Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Buckinghamshire

Unique reference number SC062317 Inspection date 24/08/2012 Inspector Jennie Christopher / Gavin Thomas Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 03/01/2012 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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Brief description of the service

This is a private children's home registered to take up to four young people aged between 12 and 17 years of age with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from living in a home where staff have extremely high expectations for their progress. As a result young people have outstanding outcomes due to high aspirations and the encouragement required to achieve. Staff and managers have worked consistently to form effective relationships with parents, education, mental health professionals and specialist services such as drug, alcohol and exploitation prevention teams to ensure a cohesive, individualised approach to care planning. Young people, although relatively new in placement, are very positive about their experience of living in the home and consistently say they ‘love’ staff and the home. They benefit from the support of a committed and caring staff team who are consistent in their therapeutically boundaried approach to positive care.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are consulted on all aspects of their care both individually and as a group. They benefit from a service that continually evolves to meet their needs and incorporates their ideas for how their experience of living in the home can be improved.

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Overall effectiveness

The committed manager is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and strives to improve in all areas to ensure positive outcomes for all young people. They effectively motivate, support and empower the experienced staff team, whilst ensuring a quality training package is undertaken. This results in young people enjoying excellent care from an enthusiastic, child focussed team. Areas identified for improvement as a result of the inspection include updating the electrical safety certificate, evaluating the location of the home in terms of its effectiveness to deliver the aims and objectives as set out in the Statement of Purpose and ensuring there is effective monitoring of the home at a strategic level.

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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

 update the electrical safety certificate (NMS 10)  review whether the home is situated in a location that supports the aims and objectives and proposed models of care for children and young people (NMS 10.1)  ensure there are effective procedures in place for monitoring and controlling the home at a strategic level with specific regard to complaints about the provision. (NMS 21.1)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are outstanding .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make outstanding progress in all aspects of their lives in relation to what are often extremely damaged starting points. They are supported to thrive through extremely individualised support. This enables them to improve their confidence and self-esteem, reducing risk-taking behaviours through a sound understanding of their life story and improved self-worth. Offending, drug and alcohol use and being missing from care has significantly reduced over time for young people who have moved on from the service, and is being positively addressed by staff and specialist services for young people new to the service. Young people feel respected and valued as individuals. Staff’s unconditional positive regard encourages strong attachments. Through this, young people are able to sustain positive relationships with staff, family and peers and have a greater awareness of inappropriate or unhealthy relationships. Continued promotion of health and well-

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Outcomes for children and young people

being ensures young people understand healthy lifestyles and what this means for them.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Attendance at education is positively supported in both community placements and the home-based school. Support from staff and external agencies ensures appropriate placements are sought and sustained, for young people to achieve in line with their peers. Excellent working links with education and careers guidance staff has ensured those reaching post- 16 education have secured college placements for the next academic year in the areas they have moved on to. Young people have positive relationships in the community through activities and education. Relationships with the immediate community can be strained, but support and encouragement to manage disagreements appropriately, has been effective in the past. Young people develop a wide range of practical skills for independent living and all are supported to do household chores and cook simple snacks. Many young people who have moved on from the home have enjoyed positive outcomes, including living

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Outcomes for children and young people

supported or independently in line with their needs, attending college and one has opened a business with family members.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people flourish as a result of positive and constructive relationships with staff who are clearly concerned for all aspects of their welfare. Young people say that they ‘love’ staff and are consistently positive about their placements. Letting young people express themselves is entrenched in the ethos of the service. Young people are routinely consulted on areas for improvement through questionnaires, house meetings and individual work sessions. Young people are actively involved in their reviews and care planning. A clear dialogue when young people’s wishes cannot be met, or they are unhappy with certain aspects of their plans or boundaries ensures that whilst they might not agree, young people have a strong understanding of why some aspects of their lives or care cannot currently change.

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Quality of care

Staff are dedicated to improving life chances for young people, including educational achievement. They support young people’s educational placements with strong communication between the home and school staff, including education staff coming to handovers to form daily plans and using creative approaches to engage young people in educational sessions. Education packages include community based placements, such as music workshops, where a young person has successfully recorded a music video showcasing lyrics he composed about living in care. Those who are at school leaving age are encouraged into further education and employment, to further improve their skills in order to achieve positive outcomes. Young people’s needs are continually monitored and successes celebrated. Imaginative and adaptable care plans are updated in line with individuals’ evolving needs in consultation with the young person and where appropriate, parents, social

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Quality of care

Young people generally enjoy good physical health with limited use of prescribed medication. Medication is stored appropriately and records of administration are thorough. Smoking is discouraged in a nurturing, supportive approach, with young people attending appointments with cessation nurses. Specialists support young people with addictions, resulting in significantly reduced misuse of substances, and when appropriate residential placements are sought to ensure young people receive the specific care they require to overcome or manage addiction. Mental and emotional health specialists work closely with the home to ensure consistency of approach to support young people’s emotional well-being. The organisation’s psychotherapist visits the home for ad-hoc or programmed sessions with young people, individually or in groups, alongside supporting staff to ensure understanding of individual’s current emotional needs. Family therapy is also available to maintain

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Quality of care

positive contact and support parents and in turn, when appropriate, for them to support the needs of their child.

