Children's Home run by Family Care Associates Limited in Shropshire

Unique reference number SC020595 Inspector Julian Mason Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Family Care Associates Limited Registered person address 60 School Lane Bamber Bridge PRESTON PR5 6QE Responsible individual Edward Peter Nixon Registered manager Gail Hogan Date of last inspection 24/03/2014 2 of 9 Inspection date 12/09/2014

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Previous inspection satisfactory progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

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

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from child centred care that helps them progress in many areas of their lives. This provides the stability that young people need in order to feel secure and move forward in their lives. The staff team are fully committed to securing positive outcomes for each young person and to improve their life chances and opportunities. Young people feel safe in the home and with the staff who look after them. They benefit from familiar and enabling routines with one professional stating, ‘staff have worked exceedingly well with my young person.’

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Overall effectiveness

Overall, the relationships between staff and young people are very good. Young people are encouraged and supported to behave well. Staff show considerable insight and understanding when young people are struggling with their behaviour and relationships. Although young people may sometimes be reluctant to take advice and guidance, they continue to experience patient and consistent care.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is competently and professionally managed. Young people are actively encouraged to share their views and feelings, which helps shapes how they are looked after and supported. The Registered Manager regularly audits and monitors all aspects of the home’s operation and uses this information to not only maintain existing standards but to develop and improve the service further. 3 of 9 One requirement has been made as a result of this inspection which relates to the use of temporary staff and the checks necessary to determine their suitability to work with young people. 4 of 9

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately-owned children's home for up to four young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/03/2014 Interim satisfactory progress 11/12/2013 Full good 26/02/2013 Interim good progress 11/10/2012 Full good

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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) ensure all persons who work at the home are fit to do so and that information is available in respect of each of the matters specified in schedule 2 of this regulation. This relates to the use of agency staff. (Regulation 26(1)(a) and (3)(d)) 31/10/2014 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Some young people are making exceptional progress with their education, behaviour, personal and social development. Overall, all young people are making progress in comparison to their previous circumstances. Young people are supported to improve their self-esteem, develop their skills and grow in confidence. They are provided with the space and time to reflect on their previous experiences and life events. This creates opportunities for young people to deal with and overcome any emotional difficulties and distress. Young people’s self-care and social presentation improves greatly because of the work undertaken by staff.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are generally healthy. They are encouraged to take regular exercise and eat healthily. Young people are encouraged to try different types of food and are discouraged from eating foods that do not benefit them nutritionally. Where young people have longstanding difficulties with food and diet, staff work in partnership with other professionals in devising plans that support opportunities for change. Young people’s emotional and psychological health needs are well met because they engaged with in-house therapeutic and external psychological services. This is very beneficial to young people as it helps build their emotional resilience.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are attending different educational settings appropriate to their needs and circumstances. Going to school and engaging with teachers is positively encouraged. Consequently, young people's attendance is very high and some are doing very well academically. Professionals are very positive about what is being achieved, ‘during my young person’s last review the school representative wished to compliment staff from the home for their excellent level of communication and support regarding the young person’s schooling.’ Also, ‘he has engaged fully in school whereas prior to this he had not been in full time education for a few years.’

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people benefit from appropriate contact with their family members and other important people in their lives. Individual contact arrangements are effectively facilitated by the home’s staff. This ensures that young people are supported to maintain positive relationships with significant people in their lives.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people experience a wide and varied range of activities. These include attending local clubs, going for walks, day trips to the seaside, cinema and swimming. Some young people have also enjoyed an overseas holiday this year expanding their experiences of being in a different country and culture. The home is good at helping young people make constructive use of their free time. Consequently, young people take on new activities individually and as a group to help maintain supportive friendships and relationships. 6 of 9

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people experience warm, respectful and trusting relationships within the home. Staff are committed to meeting the needs of young people and have a clear sense of how to support them in their day-to-day lives. The Registered Manager and staff team are resilient and this ensures that boundaries are consistently communicated even when young people display particularly challenging or risky behaviours. Young people receive feedback and guidance that is clearly based on very supportive and caring relationships. One young person stating, ‘it’s a good home, I want to stay as long as I can.’

