Children's Home, Residential special school run by The Senad Group Limited in Derbyshire

Unique reference number SC372504 Inspector Amanda Ellis Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Residential special school (>295 days/year)

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Registered person The Senad Group Limited Registered person address 1 St. Georges House Vernon Gate DERBY DE1 1UQ Responsible individual Mark Flynn Registered manager Andrea Bridget Walkman Date of last inspection 07/02/2014 2 of 11 Inspection date 09/07/2014

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Previous inspection good progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness outstanding

Outcomes for children and young people outstanding Quality of care outstanding Keeping children and young people safe outstanding Leadership and management outstanding

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Overall effectiveness

Young people living at this home experience exceptional standards of care. Consequently, they thrive and make excellent progress. Relationships between young people and staff are excellent. Young people, parents and professionals are unreservedly positive about all aspects of care within this home.

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Overall effectiveness

The voice of young people is central to all work undertaken by the staff team. Young people are actively involved in planning and reviewing their care. They fully contribute to the running of the home and feel listened to and valued at all times.

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Overall effectiveness

Communication with parents, carers and professionals is of an excellent standard. Consequently, all parties work in partnership and can contribute their opinions about how the service is operating.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people have excellent attendance and engagement in education. They attend and achieve in education because of exceptional support and guidance. They benefit from participation in a wide range of social and leisure activities. Young people have their health promoted and are taught how to keep themselves healthy. Safeguarding practices are robust. Young people are safe, learn to keep themselves safe and say they feel safe. 3 of 11 The Registered Manager has substantial professional experience and knowledge. She is systematic and rigorous in ensuring staff deliver consistently high standards and quality of care. This leadership provides an environment of excellence. She strives for continual improvement and can identify areas of further development needed to secure improved outcomes for all young people.

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Overall effectiveness

There are no new recommendations or requirements as a result of this inspection. 4 of 11

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Information about this children’s home

This service is part of a privately owned residential school for children and young people with learning difficulties. The service can accommodate up to 55 children and young people.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2014 Interim good progress 26/09/2013 Full good 05/03/2013 Interim good progress 03/10/2012 Full adequate 5 of 11

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people make significant progress in this home. One social worker said ‘Significant improvements have been made. This young person is thriving in her placement. The placement is meeting all of the young person’s holistic needs.’

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people make considerable progress in developing a positive self-view and develop their emotional resilience. This enables them feel settled and secure in their placements. They enjoy positive and constructive relationships with the staff team and with each other. Young people thrive because of effective relationships with staff.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people have excellent attendance and make exceptional progress in education. They benefit from regularly reviewed individual education. One parent said ‘My daughter now loves school and is doing better than ever at school.’ School reports are positive and reflect the social and academic progress of young people. Education and social care staff ensure support, guidance and effective daily communication regarding young people. As a result, young people achieve exceedingly good educational outcomes from their starting points.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people’s health promotion is of paramount importance. They benefit from nutritious diets, which take into account their medical and dietary needs and their preferences. Active lifestyles and exercise are encouraged in order to promote healthy living. One parent said, ‘A real positive is the way that they have managed his weight by reducing bad food and ensuring that he eats a balanced diet. This means his weight has significantly reduced to healthy levels.’ Young people also benefit from the promotion of daily personal hygiene routines. Consequently, young people benefit from improved health outcomes.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

A range of accomplishments by young people, have demonstrated their contributions to the wider community. These include a charity ‘bake off’, charity walks and a young person collecting toiletries to send to overseas troops. These accomplishments demonstrate that in addition to raising money, young people have an increased awareness of social issues.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people enjoy purposeful and regular contact with family, friends and significant others in their lives. The staff team work sensitively and flexibly to promote positive contacts. Young people benefit because their families are welcomed, visit them regularly and take an active role in their lives. This further promotes their sense of value and ensures important relationships are promoted.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people develop a range of self-care and independence skills, in line with their age and abilities. Their potential is maximised to enable them to become as independent as possible while at the home. Transitions to adult care and alternative 6 of 11 placements are planned in meticulous detail. Staff work in partnership with relevant services, attend leaving care reviews and support the young person in moving to new placements.

