Children's Home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Cheshire East

Unique reference number SC060590 Inspector Denise Jolly Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

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 Amanda Jane Porter Date of last inspection 08/01/2014 2 of 12 Inspection date 13/11/2014

p.1

Previous inspection good progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

p.2

Overall effectiveness good

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

p.2

Overall effectiveness

The children's home is making an clear difference to young people's lives. The commitment and quality of care provided by staff enables young people to make and sustain exceptionally good progress. Social workers and other professionals involved with the home, say staff promote positive outcomes for young people and are skilful in supporting them through difficult periods. Experienced and qualified staff offer structure and support, that values and celebrates their individual qualities and experiences. Children say, ‘I like this home.’ They say, ‘This home is really good.’

p.2

Overall effectiveness

Staff listen and respond well, as young people contribute their views and ideas about the quality of care in the home. Detailed care plans illustrate that young people are fully involved in decisions about their lives and plans for their futures. Staff encourage cooperation in daily living and foster relationships based on acceptance of individual personalities.

p.2

Overall effectiveness

Young people say they enjoy living at the home, and demonstrate improved outcomes in stability of placement, emotional resilience, family relationships and contact. Additionally, staff help them to reduce risk taking behaviour. Most young people increase their engagement with education, and all benefit from resourceful plans that maximise their attendance at and commitment to school and learning. 3 of 12 Young people say they feel safe in the home. Staff knowledge of how to safeguard children, and excellent care practice ensure they promote the welfare and safety of young people at all times. Young people enjoy positive and trusting relationships with staff. This means they feel confident in the support available to them, and respond well to praise and encouragement given for their achievements.

p.2

Overall effectiveness

The qualified and experienced Registered Manager inspires staff to provide a high standard of care for young people. Managers have a thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home because of effective monitoring, including reports from visitors on behalf of the provider. Shortfalls identified in the inspection relate to lack of progress in a minority of children’s educational plans, and minor omissions or inconsistencies in some records. Shortfalls do not impact on the welfare and safety of young people. Managers are keen to address shortfalls and immediately began to address education plans to enable all children to reach their full potential. 4 of 12

p.3

Information about this children’s home

The home, run by a private company, is registered to accommodate three young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties. It is also registered as a school and provides education on the premises.

p.4

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/01/2014 Interim good progress 03/07/2013 Full good 08/01/2013 Interim good progress 20/09/2012 Full good

p.4

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.

p.4

Reg. Requirement Due date

5 (2001) ensure the registered person shall keep under review and, where appropriate, revise the statement of purpose to ensure the arrangements for the promotion of children's education are clear (Regulation 5 (a)) 19/12/2014

p.4

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control or restraint, the record confirms that the authorised person has spoken to the child and staff using the measure about the use of the measure (Regulation 17B (3h)) 19/12/2014

p.4

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that children make use of educational facilities appropriate to their age, aptitude, needs, 19/12/2014 5 of 12 interests and potential, in particular that they can use the school facility in the home when they do not have an identified educational placement. (Regulation 18 (1)(a))

p.4

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

p.5

Recommendations

 ensure that the home is fully implementing the written education policy that promotes and values children's education, in particular, that temporary arrangements (NMS 8.5)  ensure that information about a child is recorded clearly, particularly that changes in legal status and children's health is recorded consistently in their records. (NMS 22.5) 6 of 12

p.5

Outcomes for children and young people good

All young people benefit from warm and nurturing care that is personalised to their individual needs. Young people talk to staff and other professionals about their past difficulties and experiences, and develop an understanding of their backgrounds. This helps them to make effective and sustained progress because they feel secure, and are better able to overcome difficulties to achieve positive change in their outlook and prospects. They benefit from increased stability in placement, and invest in life at the home. One young person said, ‘I like living here, the staff do not overreact when I get things wrong, they just help me to think about how to make a better choice next time.’ Another young person said, ‘The staff are kind, and this has helped me to settle. I really like the activities staff take me to.’

