Children's Home, Residential special school run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC401685 Inspector Jo Stephenson Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Residential special school (>295 days/year)

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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 Rachel Louise Bellworthy Date of last inspection 05/03/2014 2 of 10 Inspection date 07/01/2015

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Previous inspection good progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

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

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Overall effectiveness

Young people thrive in the home and make significant progress taking account of their starting point. Staff provide young people with well-planned, personalised and reflective care that meets their individual needs. Internal support plans and risk assessments are detailed and regularly reviewed. This ensures that the positive progress young people make is effectively recorded and monitored. As a result, young people consistently achieve positive outcomes.

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Overall effectiveness

Effective and meaningful consultation with young people is embedded in routines in the home. Staff work with young people to establish their preferred communication methods. They use a varied range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools to gain the views of young people concerning their care and the development of the home. This means that young people are fully involved in the care planning process in the home and this promotes their welfare and well-being.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people enjoy excellent relationships with staff. The atmosphere in the home is relaxed, warm and nurturing. This enhances young people’s feelings of safety and security and allows them to form suitable and sustainable relationships with others.

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Overall effectiveness

The Registered Manager ensures that the quality of care for young people is frequently reviewed and evaluated. Monitoring systems in place reflect the overall 3 of 10 aims of the service and the individual needs of young people. Identified shortfalls in the quality of care are immediately addressed and actioned to ensure that young people continue to achieve positive outcomes. The Registered Manager works in partnership with the placing authorities to ensure that young people receive integrated care. Nevertheless, some young people’s case files do not include the information and documentation as required by the regulations. The potentially negative impact of this shortfall is reduced because the Registered Manager ensures detailed internal care plans are in place. However, a requirement has been raised to address this issue. 4 of 10

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Information about this children’s home

This home is part of a residential special school which is part of a large private care organisation. The service is registered to accommodate 22 children and young people with learning disabilities. The home offers planned long-term placements. The school is registered with the Department for Education.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/03/2014 Interim good progress 29/01/2014 Full good 21/03/2013 Interim good progress 07/12/2012 Full outstanding

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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) maintain in respect of each child who is accommodated in a children's home a recorded in permanent form which includes the information, documents ad records specified in Schedule 3 relating to that child (Regulation 28(1)(a)) 27/02/2015 5 of 10

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people consistently achieve positive outcomes in all aspects of their growth and development. They receive extremely personalised care that is tailored to support their personal achievements, identified vulnerabilities and social skills. This bespoke care means that young people grow in confidence and learn to take pride in their achievements. Young people work with staff to identify their own personal targets. They receive constant praise and feedback on the progress they make. As such, young people develop a positive sense of self-worth and self-esteem. This supports their personal growth and emotional resilience.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Education is central to the ethos of the home. Young people make exceptional progress in this area of their development, taking account of their starting point. All young people attend the organisations own school. They benefit from a fluid and seamless daily transition from the home environment to the school environment. This ensures that any anxieties that young people experience are reduced because they receive practical and emotional support from staff. Young people experience an integrated and consistent approach to promoting their educational attendance. Young people’s achievements in learning are discussed and celebrated on a daily basis during ‘chat time’. As a result, young people take pride in their achievements and celebrate their successes and this supports their self-esteem and confidence.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people receive comprehensive and personalised health care that meets their physical, psychological and emotional health needs. Heath care is delivered in partnership with young people’s families. Health plans are tailored to incorporate the additional specialist health services that young people access, such as allocated disability consultants. This inclusive and holistic approach means that young people’s health needs are consistently prioritised and addressed.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Regular contact between young people and their families is intrinsic to routines in the home. For example, young people are supported to use the telephone and ‘Skype’ daily to keep in touch with their families. In addition, young people send weekly letters and picture records to their families to demonstrate the activities they have been involved in and showcase their achievements. Young people’s families are encouraged to visit the home at weekends. This means that young people are not, and do not feel isolated from their families. This supports their self-esteem and personal development.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people are fully engaged in purposeful in-house and community activities that include ‘theme nights’, roller skating and weekly swimming lessons. This community inclusion allows young people to expand their social circles and benefit from new experiences. A varied range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools are utilised to ensure that young people are empowered to express their feelings and views. For 6 of 10 example, each day after school, young people use pictures, signs and symbols to indicate their preferred evening activities. Subsequently, young people make a positive contribution to the day-to-day running of the home. This promotes young people’s self-confidence and well-being.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people are supported to learn practical skills to aid their transition to adulthood and adult care services. Some young people have personalised programmes in place to help them to learn personal care skills such as brushing their teeth. These programmes promote young people’s dignity and development and give young people confidence in their skills.

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Quality of care good

Young people have extremely positive relationships with staff. These relationships are supported by clear and consistent boundaries. Staff provide young people with the structure they need to make positive progress in all aspects of their development. Staff are skilled in identifying behavioural changes in young people and raise these for discussion with families, school staff and the placing authorities. As a result, young people respond well to staff and start to develop strategies to manage their own behaviours.

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Quality of care good

Young people benefit from well-planned and personalised care. Internal plans are reflective and include the views, opinions and wishes of young people. These are further supported by behaviour management plans that are in place to encourage the development of positive behaviours. Personalised plans reflect the skills, abilities and disabilities of young people. These distinguish between behaviours young people can regulate and those associated with specific learning disabilities. Staff regularly complete one-to-one sessions with young people using a range of non-verbal mediums such as symbols and pictures. These sessions highlight the positive progress young people make, discuss their care and welfare needs and define achievement targets for young people to strive towards. This means that young people are full involved in decisions about their care. However, for some young people, case files do not include all of the documents and information as required by

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Quality of care good

the regulations. Although a requirement has been made to address this issue, the detrimental impact of this shortfall is reduced because internal plans are exceptionally detailed.

