Children's Home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Barnsley

Unique reference number SC363630 Inspector Pauline Yates Type of inspection Interim 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 Lee Aaron Jones Registered manager Joanne Marie Sharp Date of last inspection 26/11/2014 2 of 5 Inspection date 24/02/2015

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Previous inspection outstanding Enforcement action since last inspection none

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This inspection

This home was judged outstanding at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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This inspection

At the previous inspection in November 2014 the home was judged to be outstanding, with no requirements or recommendations. This interim inspection found that the home has maintained the high quality care which young people receive and is judged to have sustained its effectiveness.

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This inspection

Young people continue to make good progress across a spectrum of areas such as education, social skills and emotional resilience. One independent reviewing officer commented about the staff, ‘They are on the pulse and don’t miss anything. They meet her needs as best they can so that X’s outcome for her future is as best it can be. I am very impressed with them’.

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This inspection

Young people experience safe and nurturing relationships which improves their sense of self-worth and confidence. With strong staff support the young people develop skills to positively manage their emotions and successfully negotiate relationships which are important to them. For example, some young people new to the home have not demonstrated any forms of self-harm, which was a feature of their previous behaviour. The young people are supported to use other means of expressing their feelings. As a result they are able to interact appropriately with others and not harm themselves.

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This inspection

The staff at the home work hard to ensure that young people gain access to services that they need. They actively advocate for young people and appropriately challenge other agencies. This was considered by some professionals to be a particular strength of the home. As a result, the young people access the identified appropriate services in a timely manner and their needs are met.

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This inspection

The young people acquire and develop life skills and take increasing responsibility for daily tasks. For example, managing meal choice, independent travel, managing 3 of 5 budgets and health needs. This prepares them for successful transition into young adulthood. Since the previous inspection the staff have implemented the newly designed independence skills programme which is thorough and detailed in its approach. Young people benefit from the activities which the staff promote.

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This inspection

Young people say they are safe and feel safe. Incidents of missing from home have reduced significantly and when they do occur staff are active in their attempts to locate the young people and ensure close liaison with appropriate agencies. Young people are protected by a high level of vigilance, underpinned by trusted relationships with staff. For example, when missing from home incidents have occurred young people have regularly kept in touch with staff. As a result the young people’s exposure to risks is reduced and their welfare maximised. One placing social worker commenting on the progress of one young person in this respect said, ‘Since being at the home X has adopted a new approach.’ Behaviour management approaches utilised by staff are within a framework of positive regard and incentives. As a consequence, sanctions are not a feature and physical restraint is rarely used.

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This inspection

Most young people engage fully in their educational provision and their attendance is very high. This increases their life chances and optimises success in future training or employment. For those young people for whom full time education is problematic, the staff actively support and encourage alternative learning experiences.

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This inspection

Care planning is kept up to date and reflects the individualised needs of the young people. This ensures that the young people’s care is contemporary and reflects their changing needs. Key working with the young people is highly focused and individualised, which builds upon the young people’s areas of strengths and seeks to support those areas of identified need. This approach is further strengthened by strong management and high quality supervision which is young person centred. 4 of 5

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Information about this children’s home

This service is a privately run children's home. The home provides accommodation for up to three young people. It is registered to provide care for young people who have behavioural or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

A separate building within the home's grounds is registered as a school with the Department for Education. The school facility is available to young people placed in this home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/11/2014 Full outstanding 11/11/2013 Interim good progress 12/06/2013 Full outstanding 14/03/2013 Interim good progress Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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.

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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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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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