p.6

Outcomes for children and young people good

All young people improve in self-esteem and enjoy positive social relationships. They participate in cooperative living, and contribute to plans for their futures. They say staff help them to achieve their goals. One young person said, ‘Staff helped others to agree that staying here was a good thing for me.' Because young people feel listened to, they are more prepared to listen to the advice and guidance of staff, and this enables them to progress more quickly in their aspirations.

p.6

Outcomes for children and young people good

All children and young people participate in community-based activities that help them to express their individual interests and abilities. This includes music groups, where young people compose and perform in public venues thereby demonstrating their musical talents; dance classes that lead to children performing in shows; and competitive football, where children earn the respect and admiration of other players because of their individual skills and how they play as part of a team. All are proud of their achievements, and enjoy staff interest in their activities. They are able to promote their enjoyment and self-esteem. They make positive choices in the activities they pursue, and this helps them to stay safe and happy.

p.6

Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people understand the importance of healthy lifestyles. They enjoy a range of leisure activities that improve their physical and emotional wellbeing, such as running or volunteering in a charity shop. They have prompt access to professional consultation and guidance on a range of health and social issues, including safe relationships, managing their emotions, and anger management. Young people attend routine health appointments and, with staff encouragement, reduce their involvement in behaviour that damages their health, such as drug and alcohol misuse. When necessary, young people engage with specialised health professionals, such as qualified art therapists, to improve their ability to manage the impact of past trauma on their lives.

p.6

Outcomes for children and young people good

The majority of young people are making good progress with their education, according to their starting points. Some young people respond extremely well to staff 7 of 12 encouragement and expectation, and attend school regularly to prepare for examinations that measure their progress. Younger children say that they thoroughly enjoy going to school with their friends. A minority of children do not have arrangements that provide them with appropriate educational opportunities. They work on basic skills such as literacy and numeracy, and fully participate in a sport and educational visits programme that care staff oversee, but they do not have an appropriate school place. This limits opportunities for them to reach their full potential.

p.6

Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people continue safe and positive contact with a range of family members, when it is beneficial to do so. When appropriate, young people welcome their families into the home, and for others they go to interesting places to meet their families in fun and safe activities. This provides them with the support they need to experience successful and positive relationships with family members. This enables children and young people to maintain and enjoy important relationships in their lives.

p.7

Quality of care good

Children and young people thrive in an exceptionally warm and nurturing environment. Settled, qualified and experienced staff expertly support young people to improve. Staff get to know them very well, and are fully committed to enabling them to understand and overcome their difficulties, and achieve positive outcomes.

p.7

Quality of care good

Staff help young people contribute to their placement review meetings. By preparing them before meetings, key workers help them to interact with greater confidence with the adults who support them, such as independent care review professionals. A social worker commented that the home has helped young people to be happier because, ‘from the point of greeting the young person, they have focussed on them making progress.' Without exception, all professionals say that the manager and staff ‘go above and beyond’, in their efforts to support young people.

p.7

Quality of care good

Over time, young people gain insight and skills to enable them to manage relationships more effectively. Staff support young people to overcome difficulties they face at school or in the community. As a result, young people develop effective problem solving skills, and adopt safer patterns of behaviour, such as returning to the home on time. Staff identify the importance of consistent approaches to setting boundaries for children and young people, and prefer to manage difficulties within the home. This fosters a sense of stability and security in young people, who thrive in the positive and constructive relationships they experience.

p.7

Quality of care good

Children and young people contribute to the development of the home by sharing their views and ideas in regular house meetings and individual consultations. They have recently renamed the meetings to ‘youth zone’ to demonstrate their ownership of the decisions that they make. Two kittens are the most recent additions to the home, because everybody talked about and agreed that they could manage the 8 of 12 responsibilities of caring for pets. All in the home recently enjoyed a caravan holiday together, the highlights of which were swimming in an open-air pool and going crabbing. Staff and children planned the holiday together. Afterwards, one child said, ‘This is the best holiday I have ever been on.’

