Children's Home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Unique reference number SC020545 Inspector Jo Stephenson Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Castle Homes Care Limited Registered person address Castle Homes Care Ltd, The Manor House High Street, Rothwell KETTERING Northamptonshire NN14 6BQ Responsible individual Shelley Frances Whiting Registered manager Deborah Jane Bassett Date of last inspection 28/02/2014 2 of 10 Inspection date 03/10/2014

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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 good Keeping children and young people safe good Leadership and management outstanding

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Overall effectiveness

Young people make positive and sustainable progress in the home. Staff provide personalised and well planned care for young people that reflects their care and welfare needs. Internal plans in place to support young people replicate the aims of the statutory plans produced by the placing authorities. This means that young people benefit from an integrated approach to meeting their needs. As a result, positive outcomes for young people are continually promoted.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff effectively consult with young people on all aspects of their care and the development of the home. Young people’s views and opinions are incorporated into internal care plans and risk assessments. As a result, young people say they feel involved in decisions about their care and are able to celebrate the progress they make.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people say they have good relationships with staff and that these relationships make them feel safe and secure. One young person said, ‘I know that all the staff care about me and want to look after me.’ Staff demonstrate an excellent knowledge and understanding of the factors that potentially impact on young people’s safety. Personalised risk assessments provide young people with the support they need to reflect on their behaviours. This means that young people develop strategies to manage their frustrations. This further promotes their safety 3 of 10 and well-being.

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Overall effectiveness

The Registered Manager leads a motivated and skilled staff team. Staff receive effective and frequent supervision that appraises their personal performance and the influence of this on positive outcomes for young people. The quality of care provided by the service is regularly monitored and evaluated. This ensures that the Registered Manager is fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Robust action plans are utilised to action and address any identified shortfalls. As a result, young people thrive in an environment that continually evolves to meet their needs. 4 of 10

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Information about this children’s home

This children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned and the organisation operates other children’s homes in the area.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2014 Interim satisfactory progress 17/10/2013 Full good 08/02/2013 Interim good progress 26/09/2012 Full outstanding 5 of 10

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people make good progress in the home because they receive support and personalised care to meet their needs. One-to-one sessions are tailored around the behaviours young people present, their individual risks and their relationships with others. This means that young people are encouraged to be responsible for their own progress. For example, young people are supported to reflect on their behaviours and consider how these influence their development. As a result, young people are able to understand the effect their behaviours, positive and negative, have on their emotional well-being. This enables young people to grow in confidence and self-esteem. One young person said, ‘I can deal with things better and that makes me happy.’

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Education in central to daily routines in the home. Young people make progress in education taking account of their starting point. They are able to attend the organisation’s own school, when appropriate.: Attendance in school is high because the staff help young people to understand the positive impact education has on their development. One young person said, ‘I don’t like my school and want to go to a different one, but I still go for now because I know it’s important.’

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people enjoy good health and benefit from easy access to all primary health care services. Young people participate in sessions to discuss their health needs and the factors that may have a negative impact on their development. These sessions afford young people the opportunity to understand the links between their emotional health and their behaviours. As a result, young people understand the importance of maintaining a healthy life-style. This promotes the well-being and welfare of young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Contact between young people and their families is encouraged and supported. Young people benefit from having comprehensive contact plans in place. These provide young people with the practical and emotional support they require. As a result, young people are able to sustain and further develop appropriate relationships with others. One young person said, ‘I like being able to see my family. I live far away from them but still feel close to them.’ This means that young people are not isolated from their families.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people’s views influence the day-to-day routines in the home and they are able to take responsibility for planning their own activities. Young people are encouraged to take part in community events and access community resources. One young person said, ‘I’m in the cadets and get to do lots of good things.’ This means that young people develop attachments within the local community and are able to expand their social interaction skills. This further promotes their sense of inclusion and self-esteem. 6 of 10 Young people are supported to learn the practical and emotional skills necessary for a successful transition to adulthood. One young person said, ‘I like cooking meals for myself and for the staff, I’m a really good cook now.’ Young people are fully involved in decisions regarding their future accommodation and work in partnership with staff to realise their wishes. As a result, young people are able to prepare for adulthood

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Outcomes for children and young people good

over a realistic time-scale and this supports their development and well-being.

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Quality of care good

Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff and each other. Staff continually praise young people for their achievements. This builds a culture of respect and trust. As a result, young people develop suitable attachments and take responsibility for their actions and behaviours. One young person said, ‘I get on with the staff, I know they want the best for me.’

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Quality of care good

Staff work with young people to devise personalised support plans. These take account of young people’s risk taking behaviours, support needs, educational abilities and health needs. Young people participate in regular one-to-one sessions with staff. These sessions encourage young people to recognise the progress they have made and reflect on areas where they require additional support. One young person said, ‘When things go wrong the staff talk to me about how I can deal with things better.’ Subsequently, young people develop strategies to manager their own behaviour and this promotes their well-being and self-esteem.

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Quality of care good

Staff effectively consult with young people regarding their care plans and risk assessments. The plans are regularly reviewed to monitor young people’s progress. The views and opinions of young people are incorporated into these reviews. This means that young people’s feelings and thoughts are integral to the care planning process.

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Quality of care good

Young people understand how to make a complaint. One young person said, ‘I don’t have anything to complain about but I know what to do if I did.’ Young people are confident that any concerns they raise will be taken seriously and addressed. Staff ensure that all complaints are recorded in detail and young people receive both written and verbal feedback. The welfare and safety of young people is promoted because the complaints procedure is robust and transparent.