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Quality of care

Young people are able to access independent advocates and say they know how to make complaints and who to complain to. Further information on how to access a wide range of advocacy and support services is clearly displayed. There are excellent anti-bullying procedures in place with young people saying they do not feel it is currently an issue.

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Quality of care

The home is well maintained with comfort and homeliness in mind. Young people are involved in the decision regarding kitchen décor as they felt it was too dark, and they have chosen light and airy colours.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people say they feel safe and that staff do all they can to keep them safe. Individual’s welfare is actively promoted and staff protect them from abuse or harm. This includes working closely with specialist police officers and exploitation professionals. Staff are confident in the procedures to follow should they be concerned for a young person’s safety or welfare and have a good working knowledge of both the home’s and local child protection procedures. Policies within the service are proactive and updated in response to lessons learned locally and nationally. These include careful monitoring of friends and acquaintances of young people, checking their details when necessary, and taking number plates of suspicious vehicles. This has produced excellent results in police tracking potential exploiters and groomers of young people, improving their safety from specific individuals. Young people being missing from care has reduced in recent months and

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Safeguarding children and young people

spikes in incidents are as a result of changes in when to report young people as missing in close consultation with police, with regard to individuals’ vulnerabilities and triggers. Individual files contain up-to-date photographs of young people in case of emergency and local police are actively and positively involved with young people and the home, confirming this through email contact with the home. The company’s recruitment policy is thorough and ensures young people are protected from harm by robust personnel checks.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff implement a highly individualised ‘diversion programme’ that promotes and rewards positive behaviour through small monetary rewards and certificates. Sanctions are proportionate and young people are encouraged to reflect on their behaviour and consider how responses could be different in line with their individual plans. As a result, young people are able to work though negative behaviour patterns and rarely require restraint.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are safe from fire and other hazards as a result of thorough checks and procedures. However the electrical safety certificate has recently expired. Highly individualised risk assessments are effective and thoughtful to ensure young people are able to take age-appropriate controlled risks.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

The provider meets the aims and objectives that are set out in the Statement of Purpose, although an evaluation of whether the building continues to meet the needs of young people is required. Staff fully understand the functions and ethos of the home and the document is available to all parents and relevant professionals. The young people’s guide is constantly updated to reflect changes to staff and is individualised to young people’s needs.

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Leadership and management

The committed manager is continually striving to improve the home and have a positive impact on young people’s outcomes. A new, very experienced deputy manager has recently been appointed. This increases the effectiveness of the management team, particularly at times when the manager is absent. Both manager and staff demonstrate excellent multi-agency working to improve outcomes for young people. They actively source external support such as mental health and addiction specialists, to ensure the best possible care and outcomes for young people. Relationships with local and specialist police officers have ensured continuity of approach and increased safety for extremely vulnerable young people in their care. Positive relationships in the community are built through responses to complaints and arranging meetings where appropriate with concerned neighbours. This has greatly improved relationships in the community and young people have

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Leadership and management

taken thank you cards and cakes to neighbours after concerns to help build relationships. However, complaints do still come to Ofsted when a serious incident has taken place and consideration of how to manage neighbourhood relations is required at a strategic level.

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Leadership and management

Young people succeed as a result of being cared for by an extremely consistent and enthusiastic staff team who are constantly searching for innovative ways to support young people. They benefit from high quality and comprehensive training with needs identified in yearly appraisals. Staff receive quality and evaluative supervision and lapses in performance are challenged rigorously. In line with the therapeutic ethos, staff supervisions are used as a space to share thoughts and evaluate practice in order to focus on positive approaches to young people’s unwanted behaviour.

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Leadership and management

The manager has an excellent understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and effectively evaluates monthly monitoring of the building and records to progress the service. The impact the home has for the young people’s outcomes is carefully considered and extensive manager’s six monthly evaluations demonstrate reduction in risk taking behaviours, such as missing from care alongside identifying areas for improvement, such as recording contacts with young people who have moved on. The manager actively seeks the views of young people, their families and other stakeholders via questionnaires and these help inform robust plans for future development.

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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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