Children's Home run by Green View Young People Limited in Barnsley

Unique reference number SC386057 Inspector Parveen Hussain Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered manager Neil Davison Date of last inspection 24/09/2014 2 of 11 Inspection date 12/11/2014

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Previous inspection inadequate Enforcement action since last inspection There has been non enforcement action since the last inspection.

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Overall effectiveness adequate

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

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Overall effectiveness

At the last full inspection the home was judged inadequate overall. Since then the Registered Manager has ensured six out of eight requirements have been fully addressed. He has taken steps to address the other two but has not fully complied with them yet. These relate to reviewing the safeguarding policies and improving the quarterly monitoring reports.

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Overall effectiveness

At this inspection two further breaches of regulations were identified in relation to recruitment and care records. These have not significantly impacted on the safety and welfare of young people. Two recommendations are also made with regard to the effectiveness of pathway planning and health promotion. Overall the manager has ensured suitable progress for the home to now be judged adequate.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people enjoy living here and report they feel safe. They benefit from close relationships with staff that are welcoming of family and friends at the home. Young people state they are able to have family and friends stay. In addition these key people are included in holidays, day trips and activities. This level of interaction promotes positive relationships and helps young people build on their identity.

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Overall effectiveness

The quality of care to young people is adequate. Staff make efforts to personalise 3 of 11 and tailor this to meet individual needs but this is not always sufficient. Further efforts to motivate young people into taking responsibility for their health and wellbeing are limited.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are engaged in education and care practices promote improved outcomes in this area. Good relationships with staff are reflected in the minimal use of sanctions and physical interventions. Staff recognise the trigger points for young people and effectively utilise their skills in de-escalating difficult situations. One-to- one sessions take place to address areas that need further discussion. Young people benefit from the varied age range of staff and can identify staff to discuss their individual difficulties with. 4 of 11

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children's home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children and young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/09/2014 Full inadequate 24/03/2014 Interim good progress 04/12/2013 Full good 23/01/2013 Interim good progress

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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) prepare and implement a written policy which is intended to safeguard children accommodated at the children's home from abuse or neglect (Regulation 16 1 (a)). 30/01/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure full and satisfactory information is available in relation to any person employed to work at the children's home as detailed in Schedule 2 (Regulation 26 (3) (d)). 30/01/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) maintain up to date records in respect of each child accommodated at the home (Regulation 28 (1) (b)) 30/01/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the system referred to in paragraph (1) shall provide for consultation with children 30/01/2015 5 of 11 accommodated in the home, their parents and placing authorities (Regulation 34 (3))

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 ensure children's health is promoted in accordance with their placement plan (NMS 6.5)  ensure the home contributes to the development of each child's care plan including the pathway plan for eligible care leavers and works collaboratively with the young person's social worker or personal advisor in implementing this plan. (NMS 12.2) 6 of 11

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Outcomes for young people have improved from the last inspection and are now adequate. Young people have access to a range of services including those that cater specifically to reduce substance misuse and promote mental health. However, young people continue to misuse substances despite the best efforts of staff and other agencies. This is said by one young person’s parent to be affecting the potential for rehabilitation home.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people make progress in some areas of their education but are not attending some lessons. Staff have made additional efforts to liaise with the education providers to identify ways of promoting attendance and progress. One young person identified how the plan was for staff to support him on a weekly basis in an attempt to make progress in the weaker subjects. This additional input is hoped to increase the young person’s confidence and potential to successfully complete the course.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people receive education that is suited to their personal situation. For some this means they do not attend mainstream establishments and therefore are educated on site. The benefits are that young people’s education is personalised and is delivered on a one-to-one basis. This ensures that education for young people who experience difficulties with large classroom sizes and struggle in their interactions with others are not compromised. One parent, very happy with the education plan commented, ‘It is just what he needs to make progress.’

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people benefit from regular contact with family and friends. Some young people feel empowered to start rebuilding relationships with family members whilst others enjoy increasing amounts of contact. Young people feel supported in making difficult decisions that may result in a termination of contact to ensure their welfare is safeguarded. Involving young people in such decisions helps them to take back some control of their life and take age appropriate responsibility for decisions that affect them both in the short and longer term.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people enjoy close relationships with staff and benefit significantly from the stability and security provided by living at the home. They engage in one-to-one sessions where staff and young people address areas of tension. This promotes emotional stability and ensures young people are able to develop and maintain attachments. These positive relationships help increase young people’s confidence and result in improved emotional resilience. Young people acquire self-care skills that promote their independence and increase their confidence in preparation for the transition to adult life. Young people are more confident in their ability to cook meals and participate in the running of the home. This is promoted through their involvement with food shopping and their understanding of food and hygiene. 7 of 11

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Quality of care adequate

Some young people are not clear of the longer term plan and the timescales involved with their placement. The manager and staff are making efforts to ensure pathway plans are in place to strengthen young people’s understanding of their future plans. Plans and records specific to the health and welfare needs of young people require updating. They do not accurately reflect the needs of young people or the advice of professionals. An example of this is where a recent plan suggests a young person with additional health needs should be provided with a wholesome balanced diet. This contradicts the advice of the health professional that identified the need for a high calorie diet. This confusion may lead to the young person’s health being compromised despite the best efforts of staff.