p.7

Quality of care good

Because they share meals together, there is always an opportunity for lively debate and humorous discussion. This enhances children’s perception about how ordinary, positive relationships are made and sustained, and provides them with the building blocks for successful social behaviour. The Registered Manager spends time with young people to ensure they communicate directly about matters of importance to them, such as family contact or safety concerns. Complaints are rare, because staff respond immediately to concerns and grumbles voiced by children.

p.8

Quality of care good

Staff plan young people's care very well. Staff use personal knowledge and consultation with young people and their significant others, to create an extremely detailed and comprehensive picture of individual needs and wishes. When young people suffer setbacks to their progress, for example, by returning to previous patterns of behaviour, staff immediately engage young people in thinking about the impact of their behaviour. They alert all professionals to any difficulties. Social workers and other professionals say that staff persist with young people through extremely challenging times, to ensure consistency of care. There are some minor shortfalls in records. The legal status of some young people is incorrectly recorded, and some health records are not consistently updated. However, this has not affected the welfare of young people, because staff know them and their needs very well.

p.8

Quality of care good

Young people have good access to community health services and attend appointments with a local doctor, dentist, and optician. Staff promote the mental health of children by making prompt and appropriate referrals to Child and Mental Health Services (CAMHS). They identify suitable alternative resources for children when waiting lists are too long, or if CAMHS assessment is that children are not eligible for their support. Some children have access to an independent play therapist, and others are awaiting the allocation of sessions to help them with their identified needs. Staff persist in seeking the best emotional support for children, and this helps them to manage their feelings arising from past trauma.

p.8

Quality of care good

Staff take an active interest in young people's learning. They support young people by transporting them to school if necessary, and work collaboratively with education staff to ensure young people have the opportunity to achieve their academic potential. A minority of children do not have an identified school place. They are not eligible to attend the on-site school, and have temporary arrangements in place while staff have made application to the local area education panel. These arrangements do not fully meet their identified educational needs, and this hinders the progress they are able to make in their academic development.

p.8

Quality of care good

When appropriate, staff help young people to learn the skills that are necessary for successful independent adult lives. They are careful in maintaining a balance 9 of 12 between the young person’s other activities, such as schoolwork and leisure interests, and the responsibilities of shopping, cooking and managing a budget. Young people say, ‘I really want to show them I can manage on my own, so I am working hard to show that I can make the right choices. I know my future looks better now than it did six months ago.’ They are motivated to do well, because it helps them to build a picture of a positive adult life.

p.8

Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Children and young people feel safe, and live in a safe environment where they are effectively protected from harm. Staff are alert to potential risks, and encourage young people to let them know if they have any worries or concerns. Young people demonstrate they are confident to talk to staff and visitors about situations that may cause them harm, particularly in regard to relationships and behaviour outside of the home. They trust staff to act promptly to help keep them safe. Staff use their excellent knowledge and understanding of how to protect young people from abuse, and foster good links with other child protection professionals.

p.9

Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Staff regularly review risk management plans that enable them to protect young people from harm. Young people provide guidance to staff as to how best to support them in crisis, and staff use this knowledge to help keep young people safe. When staff are concerned about young people's safety, they take decisive action to make sure young people are protected and receive the support they need, including increased supervision, or access to counsellors or advocates.

p.9

Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Staff use highly effective strategies to ensure children and young people do not go missing. As they settle into the home, they respond to the concern expressed by staff about such behaviour, and adopt some of the guidance they provide, such as avoiding inappropriate relationships. Staff recognise the emotional needs of young people, and promote regular and safe visits to important people in their lives. Through building open and honest relationships with families, staff offer support and guidance to help them to maintain important expectations and boundaries. This includes rescheduling contact when children are demonstrating an inability to manage their feelings.

p.9

Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Staff offer skilled and sensitive intervention and re-direction to young people whose behaviour challenges the safety or welfare of themselves or others. By ensuring they treat children fairly and with respect, they help them identify the best ways to take responsibility for their behaviour. Staff have a good understanding of the dynamics of relationships between young people, and offer sound advice and education about issues such as bullying or appropriate relationships. One social worker said, ‘The home has been absolutely amazing. They have managed to work with the young person, and have helped to reduce the risks of exploitation and substance misuse, so that they can think about a happier future.’ 10 of 12 Young people say that because staff are not judgemental, they feel they can approach them to ask for advice and support, and this helps them to improve their safety and wellbeing. This is evidenced by the sensitive manner in which staff listen

p.9

Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

to and respond to young people who disclose historic abuse. They sensitively support young people by informing relevant professionals about the disclosure, to ensure they get the support they need. Social workers praise staff for their proactive approach once young people have confided in them, to ensure prompt action is taken to protect their emotional wellbeing.

