Children's Home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Shropshire

Unique reference number SC389830 Inspection date 07/12/2011 Inspector Kenneth Smith Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 09/03/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Satisfactory : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Brief description of the service

This home is operated by a private company which has several similar homes in this area of the country. Care and accommodation for one young person is provided. The company has its own school for children not attending mainstream and also offers (if a child wishes) weekly therapy as part of the ongoing care.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

This home has provided effective behavioural management and increased opportunities for social development for young people who may have challenging behaviour. Care is very well planned and additionally the home uses opportunities to develop greater networks for young people in their locality. This has been an excellent development, achieving improved social integration and life experience in challenging circumstances.

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Overall effectiveness

The operation and daily life of the home are centred around the wishes and needs of the young people accommodated. There is a clear structure to daily life which has had a very positive effect on social and behavioural development. There is imaginative use of the grounds of the home enabling young people to purposefully engage with outdoor skills and also the keeping of pets.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are kept safe in a well-managed home. Outcomes are good but educational achievement remains an area to develop further. Additionally the recording of young people's views after sanctions and restraints has not been proactively pursued and the children's guide has minor details omitted.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure children get the opportunity to have their views recorded after restraints are used or sanctions given (NMS 3.17 and NMS 3.18)  improve and broaden educational opportunities (NMS 8.2)  include in the children's guide the contact details for independent reviewing officers, Children's Rights Director, Ofsted and independent advocacy services. (NMS 13.5)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

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Outcomes for children and young people

The home has supported and promoted tremendous progress in improved behaviour, utilisation of community resources and the development of constructive relationships for the young people with staff in the home. Progress in education is far more limited.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The home has been effectively used to establish and maintain an improved pattern of behaviour resulting in greater self esteem. Young people whose behaviour has been disruptive have made significant improvement and become more able to manage in diverse social situations. The reduction in physical interventions required is excellent. This has also resulted in greatly increased opportunities for the young people to be actively involved in community life, for example, in the cadets and by volunteering. Young people are imaginatively supported to make a contribution to home life, for example, a young person has been involved in cutting logs in the grounds, learning new skills and enjoying the physical labour.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Educational attendance and attainment have been a particular challenge for some young people from a very difficult starting point. A clear programme of educational activity, utilising a range of people and places is followed closely with some success. However, the volume of educational time deployed remains low, and progress, although evident, is not as substantial as in other areas.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Family relationships are sustained well with a high level of staff support to promote this. Young people's positive identity is promoted through non-judgemental and determined efforts to sustain strong family contact in complex circumstances.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

The relationships between young people and staff are excellent. Behaviour can be very challenging and staff are consistently committed to managing this with the minimum level of confrontation and they are successful in anticipating and diverting negative behaviour. Young people enjoy activities, in part, through the commitment and determination of staff who create and use opportunities with young people to enjoy a wide range of experiences. The clarity of boundaries which staff promote, and the reward for young people coming from this, ensures an increasingly positive experience.

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Quality of care

The practices and daily life in the home centre upon the needs and wishes of the young person placed. The involvement of young people in deciding most aspects of their lives and explaining if their wishes cannot be fulfilled is excellent. There is a clear complaints process, available and known to young people. There are up-to-date and well-constructed plans to help young people in all aspects of their lives. These are regularly discussed with therapist input to consider carefully how to build on progress. Staff consistently draw upon skills learned through the companies use of therapeutic crisis intervention techniques. This means that plans are acted upon and delivered even when there are considerable obstacles.

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Quality of care

Staff take an active interest and role in the education of young people. Young people unable to cope with education within a group setting have access to a range of alternative resources ensuring some teaching on each week day. This has resulted in some progress but does not provide as many hours of purposeful activity as children within education obtain.

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Quality of care

The home is rurally located and placements are well planned to ensure the environment is used by young people who benefit from this setting. Young people are included in activity in the local area to a high degree. This can be as simple as walking in the countryside and using local amenities to play football, but has also included doing voluntary work at a cinema club which meets occasionally. The home is maintained to a very good standard throughout. Bedrooms are personalised and young people have a strong say in all decisions about their environment, for example, choosing the colours of the walls. The furniture is of good quality and promotes a feeling of being valued. The grounds are well used and young people have the opportunity to spend time inside and out supervised from a distance. The support to hobbies, for example, keeping a rabbit, has been effective and sustained, promoting a growing sense of responsibility and achievement.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is outstanding at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people who may have had long experience of not feeling safe are supported well to feel and be safe in their home. This is done through a very clear understanding by all staff of safe practice; there is a keen interest by staff in who young people mix with, not to excessively limit but to ensure safety, and through excellent behavioural management with an emphasis on de-escalation which has resulted in a significant reduction in incidents of physical intervention. Young people mature through the reflection upon their past experience contrasted with the improved behaviour attained here. Positive behaviour is actively and constantly promoted. Sanctions are used only proportionately and quite sparingly. It was noted that records of restraint and sanctions do not routinely include the views of young people although there is an expectation within the records of obtaining this.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff recruitment processes ensure only properly checked people ever work in the home. The records evidence a high level of scrutiny including Criminal Records Bureau disclosures, references followed up by telephone enquiry, and recorded interviews.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people enjoy a safe environment and are positively supported to use it to its maximum potential and to enjoy a wide range of risk-assessed activities outside the home. The risk assessment format is complicated, but all are filled in thoroughly and the net result is that young people are supported to do activities with controlled measures taken to reduce risk with no avoidance of the child-centred activities. The range of activities enjoyed was excellent and evidenced a culture of thought-through and responsible risk-taking.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are outstanding .

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Leadership and management

This is a well-managed children's home which operates through strong strategic leadership in the company and an effective hands on manager in the home. There are effective systems in place which ensure all involved with the home are kept informed about its progress. The use of monthly monitoring visits and the manager’s quality reviews is effective. There were no requirements or recommendations made at the last inspection; since that time there has been a change of manager in the home. This has been managed smoothly and the home continues to operate to a very high standard and the manager is aware of the many strengths whilst addressing development issues.

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Leadership and management

The home has a clearly laid out Statement of Purpose. This is meticulously kept up to date and includes a good level of detail about methods deployed in the running of the home, the therapeutic model followed and staff training. The company keeps to its commitment on all these matters. The corresponding children's guide is always accessible within the home and makes young people clear about what they can expect; some contact details are not yet in this guide, but are available elsewhere in the home. Staff training is thorough and prepares staff specifically for the needs of young people accommodated. All staff are qualified to National Vocational Qualification at level 3 or equivalent with the manager to level 4. They are also first- aid qualified and have regular team training in therapeutic crisis intervention. Staff use their training and professional skills to query and challenge practice which

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Leadership and management

ensures there is positive development in the management of young people.

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Leadership and management

The reporting of significant events is of a high standard and always sent to other relevant bodies in a timely way. Record keeping in the home is maintained efficiently and all records are confidentially stored.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

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