Children's home run by The Loddon Foundation Limited

Inspection report children’s home: SC012021 1 SC012021 Registered provider: The Loddon Foundation 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 provides education and care for up to 30 pupils, from eight to 19 years of age, who have an autistic spectrum disorder, severe learning disabilities and/or associated complex restrictive behaviours. The school operates as a charitable trust and is registered with the Department for Education.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since February 2018.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC012021 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/07/2018 Full Outstanding 13/12/2017 Full Outstanding 22/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/09/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC012021 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 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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(d)(e)) 11/01/2020

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Recommendations

 As with all the Quality Standards, the responsibilities and accountabilities in this standard fall on the registered person. In practice, just as with the other standards, those responsible for the day to day running of homes, including leadership teams in large homes and specialist advisers within other settings (for example, security advisers in secure homes) play a key role in enabling the registered person to fulfil the requirements of this standard. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.2)

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Recommendations

In particular, ensure that the registered person is able to fulfil the requirements of this standard by having effective systems in place to monitor the completion of key tasks.

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes Inspection report children’s home: SC012021 4 regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Recommendations

In particular, ensure that supervision is regular and of good quality for all staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The core staff team’s skilled and sensitive approach to the children’s care and learning reduces the children’s feelings of anxiety. This enables the children to connect with their surroundings and provides a fertile environment for them to acquire skills and responses that help them to prepare for the adult world.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

A fully integrated and targeted approach to the children’s care, learning and recreation enables them to develop knowledge, understanding and key life skills. This takes place across all settings in the home during the waking day. The process is flexible and carefully tailored to the needs, abilities, moods and interests of each child, and enables them to make substantial progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support and encourage the children to socialise inside and outside the home, and to participate in community activities. Staff display a strong awareness around preparing the children for the challenges that they are likely to face when the time comes to move on. High levels of contact are maintained with parents and carers, who are directly involved in plans and targets for their children and in plotting their much-celebrated progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

High levels of communication are maintained within the staff teams for each home unit, and this joined-up approach also contributes to the significant progress that the children make. Facilities and grounds are extensive and provide a rich, relaxed and stimulating environment in which the children can expand their experience of the world and develop their potential. This includes the opportunity to engage in all aspects of the arts and a wide range of exercise and recreational activities, as well as the daily opportunity to interact with farm animals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Any necessary specialised services are made available to the children as soon as needs arise or are anticipated. There is close team working between those providing specialist services, care and learning. Procedures and practice around the routine health needs of the children are meticulous and standards are high.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The staff’s preparations and planning for children moving into the home, as well as moving on from the home, are thorough and careful. This helps the children to make the necessary changes in a way that minimises the disruption to their sense of safety and security. The children remain at the absolute centre of all the thinking, planning and action that takes place within the school, and staff display high levels of respect, patience and affection for those in their charge. Inspection report children’s home: SC012021 5 Parents speak highly of the quality of care that their children receive. One parent commented, ‘The home has been amazing with my boy. I would give them 100%. It’s an outstanding place – from every angle.’

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

The procedures and practices of staff in supporting the children to deal with strong feelings and behaviours that limit their learning and development are of the highest standard and meticulously recorded. This helps the staff to learn lessons and improve their standards of practice. Consequently, the staff team maintains an environment and conditions in which the children feel safe, secure and free to learn, and in which they can develop and enjoy their surroundings.

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

A detailed knowledge and understanding of each child’s potential and abilities enables the staff to support the children in taking appropriate risks and in exploring new experiences. This increases the children’s ability to recognise and deal with hazards themselves and helps them to become safer.

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

The staff team succeeds in providing a safe and well-maintained physical environment without undermining a homely and relaxed atmosphere.

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

Any incident in which the safety and well-being of a child was, or may have been, compromised is taken very seriously and is comprehensively and thoroughly investigated to identify and remove any further risks. Inquisitive leaders, managers and staff explore and dissect all incidents and concerns of a safeguarding nature. Incident and investigation records are scrutinised and diligently explored, in liaison with external safeguarding agencies, where appropriate. This practice puts the children’s welfare and safety at the core of everyone’s thinking.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leadership of the service is strong, and the integrated approach to the children’s care and learning is mirrored in the mix of education and care professionals in the cohesive senior leadership team. Plans for developing the service and improving the outcomes for children are ambitious. Finance arrangements for the ongoing further development of the site and facilities are in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A highly committed and dedicated core staff team successfully mitigates the threats to the continuity and stability of the children’s care that results from significant agency staff use. All reasonable efforts are made to ensure that agency staff are suitable and are booked for continuous periods. Staff retention figures are of concern, and there is limited action being taken by leaders to fully explore and understand the reasons for this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The induction of new staff is systematic and thorough. Mandatory training is carefully prioritised and monitored. Staff speak highly of their opportunities for ongoing professional development. The time frames for care staff to meet the qualification requirements are meticulously monitored and proactive steps are taken to ensure that all Inspection report children’s home: SC012021 6 staff achieve the necessary success. However, the regularity and content of supervision for all staff involved in the children’s care is variable. This risks an inconsistent approach and experience across the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A further area of inconsistency relates to record-keeping. Safeguarding records are very detailed, whereas gaps are apparent for some children’s essential information details. In another area, records in respect of maintenance works are sometimes unclear. In both cases the information is known, albeit not captured in an easily retrievable way. Such shortfalls do not currently affect the children’s welfare or safety, but they do hinder swift monitoring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Plans for the care and progress of the children are clear and carefully monitored in conjunction with parents, carers and placing authorities. Leaders and managers seek and listen closely to the feedback these parties provide. They use this information to improve the quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A placing social worker with extensive experience of the provision commented, ‘I can only compliment the service for its skilful delivery in every area. I think it is an amazing provision.’

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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: SC012021 7

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Loddon Foundation Ltd

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Inspectors

John Pledger, social care inspector Keith Riley, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC012021 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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