Lindsworth School

Inspection report for residential special school - Lindsworth School 1 Lindsworth School Monyhull Hall Road, Kings Norton, Birmingham, West Midlands B30 3QA Residential provision inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential special school

Lindsworth School is a maintained school with a residential provision catering for boys with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. It currently offers education for pupils aged nine to 16 years old. Currently, there are 131 pupils at the school, up to 12 of whom are residential pupils. There are 12 bedrooms in the residential house, and boarding is offered for two, three or four nights a week. However, the residential provision did not reopen at the beginning of the autumn term because the role of a care coordinator had not been filled. A care coordinator commenced their post in October 2024, and the residential provision reopened. The residential provision then closed again on 22 January 2025 and had not reopened by the end of the inspection. The extended day offer has continued to be offered throughout.

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Information about this residential special school

The residential provision is situated in a large, detached house spread over two floors and located on the school site, close to the main school. Residential pupils can use the school’s sporting facilities during residential time.

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Information about this residential special school

The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this school.

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Information about this residential special school

The inspection started on 21 January 2025. It was paused in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy. Inspectors returned on 27 January 2025 to complete the inspection.

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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 residential special school provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of previous inspection: 23 January 2024 Inspection report for residential special school - Lindsworth School 2 Overall judgement at last inspection: good Inspection report for residential special school - Lindsworth School 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive high-quality care that makes them feel valued and secure. The staff demonstrate unwavering commitment to them. Children in residence have made significant and meaningful progress from their starting points. For example, children are attending school and engaging in their education because they attend the residential provision and have access to opportunities they might not otherwise have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have strong relationships with the staff who care for them. Relationships between staff and children are warm, affectionate and loving. Staff are continually curious about, and reflect on, how they can help children grow in all areas of their development. Children are extremely positive about the care that they receive. One child said: ‘I love it here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and staff make every effort and dedicate an immeasurable amount of time to attain the opinions of the children. Staff carry out high-quality reflective and purposeful work to ensure that each child’s voice is heard. Children have multiple opportunities to share how they feel through informal conversations, children’s meetings, school council, a pupil column in the residential newsletter, mentor meetings and in their care planning. These opportunities provide valuable experiences for children to learn how to communicate and listen effectively. Children’s views are valued, and they say they are ‘listened to’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop life skills at a pace that suits their needs and abilities. They develop skills, such as being able to complete laundry tasks, prepare and cook meals and how to tie their shoelaces. These opportunities enable children to take on appropriate levels of responsibility and learn life skills for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children ‘are very well supported prior to and when they move into the residential provision. Moves are well planned and completed at each individual child’s pace. Children who leave the school and the residential provision continue to be supported by the school. This includes support with college courses and work experience. A young person who has left the school spoke positively of his experiences in residence and said that he particularly liked all the activities they offered. He was able to recognise that he would not have had these opportunities if he had not stayed in the residential provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have tried to make the environment as homely as possible within a large, spacious building. Some of the décor and furnishings are looking tired and worn. However, there are many resources for children, including board games, books, games consoles and table games, such as table tennis and air hockey. Children notice that communal areas are looking worn and tired, but this does not seem to have an impact on their enthusiasm for the residential provision. They enjoy playing games with the staff and other children. Inspection report for residential special school - Lindsworth School 4 Children talked about enjoying games of table tennis with staff, with the aim of beating the staff before they leave the school. They particularly like their bedrooms, which are single and en-suite. Their rooms reflect children’s individual personalities.

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

Children who stay in this provision are safe. This is because leaders and staff understand their responsibilities to protect children. Child protection policies are well understood and staff know what to do if there is a safeguarding concern. Additionally, the depth of the staff’s safeguarding knowledge is reflected on during team meetings and supervision sessions. This ensures that staff are continually updated about safeguarding matters.

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

Leaders have an effective system for recording, reporting and monitoring safeguarding concerns. Communication with external professionals is effective. Leaders share information with them swiftly to avoid delay and ensure that children are protected from harm. Leaders take guidance from other professionals, and they work together to ensure that children are safe.

