Children's Home, Residential special school run by SES Turnstone Limited in Norfolk

Unique reference number SC452461 Inspector Clive Lucas Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Residential special school (>295 days/year)

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Registered manager Tina Alexis Raven Date of last inspection 06/11/2014 2 of 9 Inspection date 24/02/2015

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Previous inspection improved effectiveness Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

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

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed and run by a private company. It provides residential care for up to eight young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Education may be provided on the same site.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/11/2014 Interim improved effectiveness 15/10/2013 Full good 21/08/2013 Full inadequate 06/06/2013 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) maintain in respect of each child who is accommodated in a children’s home a record in permanent form which includes the information, documents and records specified in Schedule 3 relating to that child (Regulation 28(1)(a)) 10/04/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that all parts of the children’s home used by children are kept reasonably decorated and maintained. (Regulation 31(2)(e) 15/05/2015

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Recommendations

4 of 9 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 that the home implements a proportionate approach to any risk assessment; this is specifically in relation to ensuring that risk assessments include details of actions that staff are taking to safeguard young people. (NMS 4.5) 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people make good progress while living at the home. They develop good relationships with staff over time and this helps them learn how to sustain relationships and improves their self-esteem.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

All young people at the home make significant progress in their education attendance and engagement. Most come to the home with histories of very low educational engagement. At this home they have the opportunities to take part in education with individualised timetables, built around their interests and strengths. This helps them to enjoy education and recognise and build on their strengths and abilities.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are actively involved in their planning. They take part in meetings which identify objectives and steps towards meeting these. They are also able to speak to their identified workers and to voice their views through regular residents' meetings.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people have their health needs met well. They have good access to specialist health services, either provided through the statutory bodies or through services sourced by the home. Consequently, their health improves and they learn about looking after their own health. Young people also learn how to manage their own personal care through the examples and consistent actions of staff. This is also individualised for each young person. For example, if a young person struggles with cleaning their teeth, staff will clean their teeth alongside them. This acts as a reminder as well as role modelling. The individual attention also helps young people to realise the significance of the issues.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

During their time at the home young people learn the self-care skills that they will need to live successful independent adult lives. This is linked to their age and needs. It includes daily tasks such as being involved with cooking and cleaning as well as planned modules. By working on these modules with staff, young people can build upon basic self-care skills. They are encouraged to take part in these, as completing a module adds to the savings that the home makes for young people and which are available to them when they leave, to help them set themselves up for independence.

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Quality of care outstanding

Staff at the home use very detailed and individualised plans to identify young people’s specific needs. They are very proactive in finding highly effective ways to work with young people and meet their needs. All of the young people in the home have moved in within the last eight months and some very much more recently. 6 of 9 Despite this, staff have very good knowledge of young people and understanding of their needs. This helps them to support young people to make significant progress from their starting points. Staff are supported in their work with young people by external specialists such as therapists and psychiatrists, who the organisation contract to work with them.

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Quality of care outstanding

The care staff and education staff work very closely across their respective areas to provide consistent care for young people. This includes the use of 24 hour learning plans, whereby planned activities, with planned outcomes are provided across both education and care time. This helps young people to make good progress, including in education, even though most young people come to the home with backgrounds of very low education engagement and attainment.

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Quality of care outstanding

Staff have high aspirations for young people and the organisation has a ‘no limits’ ethos for young people. This means that they look at ways of helping young people to overcome barriers, succeed and achieve their own identified goals. One placing social worker commented on how the staff remained positive and determined to work with a young person through some very challenging behaviour. They felt that most other homes would have given up. This allows young people strong opportunities to settle in the home and avoid the disruption of further moves. It also helps them to develop their sense of self-worth if adults are providing unconditional regard for them. The provision of 'unconditional positive regard' is another part of the organisation’s ethos. Another social worker spoke of the progress that is being made by one young person, significantly in their education, but recognising that it will be a

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Quality of care outstanding

Families are involved with young people’s care wherever possible. This includes strong support for contact, involving parents in restorative meetings and in the therapy provided by the therapist. This helps to develop and maintain strong and appropriate relationships between young people and their parents. These relationships will benefit young people long after their time in care.

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Quality of care outstanding

Outside agencies commented on the effective decision making on which young people will benefit from living in the home. There is detailed planning, including with other agencies, to help young people move into and settle in the home.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people say that they feel safe in the home. They recognise that staff take actions to help keep them safe. There are written plans and assessments which staff use to inform their work in safeguarding young people. Mostly these are very detailed and comprehensive. However, there are a minority of areas that are not recorded in such detail. Despite this, staff are well aware of risks and do put appropriate safeguards in place. 7 of 9 There is detailed planning for young people’s moves into the home. These include a thorough consideration of potential risks and involve other agencies, including specialist agencies, so that the plans are realistic and effective. In one case, the home’s risk assessment was shared with other agencies who had detailed knowledge of the young person. This allows them the opportunity to assess and comment on the home’s plans to keep young people safe.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

There have been a high number of restraints, but these are closely monitored and are reducing as a result of the monitoring and attempts to find alternative ways of managing some very challenging behaviour. Staff manage young people's behaviour well and this is resulting in young people becoming more settled and learning to take more responsibility for their behaviour. Young people say that the rules and expectations of them in the home are reasonable.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

There are strong and proactive relationships with the police so that responses to behaviour and incidents of young people going missing from care are dealt with well. This helps to safeguard young people and also to educate them about the expectations of their behaviour, its impact on others and the potential consequences of continued inappropriate behaviour.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

There are good systems in place to protect young people from the risk of fire. These include systems for checks of equipment and regular practice of evacuation drills. Young people say that they know what to do in the event of a fire.

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Leadership and management good

The home has a Registered Manager who has been in post for 18 months. She has appropriate qualifications and experience to undertake her role. She mostly undertakes effective monitoring of the service and of the outcomes for young people. Along with the external monitoring carried out by the independent visitor, this helps to ensure that young people are well cared for and their plans are reviewed based on good information of their progress. Other professionals speak of the service being willing to accept feedback and make improvements.

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Leadership and management good

Some Looked After Children paperwork has not been provided by a placing authority, there has not been a sufficiently robust response to request and chase for this, so some important information for young people is limited.

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Leadership and management good

The requirement made at the previous inspection has been met.

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Leadership and management good

There are some areas of the home which show signs of wear and damage. Some disruptive and damaging behaviour by young people and the current vacancy for a maintenance member of staff are significant factors in this. The damaging behaviour is decreasing and the recruitment process for a maintenance member of staff is well underway. Notwithstanding this, there are areas of the home which do require 8 of 9 attention. The Registered Manager is aware of this and has some plans in place to enhance the environment when circumstances allow, but currently the home does not provide as homely and comfortable environment for young people as it could do. For example, there is some damage to walls and furniture.

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Leadership and management good

The Registered Manager and the staff in general have very good relationships with other agencies such as the police and placing social workers. This helps to ensure a consistent and effective approach to meeting young people's needs. There has been a number of staff leave the home since the previous inspection. Additional staff have been and are being recruited to replace them. While some agency staff are used, these are consistent staff whose ability is known to the Registered Manager and who take their place on the rota. This provides a good level of stability and consistency for young people and allows them to build effective relationships with staff.

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Leadership and management good

Staff say that their training and supervision are of a good standard and this helps them to provide good care for young people. 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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