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people benefit from a strong level of advocacy from the staff team. They are proactive in promoting contact with other services that benefits each young person’s health, welfare and potential progress. This includes child and adolescent mental health services, therapists and educational support staff.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people understand how to make a complaint but have not needed to use the more formal ways of doing this too often. They influence the running of the home by using less formal processes such as key worker sessions, house meetings and general day-to-day discussions with staff. Many of the home’s routines and arrangements are shaped around what young people request and say.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people are cared for in line with their care plans and staff work well together with other professionals to ensure the care provided is tailored to each individual. One professional stating, ‘communication both verbal and written has been excellent.’ Placement plans reflect current assessments of need; plans are reviewed to ensure that they are up-to-date. This includes consideration of a young person's culture, religion and identity. Staff have an excellent knowledge of young people’s needs and circumstances that translates into responsive high quality care.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people are provided with safe and comfortable accommodation, which is domestic in style and layout. The location of the property provides young people with a quiet location but with good access to local facilities and services. The accommodation is maintained to a good standard and has benefited from some new carpets and curtains being fitted. The house is kept clean and tidy. Young people are provided with individual bedrooms, which are suitably maintained and personalised to their own tastes. They also have access to a number of communal rooms, which gives them a choice in how they spend their recreational and leisure time.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people feel safe and comfortable in the home. Staff are trained in matters that relate to child protection and have a good understanding of safeguarding practices. Staff are aware of young people's vulnerabilities and risks; young people’s individual plans clearly identify potential and actual risks and outline the strategies to be used 7 of 9 to keep everyone safe.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Some young people have significant histories of being missing from care and some of this behaviour has continued since recently arriving at home. However, the incidents of leaving the home without permission or being missing from care are currently reducing. Staff are using their developing relationships with young people to influence safer behaviour as well as maintaining close supervision and keeping young people engaged. If young people do leave the home without permission, staff work in a coordinated way with other agencies to gain their safe return to the home.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff are trained in behaviour management, including the appropriate use of restraint. They use incentives and rewards to encourage positive behaviour, as a result most young people are learning to manage their behaviour effectively. Young people benefit from a staff team who provide clear and consistent boundaries even though some young people struggle to sustain necessary changes. Young people feel that team are fair and confirm that staff prefer to talk to them about their behaviour rather than use formal sanctions.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Overall, the Registered Manager has systems and processes in place to help determine the suitability of newly employed staff to work with young people. Staff recruited to permanent positions do not start work in the home until all necessary checks have been completed. These systems also include gaining key vetting information from employment agencies when temporary staff are used. However, agency staff profiles do not fully reflect necessary information in relation to work histories or subsequent gaps in employment. Important information is available about criminal record checks and work references but there is a slight increase in risks to young people when the suitability of agency staff is being determined.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Positive steps are taken to ensure young people’s home environment is safe. For instance, frequent health and safety checks are completed; fire equipment is serviced and checked regularly and any hazards are reported quickly so they can be fixed. The home also carries out a range of environmental and activity-based assessments to help manage and reduce any risks to staff and young people that have been identified.

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Leadership and management outstanding

Young people live in a home that is highly effective and efficiently managed. The Registered Manager is very experienced, skilled and qualified, and is currently undertaking further professional qualifications in therapeutic approaches to childcare. The home meets the aims and objectives of the Statement of Purpose, young people and professionals are extremely positive about what the service has achieved. The manager can readily demonstrate the positive impact the team are having on improving outcomes for young people. 8 of 9 There are sufficient numbers of staff on duty at all times to care for young people. Some changes within the team have occurred but the team work hard to minimise the impact of these circumstances on young people. The use of temporary staff is kept to a minimum. Staff are suitably qualified with newer members of the team working towards an appropriate qualification or completing the organisation's

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Leadership and management outstanding

The team communicate well with each other to ensure everyone is kept up-to-date with new and changing information about young people’s needs and circumstances. This is done in a variety of ways, which are very effective in practice such as well- structured daily handovers through to more formal meetings between the team and other professionals. Staff talk positively about the support they receive from the Registered Manager and each other. Supervision and appraisal meetings are carried out regularly, which enables staff to reflect on their daily practice and relationships with young people. Staff access a wide range of training and development opportunities that enhances their individual skills and knowledge. They also have access to suitably qualified therapists who help shape their practice and approaches towards each young person.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The Registered Manager and provider organisation have an excellent understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. The manager carries out regular checks on key areas of the home’s operation to ensure young people’s needs are being met. In addition, information is received in monthly monitoring reports that are also produced following a visit from an independent person. Young people are regularly canvased for their views about the home and their experiences of being in care. This feedback along with other information is used to develop and shape services for current and future young people.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The manager makes appropriate notifications to the relevant bodies as required ensuring important information is shared with the right professionals about young people’s welfare and safety. One requirement made at the last inspection has been addressed through improving the décor and furnishings of the home. 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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