p.10

Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Staff present excellent role models in positive problem-solving techniques. They make good use of de-escalation approaches to deal with challenging behaviour constructively, and generally avoid the need for physical restraint. Children say that staff restrain them only when they are going to hurt themselves. They say, ’Staff are gentle, and never hurt me.’ The positive impact of staff’s ability to manage behaviour is evidenced by the remarkable reduction in incidents that children are involved in, once they have settled into the home. Staff engage young people in talking about their feelings and behaviour that led to a restraint, but the record of restraint does not always confirm this review has taken place. This causes delays when independent persons assess the appropriateness of the restraint, because some information is kept elsewhere. This omission has not affected the safety or welfare of children.

p.10

Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Leaders and managers maintain robust recruitment and selection procedures that help prevent unsuitable people from having access to young people. The team is very stable, and any new staff are carefully supported and inducted into their role, to ensure they acquire the skills necessary to safely care for young people.

p.10

Leadership and management good

The suitably qualified and experienced Registered Manager has been in post for just over three years. She brings a wealth of experience to the role and has a clear understanding of her responsibilities. The staff group is stable and experienced, providing young people with an exceptional quality of care and support. New staff quickly become familiar with the settled routines of the home, and add variety and enthusiasm to the skills of the team.

p.10

Leadership and management good

Children and young people live in a home that places their needs central to any service development and celebrates the progress they make. Enthusiastic and competent staff have consistently high aspirations for young people, enjoy their company, and are proud of how well young people are doing. The effectiveness of this approach is evident in the positive progress young people are making in many aspects of their lives. Professionals say they hold the service in high regard, because they can see the positive difference the home makes to the lives of children and young people. 11 of 12 Staff are very well supported by the Registered Manager and other senior staff within the home. They attend formal supervision that follows a set agenda, and is highly focused on the needs of the young people. Managers lead staff meetings, to best discern how to meet the needs of young people more effectively.

p.10

Leadership and management good

Managers maintain oversight of the quality of the home environment, and ensure repairs are carried out in good time. The home has had new windows and there is a programme of redecoration to the outside of the property. Young people say they like the way the house feels like a real home.

p.11

Leadership and management good

The home mostly meets the aims and objectives of the Statement of Purpose. Alternative arrangements for the education of a minority of children are not explained within the document, and this has created delays in accessing appropriate education in a timely manner. The Registered Manager, who has taken steps to promote permanent education plans for those who have not got identified school places, has addressed this. Managers increase staffing at specific times of need, such as when young people require additional support to enable an activity to take place, or to enable them to attend school or medical appointments. This improves opportunities for learning and development that underpins improved outcomes in the lives of young people.

p.11

Leadership and management good

Independent visitors scrutinise and report on all aspects of the home, including consultation with young people and their families, in order to improve further the conduct of the home. The manager welcomes the arrangements as a further tool to enable her to continue to provide an continually improving service to children and young people.

p.11

Leadership and management good

Paperwork captures the details of the lives of young people, charts their progress, and consistently reflects their individual aspirations and challenges. Regular review of all records in the home ensures that keyworkers generally provide staff with reliable and detailed information about the needs of young people. For example, risk assessments are reviewed at least monthly, and indicate improvements in each young person’s ability to stay safe. However, there are some minor errors in records. This prevents a complete record of young people’s time at the home, although it has not affected their welfare. Results clearly demonstrate the positive impact and value that living at the home has had on the lives of young people, who grow in confidence and maturity. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.11

Leadership and management good

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

p.12

Judgement Description

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

p.12

Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

p.12

Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

p.12

Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

p.12

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.

p.12

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.

p.12