Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Herefordshire

Unique reference number SC402406 Inspector Suzanne Young Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Priory Education Services Ltd Registered person address 5th Floor 80 Hammersmith Road London W14 8UD Responsible individual Helen Sharpe Registered manager Margaret Jameson Date of last inspection 27/03/2014 2 of 10 Inspection date 01/10/2014

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Previous inspection satisfactory progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness adequate

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

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Overall effectiveness

The home was last inspected in March 2014. The judgement at that time was good progress. The home has appropriately addressed the one recommendation that was made at the previous inspection. There are now sufficient staff to ensure the smooth running of the home and to meet the needs of young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Overall the home provides an adequate level of care for young people. This has been a difficult period for the young people living in the home and their experiences have not been altogether positive. Placing social workers feel that the home has offered some stability to young people with very complex behaviours. The manager has worked closely over the last few months with other agencies, including safeguarding teams and the police, to prevent young people from going missing and engaging in risk taking behaviours. Staff have also actively supported young people away from the home and on home contact to try to minimise this behaviour. Despite the manager and staff’s best attempts, however, young people have continued with risk taking behaviours which places them at significant risk of harm while they are missing.

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Overall effectiveness

Some young people make good progress as a result of being at the home. Young people who previously have not attended education are now attending regularly and enjoy school. But this is not the case for all young people in the home. Young people 3 of 10 are in good general health and are engaging in independence work with staff to prepare for independent living. Staff endeavour to build strong relationships with young people. Young people in particular engage well with the manager of the home. 4 of 10

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Information about this children’s home

The home accommodates up to three young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is run by a private company.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/03/2014 Interim satisfactory progress 28/11/2013 Full good 27/03/2013 Interim good progress 09/10/2012 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

17A (2001) ensure a measure of restraint is only used on a child accommodated in the home for the purpose of preventing injury to any person or preventing serious damage to property (Regulation17A1) 07/11/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline in a children's home a written record is made in a volume kept for the purpose specifying all matters in regulation (Regulation 17B(3)) 07/11/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that if any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in schedule 5 takes place, the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 07/11/2014 5 of 10 2 of the table. (Regulation 30(1)) 6 of 10

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people are generally having their needs met and are achieving some progress with regard to their health and education. But their outcomes and experiences since the last inspection have not been wholly positive.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people have developed strong relationships with the manager and some members of staff. As a result they are beginning to develop in confidence and self- esteem. Young people are supported through regular key worker sessions to gain knowledge and understanding of their identity.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Some young people have made good progress in their educational achievements because they are attending school regularly and gaining positive rewards. This is not a consistent picture as other young people have been living in the home without engaging in any form of education or work for a number of weeks.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people are in good general health. They are supported to keep themselves healthy but they are not yet taking responsibility for their own health. Young people are engaging in self harming behaviours. They are not all attending routine health appointments or engaging in specialised therapeutic appointments to minimise risk taking behaviours.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people are supported in developing the skills they need in their day to day living. Those young people over 16 are helped and encouraged to complete formal independence skills work, such as shopping, cooking and budgeting for themselves.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people are able to have their views heard and are able to contribute to the running of their home. They attend house meetings and talk with staff on an individual basis to arrange activities and plan meals. Young people personalise their bedrooms and communal areas by having photographs displayed around the home.

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Quality of care good

Good quality of care is given to young people to meet their individual needs. The manager and staff are responsive to the difficulties in relationships between young people. They ensure young people feel safe and comfortable within the home by delivering individual care to each young person. Staff maintain clear boundaries and ensure young people are able to pursue separate activities both inside and outside of the home.

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Quality of care good

Placing social workers are positive about the care provided in the home to young 7 of 10 people. One stated, ‘This is the first residential home where staff are saying they can manage her.’ Another commented, ‘This is the only place able to offer her some stability.’

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Quality of care good

Young people are aware of how to complain if they are unhappy about any aspect of their care. No complaints have been made since the last inspection.

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Quality of care good

Staff actively promote the health and education of young people. Staff encourage young people to attend health appointments and work alongside the company’s in- house therapy team who visit the home regularly. Where young people attend the company’s residential school staff accompany and support them in school to promote their attendance. As a result, some young people who have had little education prior to arriving at the home now attend regularly and enjoy school. Staff encourage young people to develop interests and activities outside of the home and young people are taking part in sporting activities in the community.