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Quality of care good

Staff celebrate and encourage young people’s educational achievements. When young people face barriers to education, staff work with allocated teaching staff to identify strategies to address these barriers. For some young people, formal education is challenging and provokes feeling of anxiety. In these situations, staff support young people in school and continually review the suitability of timetables and lesson plans. As a result, young people continue to attend their education placement and make progress in this area, taking account of their starting point. 7 of 10 Young people enjoy good health and are encouraged to maintain a healthy life-style. Staff use one-to-one sessions with young people to discuss their physical and emotional health needs. Furthermore, when appropriate, staff work with specialist mental health services. This ensures that young people are able to access the additional support they may require. This means that young people experience a

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Quality of care good

comprehensive and integrated approach to addressing all their health needs.

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Quality of care good

Staff constantly encourage young people to participate in a varied range of leisure and social activities. Young people have personal activity plans in place that reflect their hobbies and interests. Staff motivate young people to take part in new activities to widen their social circles and improve their social interaction skills. One young person said, ‘I do loads of activities and things that I really like and they keep me busy.’ As a result, young people experience improved self-confidence and learn new skills. This further promotes their well-being and development.

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Quality of care good

The home is well maintained and decorated. Young people say they are fully involved in decisions regarding the decoration of the home. Young people personalise their own bedrooms and say this is something they enjoy doing. As a result, young people have a sense of pride in the home and live in a welcoming and comfortable environment.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people are safe in the home and say they feel safe. Staff receive regular and effective training in safeguarding. They demonstrate a sound knowledge and understanding of the issues that impact on young people’s safety. Staff practice is supported by robust safeguarding policies and procedures. These are regularly reviewed and detail clear reporting procedures for staff to adhere to. This means that any allegations or suspicions of harm are effectively recorded, managed and referred to all necessary agencies. This promotes the safety of young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people do not currently identify bullying as an issue in the home. Young people say that when bullying has occurred in the home in the past, staff have addressed these issues. For example, staff undertake anti-bullying workshop sessions with young people to help them to understand the detrimental impact bullying has on others. Staff remain alert to the signs of bullying or intimidation. As a result, should this behaviour occur, staff have the skills needed to address this behaviour and effectively support victims and perpetrators of bullying. This further promotes young people’s safety.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff receive regular training in physical restraint and de-escalation techniques. This measure of control is only ever used as a last resort to ensure young people’s safety. When restraint is used, staff ensue that records are completed in detail and include the comments of young people. Furthermore, staff complete ‘debrief’ sessions following these events to identify alternative strategies to support the young people 8 of 10 to manage their own behaviour. This means that young people are able to reflect on their behaviour and the impact restraint has on them. Young people benefit from tailored behaviour plans that recognise their vulnerabilities and antecedents to their challenging behaviours. This ensue that young people’s welfare and safety is continually promoted.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people rarely go missing from the home. Nevertheless, staff ensure that all young people have personalised missing from home risk assessments in place. Staff work in partnership with local police and other agencies to identify young people’s specific vulnerabilities and risks. As a result, young people benefit from a bespoke and comprehensive approach to maintaining and promoting their safety should they be missing from the home.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The Registered Manager ensures that appropriate recruitment procedures are followed. Staff files are maintained to an exceptionally high standard. Files include all necessary information and documentation to assess the suitability of staff employed in the home. This means that young people work with suitably vetted staff.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff complete regular fire safety and health and safety checks. As a result, potential hazards that impact on the safety of young people are appropriately managed. In addition, young people participate in fire drills and practice evacuation and this further promotes their safety.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The home has a permanent manager in post who is registered with Ofsted. The Registered Manager has been responsible for the home for over seven years and holds suitable qualifications for this position. All complaints raised since the last inspection have been appropriately investigated and resolved within acceptable time- scales. This means that young people and others are confident in raising any concerns they may have. As a result, young people’s welfare and well-being is promoted.

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Leadership and management outstanding

Young people and placing authorities are clear about the support the home provides, and the home meets the aims and objectives detailed in the Statement of Purpose. Placing authorities positively confirm the good progress young people make in the home. The Registered Manager ensure that regular feedback is sought from placing authorities and young people’s families regarding the quality of care provided by the home. This feedback is incorporated into development plans for this home. This means that the Registered Manager continually reviews the service to ensure that it continues to meet young people’s needs.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The Registered Manager has forged positive relationships with external agencies and other professionals and this is a significant strength of the service. Staff produce detailed progress reports prior to statutory reviews and external agencies say that 9 of 10 communication with the home is factual and informative. Young people are encouraged to attend their review meetings and voice their opinions on the home and the care they receive. As a result, young people say they feel involved in decisions about their placement and their future.

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Leadership and management outstanding

Staff have an extensive range of skills and are proficient at identifying young people's care and welfare needs. They receive regular and effective supervision that complements their role and considers their personal development. The Registered Manager ensures that staff performance is continually monitored and appraised. This means that young people work with staff who are competent in their role and whose practice is scrutinised. As a result, young people are supported by competent staff who are accountable for their actions. Furthermore, the Registered Manager ensures staff complete all mandatory training, and that this training is regularly refreshed. This means that staff have the essential skills and knowledge they need to identify and meet young people’s needs.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The Registered Manager ensures that the home is well resourced and structured to endorse stability and consistently for young people. This means that young people thrive in a home where boundaries and expectations are clear and staff practice is reflective. Robust and effective systems are in place to monitor the quality of care and outcomes for young people. Monitoring systems identify patterns and trends and this information is used to ensure the service continually evolves to reflect young people’s individual needs. As a result, the Registered Manager recognises the strengths and weaknesses of the service and takes effective action to address any identified shortfalls. Subsequently, the home can demonstrate the capacity to continually improve and this ensures positive outcomes for young 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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