Children's Home run by Social Care Services Limited in Stockport

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people make good progress in a caring and supportive environment. They confirm they feel safe at the home and their views and wishes are taken into account when decisions are made.  New young people receive high levels of support and supervision and settle quickly in the home. They benefit from the stability of the staff team and build positive relationships that help develop trust and respect.  Young people benefit from personalised care packages, individual daily routines, and carefully chosen incentives and rewards, which take account of their complex needs. Key worker sessions are based on individualised plans for young people. This creates opportunities for them to progress across all aspects of their welfare and development.  Staff persevere and work well together using a consistent approach to help young people develop self-regulation skills. As a result, young people’s behaviour has improved significantly over recent weeks. Incidents of young

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The children's home provision is good because:

people going missing from home, physical intervention and sanctions have significantly reduced as young people are more settled in the home.  Partnership working is very effective in meeting young people’s needs. The Registered Manager and staff work collaboratively with families and a range of professionals, sharing information to ensure young people receive the services they are entitled to.  A placing social worker describes the staff and home as, ‘Brilliant.’ Other professionals comment positively on effective communication and the quality of the care and support provided by staff, confirming they do all they can to help young people settle and achieve good outcomes.  Young people confirm they know how to make a complaint and who they can contact if they have worries or concerns. However, they do not have access to a home phone, which they can use without asking staffs permission. This is being addressed by the Registered Manager.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Safeguarding arrangements are strong and staff demonstrate good understanding of child protection procedures and policies. The organisation is reviewing their safeguarding policy to include additional information that will provide further protection to young people. Staff receive effective training that ensures young people’s safety and welfare is promoted.  The Registered Manager is experienced and provides strong leadership. He generally has good overview of the home and demonstrates a strong commitment to improving outcomes for you people. He is keen to improve monitoring and evaluation processes that will ensure minor recording errors and administration tasks are promptly addressed and that young people’s files are kept up-to-date. In addition, young people are to benefit from prompt repair and decoration of their bedrooms to ensure they continue to live in a homely and comfortable environment.

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

13: to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person should use effective monitoring and review systems to identify and address any weaknesses in the quality of care provided in the home. In particular ensure all records and care files are thoroughly checked (Regulation 13 (2) (h)) 25/06/2015

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Requirement Due date

22: to meet the contact and access to communications standard the registered provider must ensure that young people have access to a telephone to make and receive calls in private, which they can use without reference to persons working in the home (Regulation 22 (3) (a)) 25/06/2015

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Requirement Due date

36: to meet the children's case records standard the registered provider must ensure young people's case records include all the information, documents and records specified in Schedule 3 of this regulation and are kept up-to-date and signed and dated by the author. In particular, this relates to young people's care plans, placement plans, personal education plans and records of incidents where a child goes missing from home or any measure of control is used in relation to the child. (Regulation 36 (1) (a - c)) 25/06/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 provide a homely environment. In particular, ensure young people’s bedrooms are promptly decorated and repaired following any incidents of damage (The Guide 3.9)

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Recommendations

 ensure the policy on protection of children from abuse and neglect includes arrangements to counter risks of self-harm and suicide and is reviewed regularly and revised where appropriate (The Guide 9.19)  ensure the registered persons review of the suitability of the location and premises of the home, fully considers the views of other appropriate professionals that have a statutory responsibility for safeguarding children in the neighbourhood where the home is located. (The Guide 15.1)

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Information about this children's home:

This is a privately run children’s home that provides care and accommodation for up to three young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

10/03/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness

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Good

Young people like living at this home and confirm they feel safe. Those in stable placements say, ‘It’s a good place to live.’ They get along well with staff and quickly develop strong relationships with each other. They are well cared for and respected, which helps develop their self-esteem and confidence.

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Good

A placing social worker spoke positively about the staff and the care provided. She commented, ‘Staff provide a consistent approach and manage young people’s behaviour well with strong routines, especially at bedtime, which helps them to settle.’

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Good

Young people receive good quality care and support from an experienced and knowledgeable staff team who demonstrate a good understanding of young people’s needs. Staff routinely undertake mandatory training and have opportunity for additional training in response to young people’s emerging needs. They benefit from regular supervision, annual appraisals and team meetings, which ensure they have frequent opportunity to reflect and develop their practice.

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Good

Young people have well written individualised placement plans, which clearly identify their needs and show how these are met. They are frequently consulted about all aspects of their care planning, which means they know what progress they are making. Their plans are regularly reviewed, which helps to provide stability and permanence.

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Good

Young people confirm they are listened to and as a result changes are made for their benefit. They attend regular residents meetings, which gives them plenty of opportunities to discuss any choices and views they may have for the home. For example, young people’s views on staffing were acted upon when staff changes were suggested. They choose paint colours and furnishings to personalise their bedrooms and decide on new furnishings and decoration for the home. Young people confirm they can approach staff if they have any worries or concerns and know how to complain if they are unhappy with any aspect of their care.