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Quality of care good

Staff also actively support young people when they are away from the home during home contact to ensure positive links with parents and families are maintained. This helps them to make progress in developing a positive self view.

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Quality of care good

Young people’s diverse needs are identified within care planning. There are clear individualised behaviour strategies which are regularly reviewed to promote positive behaviour. Individual placement plans are tailored to meet the specific needs of each young person. These are of a good quality and clearly identify objectives and risk. Young people are encouraged to become involved in their care by reading and signing their placement plans and other documents pertaining to them. Young people’s views and feelings are also regularly sought through monthly surveys and one to one sessions with staff.

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Quality of care good

The home is warm, comfortable and well maintained. The décor and furnishings are of a good standard. All young people have their own en-suite bedrooms which they can personalise to their own tastes. The home has an annexe separate from the main house which includes a staff office/bedroom and en-suite bedroom for young people who are nearing independence.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Staff work hard to ensure young people are safe in the home. There have been several episodes of young people going missing and placing themselves at significant risk of harm. These risky behaviours include drinking alcohol and putting themselves at risk from child sexual exploitation. The home’s manager and staff work closely with police, placing authorities and safeguarding teams to try to minimise these risks. As a result, episodes of young people going missing have gradually reduced over the last 3 months. 8 of 10 Staff are aware of the procedures when young people go missing and receive safeguarding training. This ensures they are aware of the action to take should they have any concerns about a young person's safety or well-being.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

There has been an increase in the use of physical restraint in the last twelve months. Behaviour guidance plans and risk assessments identify risks to young people and young people’s individual risk management guidance allow staff to use restraint techniques to prevent young people from running away and putting themselves at risk. There has been one occasion where staff have restrained a young person to prevent them from running away from the home. This is not permissible practice under the regulations. The recording of restraints and sanctions imposed on young people is not always been adequately completed. There are examples when names have been inaccurate or missing and on one occasion the duration of a restraint has not been recorded.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Impact risk assessments are conducted prior to young people arriving in the home and the views of young people and placing authorities are sought. Where there have been concerns expressed from placing social workers, agreed strategies have been adopted to ensure the safety of all young people living in the home.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

The home is physically safe and secure. Visitors to the home are appropriately checked and staff recruitment is conducted centrally. Fire equipment checks are completed appropriately. Young people regularly participate in fire drills to ensure they can evacuate the home in an emergency.

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Leadership and management good

The home is well managed by a very experienced and qualified manager who has been in post since March 2012. The home’s monitoring and quality assurance processes are thorough. They inform staff practice and drive improvement. The manager monitors the activities of the home and reviews the home’s development plan home on a monthly basis. This includes gaining the views and experiences from young people to allow them to shape the development of the home. As a result, the manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weakness of the home.

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Leadership and management good

The manager notifies relevant bodies as required to ensure that important information is shared with professionals about young people’s welfare and safety. There are three occasions, however, when young people were taken to hospital and Ofsted were not notified. This omission has not impacted negatively on young people.

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Leadership and management good

The home has a Statement of Purpose and young people’s welcome booklet which is specific to the home. Young people are in the process of developing a welcome guide written from a young person’s perspective. This ensures placing social workers 9 of 10 parents and young people are fully aware of the activities and running of the home.

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Leadership and management good

The recommendation from the last inspection has been met. Although the home currently has three vacancies the manager is in the process of recruiting new staff. There are now sufficient staff to ensure the smooth running of the home and meet the needs of young people. Staff are positive about the support and supervision they receive from the manager and team leaders. Staff are suitably qualified, working towards an appropriate qualification or completing the organisation's induction programme. There is a comprehensive range of training available for staff. Regular team meetings also include practice development. The manager discusses the national minimum standards and changes to regulation with staff during team meetings. This ensures staff are up to date with legislative developments and able to meet the needs of young people in the home.

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Leadership and management good

The manager has developed good relationships with other agencies. Placing social workers are complimentary about the way the manager and staff work with them to ensure good quality of care is provided to the young people in the home. One placing social worker stated, ‘I have weekly phone calls and emails from the home. I have consistent contact from staff.’ Another commented, ‘Staff keep me informed regularly with daily correspondence.’ Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management good

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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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