Children's Home run by Lonsdale Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1183605 1 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 privately operated home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in February 2016 and the manager registered in May 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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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 outstanding

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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

Date of last inspection: 21 February 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1183605 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/02/2023 Full Outstanding 02/11/2021 Full Outstanding 05/02/2020 Full Outstanding 25/01/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 1183605 3

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outstanding

Children live in a home that is welcoming, friendly and safe. Children benefit from a consistent and nurturing approach to care, an ethos which permeates throughout the staff team. Children’s achievements are celebrated around the home through the countless photos and awards on display.

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outstanding

Children’s well-being is at the heart of the care provided and is highly valued. As a result of the excellent care provided, children are able to make exceptional personal progress.

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outstanding

Children’s education is a key focus for staff. All children are making significant progress from their starting points. Staff are able to identify children’s individual education needs. When one child required additional educational support, staff escalated their concerns, which led to an education, health and care plan being put in place for the child. This meant that the child was able to access a more suitable education setting. The child is now making excellent progress. Without staff identifying these additional needs, it is likely that the child would have struggled to remain in education.

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outstanding

Another child has had an extremely positive move from specialist provision to mainstream education. Staff provided the child with consistent support and liaised directly with school to ensure a smooth transition. The school staff say that this move was unlikely to have been as successful without the excellent communication from the home’s staff.

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outstanding

Children’s existing and emerging health needs are met. Children attend review health meetings and specialist health services as and when needed. One child who had not been to the dentist before moving into the home has now had full dental treatment.

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outstanding

The time children spend with their family members or people who are close to them is another key priority for staff. Considerable work is done to ensure that family time takes place for all children. Staff ensure that children’s families are able to spend time with them at the home. Staff travel to collect the parents of one child so they are able to spend time with their child.

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outstanding

Children maintain positive links to their communities. Despite the distance, one child is supported to return to their local church and youth club on a regular basis. This helps to ensure that the child’s spiritual and identity needs are consistently met. This demonstrates that children who are placed far away from home are able to remain part of their own community. Inspection report for children’s home: 1183605 4 Children are encouraged to be independent. This ranges from ensuring that children spend time away from the home independently to having their own independent living space in the home’s annex. The annex provides children with a safe and secure space where they can develop their independence skills. Having their own annex helps to provide some real-life experiences for children that are safely managed. The child who is currently staying in the annexe is able to cook and clean for themselves and has their own shopping budget each week. This has helped them

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outstanding

to grow and flourish while having support available as needed.

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outstanding

Children’s moves in and out of the home are extremely well considered and managed. Children’s needs are appropriately considered against those of the children already living in the home and the skills of the staff team. This demonstrates that children’s needs are met and the home is able to provide long- term placements for children. One child who has moved on from the home since the last inspection experienced a positive transition.

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outstanding

Children are supported to understand their own behaviours in a reflective and safe way. Staff know the needs of the children extremely well and there is a seamless link from risk assessments to support plans. If children’s needs change, support plans are amended and adapted in collaboration with the placing authority. Risk assessments and behaviour support plans are reviewed regularly and children’s progress is tracked each month. The plans themselves are clear and concise and in some cases are written by the child.

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outstanding

Children say that they feel supported and safe. One child said that they are able to manage their own feelings themselves now. Two family members said that their child is no longer displaying any of the unsafe behaviours that they were before moving into the home.

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outstanding

Children benefit from significant positive behaviour support. This is most visible in the care and love given to each child. Staff constantly praise children for any achievement or for just being themselves. This helps children to develop strong levels of self-awareness and self-esteem. Therefore, children develop positive behaviour patterns.

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outstanding

Children do not go missing from home often. When children do go missing from home, they are met with a safe and swift response. Staff are proactive and ensure that they make every effort to search for children. Due to the strength of the relationships with wider family members, staff are able to locate children and ensure their safe return home. Children are given supportive and appropriate debriefs and any triggers for going missing are considered and tracked to avoid repeat incidents.

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outstanding

Physical interventions are exceptionally rare, largely due to the overall philosophy in the home. Staff are encouraged to use all possible distraction or de-escalation techniques to avoid the use of physical intervention. On the very rare occasion Inspection report for children’s home: 1183605 5 physical intervention is used, it is proportionate and safe. Following the one physical intervention since the last inspection, leaders and managers have ensured that they review and reflect on incidents of physical intervention, with a whole-team approach. This ensures that there is a consistent approach to the use of physical intervention.

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outstanding

There has been only one safeguarding notification to Ofsted since the last inspection. One child made a historical disclosure which was not reported to Ofsted, which limited oversight by the regulatory body. However, the incident was managed very well by the staff team and the child was supported and safeguarded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are inspirational and lead by example. Team morale is excellent and staff say that they feel a sense of shared ownership of the care provided, which helps to drive improvement. Leaders and managers are held in exceptionally high regard by staff, children, family members and external professionals. The registered manager has recently won a ‘Regional manager of the year’ award and has been put forward for a ‘National manager of the year’ award.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The team benefits from leadership that puts the care and love of children above everything else. Staff say that they are consistently encouraged to foster a nurturing environment where children are free to be who they want to be. One staff member said that coming to work each day feels like an honour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A highly experienced assistant manager supports the registered manager in the day- to-day operation of the home. Together, they are an effective management team. Two members of staff particularly praised the assistant manager for her flexible and supportive approach with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have access to a wide range of mandatory and additional training which ensures that they care for children safely and consistently. Staff training is specific to the needs of children living at the home, such as bereavement training when a child experienced the loss of a family member, and training around Black Lives Matters and knife crime. This demonstrates that staff consistently develop their knowledge and skills to help them in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers ensure that they have robust monitoring systems in place. The registered manager reviews all records on a regular basis. There are systems in place to ensure that all placing authority care plans and other important records are in place. When placing authority records are not made available, leaders and managers escalate this. The registered manager reviews and records the progress made by children each month.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Understanding the needs, wishes and feelings of children is a priority for the manager and staff. Feedback from children is obtained in a variety of ways, such as through regular children’s meetings, day-to-day feedback and direct work. Inspection report for children’s home: 1183605 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that Ofsted is notified if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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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: 1183605 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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Inspectors

James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Lisa Mulcahy, Regulatory Inspection Manager (quality assurance visit) Inspection report for children’s home: 1183605 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 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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