Children's home run by Longboat Special Education Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2523030 1 Registered provider: Longboat Special Education Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home forms part of an independent school. It provides residential care for up to 16 children aged between 11 and 19 with severe learning disabilities and associated needs, such as limited verbal communication. Children may have autism spectrum disorder. The school offers residential term-time-only placements or 52-week placements.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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: 4 December 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2523030 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2523030 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s personal care and healthcare needs are met well. The procedure for the administration of medicines is well organised and safe. There are some examples of children becoming much more independent and confident during their time at the school. For example, one child has learned how to use the toilet, another is now able to take showers with staff support. With reassurance from staff, one child has undergone an important health procedure that he was previously unwilling to attend. Social stories and pictures are used to help children to manage potentially difficult situations and to make sense of what is happening around them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy in placement. They take part in a wide range of activities which enrich their lives. Staff carefully planned a holiday for the children, ensuring that each child’s needs were considered. As a result, children enjoyed their break. Some children who have previously not been able to access education due to their high levels of anxiety are now supported so well that they regularly attend school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are experienced, skilled and well trained to look after children with very complex needs. The organisation has very recently improved their training programme to include a better range of training on attachment and trauma. This has ensured that staff remain skilled to look after children with a complex range of needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy very positive relationships with staff. Good staffing levels mean that staff can spend quality time with each child. Staff ensure that they recognise and celebrate each child’s unique differences and personality. Children’s progress is captured well. For example, high-quality albums are produced for children as a memento of activities and achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

As a result of complex learning disabilities, children find it difficult to advocate for themselves. There has been no independent advocacy provided to children in recent months, despite significant events happening in their lives, such as placement moves. However, staff are very familiar with each child’s communication needs. Staff and managers discuss children’s needs and try to involve them in decisions as much as they can.

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

Children are safe and protected. This is because staff understand each child’s needs and carefully follow detailed risk assessments. The way that staff are deployed ensures that children are supervised well. There have been times when individual children’s behaviour has had a negative impact on the group, but managers make timely interventions to protect children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2523030 4 Staff use restraint appropriately to protect children from harm. Managers review each restraint and also monitor any patterns and trends in its use. This helps managers to develop strategies to reduce the use of restraint. Managers also draw on the experience and expertise of other professionals scrutinise restraint practice. This open, transparent approach reduces the risk that inappropriate restraint might take place. However, some records lack detail. There is the risk that staff actions might not be monitored thoroughly if insufficient detail is recorded.

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

The process for managing allegations works well. Children’s views are listened to and taken very seriously when they express concerns. Although all staff receive safeguarding training, they have not yet been provided with formal training specific to the safeguarding needs of children with disabilities. However, there are plans in place to ensure this takes place in the near future.

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

Staff are vetted thoroughly to make sure that they are suitable to work with vulnerable children. There has been some reliance on agency staff since the last inspection. Agency staff are subject to the same level of scrutiny as core staff. This diligent recruitment process reduces the risk of children being harmed by unsuitable people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home achieves its aim of delivering good-quality care to children with the most complex and specialist needs. It is well led by experienced, competent managers. Although the children’s needs can sometimes be difficult to meet, managers are resilient and determined. However, they are not afraid to recommend alternative placements if that is what is best for particular children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have been effective in leading the team through a difficult period, including COVID-19 restrictions and some staffing difficulties. The physical demands on staff who care for children with harmful behaviours has presented a particular challenge to newer staff. There has been a high turnover of staff and difficulties in recruitment. There continue to be some vacancies. However, the home has maintained a core team of highly dedicated and resilient staff who have worked at the home since it opened. Managers ensure that there is always at least one staff member on duty who children know well and are familiar with.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The core staff team is very committed to the children. Staff enjoy their work and speak warmly about all the children. Managers at all levels have stepped in when needed to cover shifts, sometimes at the last minute. They make sure that staffing levels are always safe. Staff have valued this additional support and say that there is a positive team ethos.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have meetings with their line manager at least every other month. These meetings are used effectively to review children’s progress and review care plans. Given the needs of the children, and the demands of the role, more frequent meetings would provide a greater level of support and give more opportunities to review care arrangements. Inspection report for children’s home: 2523030 5

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express their views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review; and 22 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2523030 6 ensure that each child—

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Requirement Due date

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives;

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Requirement Due date

has access to the home’s children’s guide, and the home’s complaints procedure, when the child’s placement in the home is agreed and throughout the child’s stay in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is given appropriate advocacy support. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(b)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to ensuring that children have access to independent advocacy.

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that is helpful to the child. This is in relation to restraint records. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  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. Professionally qualified staff employed by the home, e.g. teachers or social workers, should be provided with

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Recommendations

relevant professional or clinical supervision by an appropriately qualified and experienced professional. This is in relation to the regularity of supervision. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children’s home: 2523030 7

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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 for children’s home: 2523030 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Longboat Special Education Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hilltop Farm, Danethorpe Lane, Danethorpe, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG24 2PD

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Inspectors

Caroline Brailsford, Social Care Inspector Simon Hunter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2523030 9 to 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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