Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Bedford

Unique reference number SC412953 Inspection date 09/08/2013 Inspector Elaine Cray Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 23/01/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This home is privately owned and accommodates up to four young people who have 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 receive good and well planned care. They make excellent progress and there are exceptional safeguarding outcomes for all young people living at the home.

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Overall effectiveness

The framework to support young people’s behaviour, health, education, social and safeguarding needs is sound. Young people grow in confidence and emotional resilience because of the staff’s in-depth understanding of young people’s identities and backgrounds.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people’s needs are well-supported due to comprehensive assessment and excellent inter-agency consultancy and partnership working. The interactive relationship between care, therapy and behaviour management provides a holistic and nurturing environment for young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Behaviour management is an outstanding feature of this home. Young people develop awareness about their risk taking activities and make much improved lifestyle choices. There are significant reductions in missing from care episodes, risky behaviours and offending behaviour.

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Overall effectiveness

There is a strong commitment to help young people address significant deficits in educational attendance and achievement. Young people are sensitively and effectively supported in their transition from a challenging adolescence into young adult life.

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Overall effectiveness

The manager has strong leadership qualities which impact on and motivate a progressively developing and dedicated staff team. Organisation, policies and procedures are robustly and effectively managed. There is a clear focus on quality assurance to maintain existing standards and strive for further improvements in the running of the service and outcomes for young people. There some shortfalls in care planning information, medication arrangements and recommendations regarding a review of the education facilities at the home.

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Overall effectiveness

There are three statutory requirements and two recommendations made as a result of this inspection.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) keep under review and, where appropriate, revise the statement of purpose and notify the HMCI of any such revision within 28 days (Regulation 5 (a) and (b)) 27/09/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

12A (2001) co-operate with the child’s placing authority in agreeing and signing the plan for the child’s placement prepared in accordance with the provisions in regulation 9 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 (Regulation 12A.-(1) 27/09/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure any medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed. (Regulation 21.-(2)(b)) 27/09/2013

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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’s health is promoted in accordance with their placement plan and staff are clear about what responsibilities and decisions are delegated to them and where consent for medical treatment needs to be obtained (NMS 6.5)  ensure children who have been excluded from school have access to appropriate education and training. This is with particular regard to placing authority feedback about the education facility available at the home. (NMS 8.8)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are outstanding . Young people make significant and exceptional progress at this service. The strong emphasis on relationship building positively and quickly impacts on young people’s confidence and emotional resilience. Young people develop in maturity. As they grow up and mature they take fewer risks and make more positive choices.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people thrive and develop because they live in a nurturing environment. They feel safe and cared for because staff provide structure and daily routines to support their needs. They form positive identities because staff have excellent insight into diversity and the backgrounds of the young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people do exceptionally well and value their relationships with staff. This is particularly apparent when young people look forward to spending time with their therapist and tutor. They talk positively about their key workers. These relationships are meaningful to young people due to the extensive consideration put into matching key working staff with individual young people. For example, placing gender and race at the forefront of key working selection has an excellent impact on the development and identities of young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people experience exceptional improvement in their behaviour, not least a significant reduction in their risk taking activities. They have a greater understanding of how they behave. They feel safer because staff understand triggers for behaviour and young people’s expressions of anxiety.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from improved relationships with their families. Staff and the therapist give time and consideration to enabling young people and their family members to unravel their relationships. Young people have a greater understanding of their backgrounds, family circumstances and behaviour. These outcomes have a positive impact on the quality of their family relationships and frequency of visits. Social workers' comments include, ‘Progress with setting up contact and engaging with family is as a direct result of the efforts of the staff at the home.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people feel valued because their views are respected by staff and other professionals involved in their lives. They are encouraged to reflect on their behaviour and the support provided by staff. This is demonstrated by their comments in the home’s central records on behaviour and in their own individual files. Young people who previously refused to attend meetings, now attend and their wishes are reflected in the outcomes of these meetings. This is demonstrated in how encouraged young people feel when they are trusted to have more free time.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are very proud of their achievements and have addressed significant deficits in their education. Some young people who are further disadvantaged by complex emotional and behavioural difficulties have positively managed to re-engage with education and social learning. All young people make good progress in either social or educational development or both. Some young people await GCSE results and others look forward to going to college. Other young people take part in a varied range of activities. Their social skills, self-esteem and interactions with their local communities are significantly enhanced. Young people are supported and do extremely well in developing their independence skills. They can budget and cook. Most importantly they grow in self-confidence. Improved self-esteem enables young people to cope and positively interact in society and prepare for more independent lives.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are also encouraged to take responsibility for their own health care. For example, managing their own medication. Their diets improve as they are encouraged to try new and healthier foods.