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Quality of care outstanding

A dedicated and accomplished staff team provide unwavering care and commitment to all young people, regardless of the challenges they present. Staff are resilient in the face of challenging behaviours. They are conscientious in continuously learning and developing new skills and knowledge. They are persistent in finding solutions to enable young people overcome behavioural difficulties. Consequently, they are highly effective in enabling young people to progress and achieve.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people make exceptional progress in all areas of their life. They benefit from a culture that promotes their inclusion and full participation as citizens. Staff work hard to overcome barriers in young people’s lives. For example, they have ensured the inclusion of young people in a range of social and activity groups. This participation enables young people to develop their self-esteem. Consequently, they learn social skills through positive interaction with their peers and other people.

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Quality of care outstanding

Staff build highly effective partnerships with external agencies and social work professionals. One professional commented ‘We have excellent communication. We always know about the young person’s progress.’ A social worker said ‘Very good communication between home and social care, weekly updates are sent alongside a log of all of the incidents.’ This highly effective dialogue with professionals ensures potential concerns are identified; achievements celebrated and agreed plans are followed.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people receive a guide that contains comprehensive information on their care, advocacy, contacts and the details for Ofsted. These guides are in a range of formats relevant to their communication needs. Young people know how to make a complaint to staff and outside agencies. They have access to telephones, where they can independently access children’s rights services. This ensures that complaints can be made to external agencies.

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Quality of care outstanding

Care plans, placement plans, risk assessments and behaviour management plans are very comprehensive, detailed and up to date. Staff, with the full involvement of parents, develop plans alongside young people. This ensures the needs of young people are fully understood. Regular reviews of plans ensure young people receive consistent care and the staff team has clarity to provide effective support to children. Young people benefit from the provision of the registered on site school. Education and care staff promote excellent school attendance and attainment. Effective communication ensures a cohesive understanding of individual young people, their needs and routines, in both their home and school environment. This ensures very 7 of 11 high levels of education support, according to changing needs, to enable young people to do very well at school.

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Quality of care outstanding

Meticulous health care plans provide clear, up to date guidance for staff to ensure the specific medical, physical and psychological needs of young people are addressed. Medication is very well managed, with robust administration, storage and recording processes. A skilled staff team successfully promotes young people’s health needs. This means young people’s holistic health care needs are consistently met.

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Quality of care outstanding

The promotion of equality and diversity is an integral aspect of the operation of the home. The staff team encourage young people to understand their own individuality and strengthen their self-identity. In addition, they support young people to learn about and to respect and celebrate the diversity of others.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people benefit from living in ‘family style’ homes within the extensive grounds of the providers registered school. These homes are all exceptionally well decorated, furnished and maintained. All young people have chosen the décor of their homes, with highly individualised themes. The location and surroundings of the home ensure young people have opportunity for privacy and communal time, with an emphasis on ensuring young people are safe.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

The security and safety of young people is of paramount importance in this home. External agencies commend the safeguarding practice of the home. Young people say they feel safe and all parents are clear in stating that their children are safe in the care of the home.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Risk management procedures and behaviour management strategies are robust and highly effective. Some young people exhibit challenging behaviours. Behaviour management plans and risk assessments address these behaviours in detail, and outline a variety of innovative strategies. This enables staff to ensure appropriate responses to individual young people, therefore ensuring consistent and effective responses. They are regularly reviewed and highly responsive to the changing needs of young people. For example, some young people now enjoy activities, which provide an increased sense of independence, thus young people can take reasonable risks as appropriate to age and vulnerability.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Young people very rarely go missing from the home because there is a high degree of security for the premises and high staffing levels. Where young people have expressed a need for increased freedom of movement, staff have been responsive and reviewed risk assessments and activity time. Therefore, avoiding situations where young people have unauthorised absences. In the event of young people going missing from care there are protocols with the police and all situations are thoroughly risk assessed, particularly when young people are in the community. 8 of 11 A dedicated and inspiring safeguarding manager goes, ‘over and above’ in the execution of her duties to ensure all young people are safeguarded from potential harm. The safeguarding manager ensures effective multi-agency engagement, with clear adherence to policy and procedures, in relation to any safeguarding concerns. All relevant safeguarding incidents are appropriately notified to Ofsted and relevant

