed to ongoing professional development and undertakes further training on a regular basis. Recently, the manager and the staff embarked on an extended training course to look in depth at attachment theory and practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team feels very well supported and positively mentored by the registered manager, who recognises the emotional impact of the work. During the inspection, staff members’ comments included ‘adoring the role’ and ‘absolutely loving the job’. Staff said how they felt welcomed and supported when they first arrived at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children’s records are extremely well organised and maintained. Records are exceptionally detailed and well written and are presented in a way that is helpful to the reader and the children. Information is recorded in a positive way that reflects the high esteem in which the manager and staff hold children. Children’s records provide a good oversight of the work that is undertaken by staff with children, to provide a detailed overview of each child’s journey, experiences and progress at this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager works hard to establish and maintain good working relationships with families and with other professionals. He has put in place a formal system of consultations with families and social workers, and it is clear that regular informal contact is also ongoing. Placing social workers all commented on the high quality of communication between themselves and the registered manager. A social worker said, Inspection report children’s home: SC060282 6 ‘If I had to judge this home, it would be outstanding.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager facilitates regular staff training, team meetings, daily handovers and impromptu support and advice to staff that helps them to care for the children. Induction, probation and supervision are regular and support the staff to progress in their careers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The monitoring of the home, both internally and externally, is of a consistently high standard. Records are monitored regularly by senior staff, who inject meaningful evaluation and comment. The manager is adept at taking on these external observations, linking them with his own analysis and translating the findings into development plans. These plans identify strengths and areas for improvement. Documentation that outlines the way that care is arranged and how children are supported to enjoy themselves and to progress against their goals has improved significantly since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager and staff are child-focused and fully committed to improving the lives of the children who they look after. Children who have had unhappy experiences regain their childhood and adopt a more fulfilling lifestyle.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has met the three requirements and one of the two recommendations, raised at the last inspection, to good effect.

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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: SC060282 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Langley House (Harwich) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 90 Lee Road, Harwich, Essex CO12 3SB

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Inspector

Cathy Russell: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC060282 8 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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