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Quality of care good

Staff work in effective partnership with the school to continually support young people’s development. For example, staff liaise with teaching staff on a daily basis. This fluid communication ensures that young people receive integrated support that promotes their learning achievements. Staff ensure that school achievements are celebrated in the home and this helps young people understand the links between school and home. The reiteration of this cohesive approach to promoting positive outcomes for young people is embedded in the structure and routines of the home. This ethos enables young people to achieve their educational potential. 7 of 10 Staff ensure that young people have access to the complaints policy and complaints forms in a range of mediums, such as Widget. The complex behavioural and communication needs of some young people mean that the involvement of families and/or advocacy services are also central to this process. There have been three

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Quality of care good

complaints since the last inspection. Records show that these were quickly addressed and resolved. Subsequently, issues raised by young people, their families or others are taken seriously and procedures in place are transparent. This promotes young people’s welfare and safety.

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Quality of care good

The home is well maintained and decorated and provides a warm and comfortable environment for young people. The atmosphere in the home is relaxed and welcoming. The service is based in a large house divided into four self-contained living areas. Young people are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms and the communal areas. Sensory equipment and activity equipment is easily accessible to young people and supports their communication, social and emotional skills. As a result, young people live in a bespoke environment that reflects their individual needs and supports their development.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people are safe and feel safe in the home. They are observed to be relaxed and content in the company of staff and each other. This affirms their well-being and safety. Young people’s protection and safety is central to routines in the home. Staff receive regular training in safeguarding and work in partnership with families, the placing authority and other professionals to provide an inclusive approach to keeping young people safe.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people have detailed risk assessments in place that consider the environment, planned activities, the individual needs of young people and their social interaction skills with others. Young people’s safety and welfare is promoted because staff are well trained, experienced and alert to signs of abuse. Although young people do not identify bullying to be an issue in the home, staff complete sessions with young people to identify the signs of bullying and intimidation. This means that young people are aware that this behaviour is unacceptable and recognise the negative impact this has on others.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff work with young people, their families and the school to develop strategies to encourage young people to manage their own behaviours and frustrations. Young people receive continual verbal and signed praise from staff. This means they understand the acceptable behaviours expected of them. Individual reward charts and incentives are in place for some young people. This provides young people with a visual reminder and celebration of the progress they make.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff receive training in de-escalation and physical restraint techniques to encourage 8 of 10 young people to behave appropriately. Physical restraint is only used as a last resort to protect young people from significant harm. Although there has been a slight increase in the use of physical intervention since the last inspection, the Registered Manager has completed a detailed analysis of the reasons for this. Staff complete one-to-one sessions with young people following these events, using non-verbal communication tools, to ascertain their views and feelings regarding the use of this measure of control. As a result, the Registered Manager is able to evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention and continually review practice in the home. This promotes young people’s safety.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

General health and safety risk assessments are regularly reviewed to identify and address any hazards in the home. The home has a fire risk assessment in place that is supported by personal evacuation plans for young people. Staff adopt differing strategies in an emergency to reflect the specific needs of individual young people and young people participate in regular practice fire drills. This protects young people from the risk of harm.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The home adheres to organisational recruitment procedures in place to safeguard young people. Staff files are detailed and include all necessary documentation and information to assess the suitability of staff employed in the home. This means that young people work with suitably vetted and selected staff and this promotes their safety and welfare.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The home has a full time permanent manager in place who has been registered with Ofsted since September 2014. The Registered Manager has significant experience of working in and managing children’s residential care services; and is currently working towards completing a suitable qualification in this field. There were no requirements or recommendations made at the last inspection.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The Registered Manager works in effective partnerships with young people’s families, the placing authorities and school staff. These professional working arrangements mean that young people receive integrated and well-planned care and support. The Registered Manager ensures staff produce detailed progress reports prior to statutory reviews. These include young people’s views, thoughts and wishes. One social worker commented, ‘The manager is so dedicated and committed. The communication with the home is excellent and it’s clear how this home makes a real difference to the children’s lives; the children are so involved in everything’.

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Leadership and management outstanding

Staff have an extensive range of skills and are extremely proficient in identifying the welfare and care needs of young people. Staff receive regular and effective supervision. This compliments their role and identifies their personal development needs. Staff practice is continually reviewed, assessed and monitored. This means that young people work with knowledgeable, experienced and skilled staff who are 9 of 10 able to support their development.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The Registered Manager recognises the strengths and weaknesses of the service and regularly identifies methods to continually improve services. The home is well resourced and structured to endorse stability and consistency for young people. Robust and effective systems are in place to monitor the quality of care and outcomes for young people. The Registered Manager identifies patterns and trends within the home through the methodical evaluation of the progress young people make. This information is discussed with managers and staff during weekly team meetings and forms realistic development targets for the home. All records pertaining to young people are clear and securely stored. Internal support plans are fluid, detailed and regularly reviewed and this means that they contribute to an understanding of young people’s backgrounds, experiences and progress.

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Leadership and management outstanding

Young people live in a home where boundaries and expectations are clear and staff practice is consistent and reflective. As a result, the service has an immensely positive impact on young people and improves their life chances through personalised care, commitment and dedication. 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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