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

agencies. Wherever necessary, the Local Authority Designated Officer is involved appropriately and staff participate in strategy meetings

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Physical restraint is a method of behaviour management used as a last resort, to prevent injury to young people or others. Monitoring of such interventions is robust, clearly recorded and in line with legislative frameworks. The manager through rigorous tracking is better able to analyse trends in physical restraint in order to ensure effectiveness and identify any potential concerns. This oversight ensures young people are kept safe from unnecessary interventions.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Staff promote positive behaviour for young people at all times. Young people benefit from creative and individualised reward and incentive schemes. For example, one young person received her chosen reward of a goldfish for every week of full educational engagement. She now has four goldfish. Another young person collected Thomas the Tank stickers for good behaviour, with the eventual reward of a visit to the York Railway Museum. Ultimately, young people are encouraged to take responsibility for their behaviour. Young people say that the rules of the home are fair. Records demonstrate that good behaviour is recognised and rewarded.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Staff employed to work in the home experience a rigorous selection process prior to taking up their positions. There have been several new staff members since the last inspection. Robust recruitment processes and the recording and monitoring of visitors to the home further ensure the protection of young people from potential harm.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Systems to ensure the safety of young are rigorous and extensive. A diligent health and safety manager ensures that safety within the home is top priority. Innovative plans have been developed to address potential emergencies, including ‘disaster’ planning. These include coordination with emergency services to ensure appropriate responses in the event of an emergency.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

All required checks on fire safety equipment, electrical and gas appliances are up to date. Fire drills are regularly conducted, which ensures that all young people and staff are fully practised in emergency escape. The home benefits from consistent maintenance, monitoring and security to ensure the safety of young people.

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Leadership and management outstanding

9 of 11 The manager became registered in this post in April 2008. She has a National Vocational Qualification Registered Managers award and a Masters in Leadership and Management. These are suitable qualifications. She has substantial relevant childcare and managerial experience of residential childcare within this service.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The quality of the leadership and management of this home is exceptional. Leaders and managers lead by example and set high expectations for both young people and staff. The Registered Manager is highly knowledgeable, motivated and passionate in delivering the highest standards to the young people and families who use the service. There were no requirements or recommendations made at the last inspection.

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Leadership and management outstanding

A key strength of the Registered Manager is her dedication to ensuring the staff team have high quality professional development. Ultimately, this ensures all young people achieve good outcomes. Staff are enthusiastic about their management and feel very supported to progress their own professional skills and knowledge. They receive consistent and meaningful supervision and undertake a training programme that provides opportunities to develop upon their existing knowledge. All staff hold a recognised qualification, or are working towards one, to enable them to support young people effectively and improve the quality of care provided. A highly skilled and knowledgeable workforce ensure young people enjoy exemplary standards of care and benefit from improved outcomes.

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Leadership and management outstanding

Effective management and monitoring of the home ensures the agenda for continual improvement is unreservedly pursued. Extensive internal and external quality assurance processes ensure the quality of service and the welfare of young people are monitored. The management team scrutinise records kept by the home to identify any concerns, patterns or trends. Consequently, service delivery is informed by rigorous critical analysis.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The development plans for the home are inspirational in their attention to detail and aspirational goals. They reflect proposals for continued improvement, with objectives in relation to staff and young people. Planning is clearly based on young people and their individual needs. The management team understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home and takes action to tackle weakness and make improvements.

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Leadership and management outstanding

Young people's records are meticulous. They are consistently up to date, highly detailed, comprehensive and stored securely. They contribute to a thorough understanding of the young person's life, experiences and plans for the future. Young people are directly involved in developing their care plans and recording significant events in their lives.

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Leadership and management outstanding

There were no requirements or recommendations made at this inspection. The staff and management team continues to demonstrate a consummate professionalism and high commitment to delivering exceptional standards of care to children and young 10 of 11 people. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management outstanding

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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Information 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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Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

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