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Quality of care adequate

Staff have improved regarding following the advice of health professionals to proactively monitor a young person’s calorie intake using a mobile application. However, where the calorie intake has been lower than the recommended amount, staff have been limited in utilising creative methods to address this. They have not adopted incentives or targets to motivate the young person to improve his wellbeing. As a result there has been no significant weight gain or benefit to the young person. Staff have increased communication with the social worker and provide her with a daily chronology of his food intake. This enables her to be better informed and opens the pathway to better communication between the two.

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Quality of care adequate

Staff are consistent in their approach to managing difficult behaviours and rarely need to use physical intervention or sanctions. The positive relationships between staff and young people are based on trust and respect. This helps young people recognise how their behaviours can be inappropriate. Good behaviours are not always rewarded and therefore staff can miss opportunities to further promote positive behaviours.

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Quality of care adequate

Staff know young people living at the home well and recognise the triggers that can lead to negative behaviours. They have implemented measures to reduce the impact of this on young people’s learning. An example of this is where they have changed the times for telephone contact to take place after daily education. This helps minimise the impact of any potential upset from contact on the ability to learn and leads to better quality of education provision.

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Quality of care adequate

Staff ensure young people are afforded opportunities to grow up in a safe, warm environment. They listen to the views of young people and make efforts to assist them with whatever difficulties they may be facing. The manager and staff are significantly skilled at welcoming young people’s family and friends into the home. They facilitate sleep overs for friends and family and encourage joint outings on activities and days out. This contributes to young people’s ability to sustain relationships with the key people in their life. Young people feel their backgrounds 8 of 11 and diverse needs are respected and this promotes relationships with staff.

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Quality of care adequate

Young people report staff actively explore their views and consider ways of making improvements in their lives. Staff want young people to achieve their potential in education, be healthy, safe and succeed in life. They work collaboratively with other agencies and professionals to benefit young people’s learning and development. As a result, young people are engaging and making progress in education in comparison to their starting points when they first came to live at the home.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Young people confidently state they feel safe. Safeguarding arrangements have improved since the last inspection with regards taking action to keep young people safe from their risky behaviour. The Registered Manager is committed to the safety and welfare of young people and has made efforts to rectify deficits. He has started a review of the safeguarding policies to improve practice further but has not yet finished this piece of work. The staff team are appropriately trained in safeguarding and receive regular refresher trainer.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Recruitment checks for the vast majority of staff are robust but on one occasion a last employer reference was not obtained as is required. All other checks are in place which minimises the potential for any impact of this shortfall.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

The manager and staff have not fully recognised the level of substance misuse young people engage in. One young person very recently disclosed using cannabis on a daily basis and staff were not previously aware of the extent of this risk taking behaviour. Therefore, actions to address this substance misuse and the impact upon the young person’s mental health have not progressed very far. As a result, the young person’s safety, health and wellbeing are potentially being compromised.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

In response the manager is now pursuing substance misuse as an area for further training for the staff team and has facilitated a training session for all staff. This will promote their development and increase their knowledge of the signs and symptoms of substance misuse. With young people’s needs being central to the care provided, the new learning will contribute to staff’s ability to keep them safe.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

There are no incidents of bullying. Staff encourage respect, tolerance and adherence to boundaries. Residents and staff enjoy warm relationships and interact well. Young people feel protected from abuse and harm. There have been no episodes of young people being missing from the home. Staff take considerable steps to stay in touch with young people when they are away from the home until they return home safely. The staff make taxi arrangements through a trusted registered company and, where possible, collect young people to further promote their safety. This sense that staff care about their welfare contributes to the overall health and wellbeing of young people. 9 of 11 Young people do not have any complaints about their care. They feel confident that they are able to address these should any arise in the future. The manager is making arrangements for a grumble box to be used to further support this. Staff and young

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

people view this positively and will benefit from the opportunity to remain anonymous should they wish to do so.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Staff members are consistent when addressing challenging and negative behaviours. They are skilled at using their positive relationships with young people to de-escalate and manage poor behaviours. This allows young people the time required to reflect and apologise. Despite the team being trained in physical intervention strategies, these are rarely required. This ethos continues to promote positive relationships within the home and prepares young people for positive adult life.

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Leadership and management adequate

The home benefits from an appropriately qualified and expereinced Registered Manager who has been in post for six years.

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Leadership and management adequate

The last inspection highlighted several areas that required improvement. Four of these related to the Statement of Purpose and monitoring of the home by an independent visitor.

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Leadership and management adequate

The manager has made efforts to ensure that external scrutiny of the home has improved. He has recruited a new independent visitor and has responded to the actions raised by the visitor’s first monthly monitoring visit. This helps to ensure young people receive suitable standards of care.

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Leadership and management adequate

The Statement of Purpose has been revised making it more clear to stakeholders what the home’s approach to behaviour management and the referral procedures are.

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Leadership and management adequate

The Registered Manager has satisfactory insight into the strengths of the home. This is undoubtedly linked to the strong relationships with young people, their family and friends. New staff are supported to complete their probation period and benefit from fortnightly supervision. In addition, they are registered to commence the level 3 Diploma whilst others are appropriately qualified. The manager aims to address the gender imbalance during the recruitment process with a view to employing some male staff. This will support the manager to provide the residents with positive male role models.

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Leadership and management adequate

The home is adequately staffed. The staff team are motivated and committed to meeting the challenging needs of the young people in placement. The physical environment both inside and out is maintained to a good standard. This allows young people to utilise the space well when they have friends and family visiting. 10 of 11 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management adequate

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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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