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Quality of care

Young people are consistently cared for and thrive because there are effective frameworks for care, education support and behaviour management. There is good quality of care resulting in outstanding outcomes for young people. This demonstrates that all staff are consistently concerned with the welfare of young people at the service.

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Quality of care

The care, education and therapeutic frameworks are effectively connected. Young people make progress because there are good communication and review processes with consistent involvement of the young people. Young people feel safe and develop because they are supported by well trained staff and therapists.

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Quality of care

Young people thrive and develop emotional resilience because their emotional security is of paramount importance in this service. Key working and therapy sessions are used productively as young people develop self-awareness. They begin to take responsibility for their behaviour and aspire to and explore new and worthwhile opportunities.

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Quality of care

Young people receive meaningful support because staff have an excellent grasp and understanding of the challenges the young people face. Staff are very responsive to the adolescent angst of growing up and the impact of young people’s backgrounds and experiences. They are very intuitive and skilled in exploring the emotional and behavioural responses of young people.

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Quality of care

Placement and care plans are very comprehensive. The care planning framework provides detailed assessments of young people’s needs. Written plans identify meaningful and individually tailored strategies across all aspects of young people’s lives and plans for their futures.

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Quality of care

While staff have in-depth knowledge of the challenges facing young people, there are occasional lapses in updating care plan information and progress. For example, changes and impact of contact arrangements and how these are best managed by the home.

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Quality of care

Young people’s health is holistically managed. They are supported with detailed health care plans to meet their emotional, physical and mental health needs. Staff demonstrate effective knowledge of health issues relating to young people’s diverse backgrounds and lifestyle choices.

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Quality of care

The staff team is extremely committed and knowledgeable about working with young people with significant emotional and mental health challenges. Young people’s emotional and mental health is supported with a range of services. Agencies include drug support agencies, adolescent mental health services and therapeutic input.

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Quality of care

Young people are protected with effective arrangements for the storage and administration of medication. Staff report some stored prescribed medication is no longer required and therefore is not administered. However, these changes are not subject to review by a medical practitioner. While staff discuss the need for non- prescribed medication with parents, there is no written consent in place. Placement plans from placing authorities are not consistently signed and dated. These administrative shortfalls were rectified at the time of inspection and had had no detrimental impact on young people living at the home.

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Quality of care

Staff work hard to explore and find education opportunities for young people. The routines in the house including bedtimes, getting up, mealtimes and staffing levels are arranged in order to promote education. Some young people are supported to engage with external education facilities, including further education at local colleges.

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Quality of care

Some young people attend education at the home’s education provision. While the manager states the education service is re-vamped with new staff; some professionals have raised a level of dis-satisfaction about the education facilities at the home. For example the education room does not reflect a realistic classroom environment.

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Quality of care

Young people are looked after in a well-designed and homely environment. The house is well maintained and personalised with comfortable furniture, pictures and ornaments. There are clear efforts to make the house comfortable and homely.

