Children's home run by Lonsdale Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2676352 1 SC2676352 Registered provider: Lonsdale Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company and provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection. The home was registered with Ofsted in May 2022. The manager also registered with Ofsted in May 2022.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2676352 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2676352 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in this home benefit from positive, nurturing relationships with the manager and staff. The level of care delivered gives a solid foundation from which children make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to express their views, wishes and feelings and have a voice in the home. The manager explains to children when their requests cannot be agreed and provides clear reasons behind the decision. In addition, all children have access to independent advocates to provide further support and guidance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported with their health needs. When additional resources are required, staff make sure these are requested in a timely manner. This means that all aspects of children’s health are considered, including physical, mental and emotional health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made progress in their educational attainment and outcomes. Staff understand the potential barriers to learning, supporting children’s engagement in education by working alongside social workers and education staff to ensure that the correct resources are in place. For example, when a child was struggling to maintain education on a daily basis, the home liaised closely with the school to enable the child to attend an equestrian course.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy participating in a range of activities and have been encouraged to develop their individual interests, such as joining boxing clubs. When children were already part of a group before moving into the home, they have been encouraged to maintain these interests. For example, one child continues to attend air cadets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their families and maintain contact with those people most important to them. Children are encouraged to develop and sustain friendships. To support this, staff act as good parents would and ensure that the friendships children establish are positive and safe. Children’s friends are encouraged to visit and are welcomed into the home. When children wish to have overnight stays with friends, staff ensure that these arrangements are agreed and safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from living in a comfortable, spacious and well-maintained home. They help to choose soft furnishings and are encouraged to personalise the home. Children can decorate their bedrooms to their own taste and are central to the decisions made about their home. This gives them a sense of pride in where they live. Inspection report for children’s home: 2676352 4

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

Staff work hard to keep children safe. Risk assessments help inform staff practice and are updated regularly, taking into account the views of partner agencies and children. However, these assessments lack clear guidance on the action staff should take to ensure that a consistent approach is taken by the whole staff team. In addition, a number of risks are assessed that are not relevant to all children, which makes plans overly lengthy and detailed. As a result, assessments are not always personalised to children.

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

The response of the staff and manager to significant and concerning incidents is good, with the primary concern always being the safety and well-being of the children. Following such incidents, the manager ensures that detailed debriefs are undertaken to understand the underlying causes and to support the children and staff.

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

Staff are vigilant to children’s behavioural changes. When such changes become apparent, staff take effective action in preventing situations from escalating, which has led to a reduction of incidents. Behaviour management in the home is effective and the staff are responsive to escalations in behaviour. As a result, there has not been a need to use physical intervention in the home. The staff help children to understand and manage their feelings and behaviours safely. Negative consequences are rarely used in this home.

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

Children understand how to make complaints. Appropriate action has been taken in response to children making complaints. These have been investigated without delay and children supported following the outcome of any complaints.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supported by a passionate manager who has high aspirations for the children, team and home. Staff said they feel supported and receive regular supervision, in which they are encouraged to reflect on their practice and performance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the matching and placement of children is good. However, more information in relation to consultation with professionals would make this stronger. The first two children moved into the home in quick succession. While they were well matched, not all their risks were initially known to the manager and shared with all professionals. When considering the third child moving into the home, the manager demonstrated child-centred practice. There has been clear consultation with all children and the child visited the home for tea before moving in.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have regular meetings about the children and the dynamics of the team. This promotes consistency of practice among staff and enables them to work cohesively in supporting the children. The manager ensures that, as a relatively new staff team, the organisation’s policies and procedures are regularly discussed, along with scenarios to support and inform practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2676352 5 Staff benefit from receiving specific training that enables them to meet the needs of the children. Staff have completed training in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, mental health, depression and social media.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager consults with children’s families, social workers and independent reviewing officers to review how they feel about the service and how the children’s needs are being met. The manager makes effective use of the external and internal monitoring to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home, to secure continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals said they are impressed with the knowledge staff have about the children. They appreciate the regular communication from staff and the effective multi-agency working, which results in proactive strategies for supporting children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2676352 6

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that all risk assessments are specific to each child. The manager should ensure that all risk assessments contain clear steps for staff to follow in the event of an incident. For example, staff should have clear steps to follow if a child presents with self- injurious behaviour, and guidance when checking mobile devices. 10 January 2023

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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: 2676352 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lonsdale Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 34 Broadacre, Caton, Lancaster LA2 9NH

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Inspector

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2676352 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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