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

The positive relationships that leaders and staff have with the children are a significant protective factor in helping to keep them safe. As a result, there have been no recent incidents where there have been concerns for children.

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

Leaders ensure that they follow safer recruitment procedures. This helps protect the children from unsuitable adults.

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

Leaders and staff monitor children’s welfare and have knowledge of children’s individual needs. This means that they are well positioned to identify any changes in children’s behaviour that could indicate potential concerns, helping to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of their provision. They know the staff and the children well and strive to always find new ways to improve the quality of care they provide.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The chair of governors knows the service well, including its strengths and its challenges. However, the governing body is depleted, and, therefore, the chair of governors has picked up a number of roles, including the governor for the residential provision. Governors have not visited the residential provision since it reopened in November 2024. Since this time, there has been a new care coordinator and new children access the service. Infrequent visits mean that children and staff have fewer people, external to leaders and managers within the school, to express any concerns to. It also means governors rely on others telling them about residence rather than experiencing it for themselves. Inspection report for residential special school - Lindsworth School 5 The new care coordinator is a positive appointment for the residential provision. She has already started to make positive changes to documentation, staff training and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

the environment. She is child-centred and enthusiastic about ensuring that children have their say about the development of the residential provision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a long standing, consistent and committed staff team. Children benefit from this because of the continuity of care that they receive. Leaders and staff speak about the children with love, warmth and enthusiasm. There is a culture of respect, nurture and safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff love working in the residential provision and feel that communication, relationship building and supporting children with their life skills are the strengths of the residence. Staff speak positively about the impact the new care coordinator has made in such a short period of time and are excited for the journey ahead.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with a wide range of training that informs their practice and meets children’s individual and diverse needs. Leaders are creative in their thinking and are constantly looking for new creative ways to support staff, to sustain good quality care for children. This strengthens the staff’s understanding of the children’s needs and how to support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent person is not very accessible to children because the only way to contact him is through an email address that is affiliated with the school. This may be off putting to children who have concerns about the school as it does not demonstrate that the independent person is independent of the staff team. Children do not know who the independent person is because his visits are infrequent. This means children are less likely to contact him because they do not know him. Inspection report for residential special school - Lindsworth School 6

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special schools

The school does not meet the following national minimum standards for residential special schools:

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 The school’s leadership and management fulfil their responsibilities consistently and effectively so that the standards are met. (Residential special schools: national minimum standard 2.4)  The school identifies at least one person other than a parent, outside the staff and those responsible for the leadership and governance of the school, who children may contact directly about personal problems or concerns at the school. This person may be known as the ‘independent person’. Children know who this person is, know how to contact them and feel comfortable talking to them. The person is easily accessible at all reasonable times, visits regularly (at least monthly), and knows the children. The person should have the necessary skills to interact and communicate effectively with the children and be able to recognise good/poor care and safeguarding concerns. Children who cannot communicate verbally are given

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special schools

the means to request individual support. Schools may need to make a range of arrangements for independent support, which might be provided by more than one person, to ensure that the needs of each child are met. (Residential special schools: national minimum standard 17.2)

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Points for improvement:

 School leaders should ensure that governors visit the residential provision regularly, particularly when there has been significant change.  School leaders should ensure that the décor of the residential provision is consistently maintained to provide a homely environment.

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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 Children Act 1989 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 national minimum standards. Inspection report for residential special school - Lindsworth School 7

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Residential special school details

Social care unique reference number: SC017171

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Residential special school details

Headteacher/teacher in charge: Kathryn Beale

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Residential special school details

Type of school: Residential special school

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Residential special school details

Email address: emma.banks@lindsworth.bham.sch.uk

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Inspectors

Joanne Vyas, Regulatory Inspection Manager Marianne Grandfield, Social Care Inspector Jodie Lewis, Social Care Compliance Inspector Inspection report for residential special school - Lindsworth School 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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