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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

There are exceptional improvements in the safeguarding outcomes for all young people staying at this home. Levels of safety are outstanding because staff implement robust and regularly reviewed policies and procedures. Safeguarding strategies are appropriate to the significant vulnerability of and levels of danger presented by the young people living at this home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people’s welfare and safety is effectively addressed with excellent working partnerships between the home, agencies and social workers. Social worker’s comments include, ‘The staff’s ability to work with professional networks is brilliant.’ Staff maintain effective links with the police, the local safeguarding children's team and the youth offending service. Joint missing from care protocols across different police forces and sharing of intelligence have made a significant impact on the safety of young people. Young people receive a consistent and dedicated response from staff and other professionals resulting in a significant reduction in offending for young people at the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Regularly reviewed and updated risk assessment and management strategies are key to young people’s safety. Staff respond to and effectively address risk taking behaviour. Significant risk reduction is consistently reflected in the positive choices and associations made by young people since they have lived at the home. They go missing less, no longer gravitate towards gang activities and treat others with more respect and less aggression. These developments increasingly empower young people to reach their potential and contribute as responsible young adults in society.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people feel protected because they have good relationships with staff and can talk about concerns. They engage in therapy sessions to explore their backgrounds, the risks to them and their behaviour. Young people’s social workers expressed a clear confidence in the home’s ability to keep young people safe. They say young people’s awareness about their own and the safety of others has improved since being at the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are protected from bullying. They are given strategies to avoid, deflect and manage situations. They grow in confidence and self-awareness and are more able to look at how their behaviours impact on others.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Behaviour is effectively managed and significantly improved. Risk assessments effectively link into individual behaviour plans. Connectivity between a range of approaches such the token reward system, diversion strategies and therapeutic input ensure young people’s welfare is promoted. Young people feel safe and reassured because staff provide clear expectations, boundaries and responses to behaviours.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are tenacious in exploring and being informed about managing behaviour. They are always keen to explore the reasons for behaviour in order to offer the most appropriate support. Staff are pragmatic in their approaches and have excellent knowledge of individual and group dynamics of the young people. They use this knowledge to their advantage, particularly in terms of positive role modelling between the young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff have an excellent knowledge of how young people’s previous experiences impact on and influence behaviour. This contributes to effective safeguarding strategies and makes behaviour plans and expectations meaningful. Consequently young people are often more able to manage their own behaviour, because they are less anxious. They also have a greater focus on positive outcomes because their strengths and efforts are consistently celebrated and rewarded.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are trained in behaviour management, including physical intervention. Care and control is sensitively handled, with physical intervention only used as a last resort.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in a safe environment. They are kept safe with systematic and well monitored fire, health and safety procedures.

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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

Young people are looked after by a team of highly motivated, well-trained and committed staff. Young people, staff and professionals have a high level of respect for the manager of the home. Leadership is strong. Young people live and staff work in very respectful culture. Staff skills in attentiveness, listening and attending extend to each other as well with the young people. Young people thrive and staff develop in this positive environment.

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Leadership and management

Parents, families and agencies have accurate information about the operation of the service via a detailed Statement of Purpose. The most up to date copy is yet to be received by Ofsted. Young people receive good information about the home with a detailed and easy to read young people’s guide. Both these documents provide good information about what young people and parents should do if they have a concern or complaint.

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Leadership and management

Staffing arrangements are effectively managed in order to meet the needs of the young people. Their welfare is promoted because these effective staffing arrangements are managed in line with the home’s Statement of Purpose. This includes qualified therapists, well-trained care staff and educational teachers and tutors at the home. Staff are knowledgeable and competent because they receive thorough and supportive induction, regular supervision and regular training.

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Leadership and management

There is a good sense of maintaining standards and improving outcomes for young people. All statutory requirements and recommendations from the previous inspection have been met. Monitoring processes by the manager and monthly visits by an independent visitor promote improvement. Actions or recommendations are few and quickly and effectively addressed. However, some shortfalls have emerged as a result of this inspection. More long-term objectives are strategically set out in the home’s development plan.

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Leadership and management

The manager shows excellent commitment to improving the service, to include clear monitoring of the operation of the home. Management systems track trends and patterns and these are used to address improvement. The home is procedurally sound and staff provide consistent practice and knowledge about the running of the home.

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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 and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of children's homes.

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