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Good

Some young people have only been at the home for a short period of time and need time to settle in to their placement. They display some of the same behaviours they were presenting prior to admission. Staff take appropriate action in response to this behaviour and are committed to helping young people achieve stability and permanence. Staff are relentless in their efforts to help young people get back on track. Young people are encouraged to take responsibility for their behaviour and learn appropriate strategies to self-regulate and manage their anger and frustration. Young people benefit from effective use of incentives and rewards which help them make positive choices in their lives. As a result, incidents of going missing from home, self-harm and challenging behaviour has reduced significantly as placements settle.

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Good

Young people are making good progress in all aspects of their lives. They enjoy good health and learn to understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Health appointments are well attended. They have access to a broad range of health professionals such as the local child and adolescent mental health services, therapists and primary health care providers. This enables individual health needs to be assessed and met. Young people benefit from encouragement and support from staff, agreed incentives and smoking cessation advice to help them quit smoking.

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Good

Young people develop personal care skills with support from staff. They are encouraged to learn basic practical and life skills, which help to promote positive transitions into adulthood or to other permanent placements. They enjoy a variety of healthy and nutritious meals which young people help to choose. This enhances their health and physical well-being.

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Good

Staff are proactive and consistent in supporting young people’s educational achievement and attendance. They develop strong links with education providers with whom they communicate with regularly to monitor progress. This promotes a consistent approach to young people’s education. When young people struggle to maintain appropriate behaviour in their learning environment they are supported by a range of professionals to re-engage them with learning. Creative use of individual timetables helps young people achieve positive outcomes. As a result. young people’s attendance at school has greatly improved.

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Good

Young people regularly participate in a range of social and sporting activities, such as horse riding, football, rugby, youth club and cycle club. They are encouraged to be physically active and enjoy the health benefits of regular exercise. This helps to develop self-esteem and confidence and provides opportunities for positive engagement within the wider community.

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Good

Where appropriate, young people benefit from regular contact with family and friends. Staff help them maintain a positive relationship with those that are important to them and help them rebuild relationships. This helps to develop a strong sense of well-being. Staff supervise some contact arrangements to ensure young people are kept safe.

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Good

Young people confirm they feel safe, secure and well cared for in the home and know how to complain if they are unhappy. They have access to advocates to help them get their views across in meetings. However, they do not have access to a telephone in the home without asking permission from staff. This means they are unable to contact relevant people who they may wish to speak to in private about a concern or complaint. There are no issues of bullying, in part because young people are appropriately supervised and any matters that do arise are dealt with swiftly by the staff team.

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Good

Staff understand safeguarding procedures and receive regular, appropriate safeguarding training. They are confident in implementing policies and procedures if they have concerns, or allegations are made concerning young people’s welfare. Staff deal with investigations into allegations thoroughly. They quickly seek advice and support from the local authority designated officer (LADO) and other professionals and notify the outcomes of investigations to Ofsted and other relevant agencies. This practice helps safeguard young people and ensures appropriate services are in place to support them. A review of the organisations child protection policy to include arrangements that counter risks of self-harm and suicide will further help to protect young people.

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Good

There are good links with the police missing person’s coordinator and community officer. Staff follow the agreed missing from care protocol and act in accordance with the placing authority care plan. Staff are proactive in communicating with placing authorities and other professionals. They highlight safeguarding issues and contribute well to strategies that help to achieve positive outcomes for young people. For example, agreeing short periods of independence for some young people has had a positive impact on their behaviour. Also, as young people settle into their placement, records show a significant reduction in them going missing from the home or being absent without permission.

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Good

Young people are provided with an independent person to speak to on their return home. This helps to consider any information that may help to protect them from going missing again, from risks they may have been exposed to while missing or from the risks in the home.

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Good

There is a consistent, individualised approach to risk management and behaviour management, which ensures young people learn appropriate boundaries. Positive behaviour is promoted using individualised daily routines. These are supported by the use of effective incentives and rewards that help young people develop socially acceptable behaviour. Staff are trained in the appropriate use of physical restraint. However, they prefer to use therapeutic intervention techniques such as, de- escalation, humour and distraction strategies, which are more effective in changing young people’s behaviour. Written records are well maintained and show incidents of physical intervention and sanctions have reduced as young people settle in the home. When young people do present challenging behaviour, staff persevere and are not deterred. They support young people using a calm and nurturing approach to diffuse the situation.

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Good

The Registered Manager ensures staff are carefully selected and vetted before they start work in the home. This helps to prevent unsuitable people for having access to vulnerable young people.

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Good

Young people say they enjoy living in a safe home. There are good systems in place, which ensure health and safety guidelines are followed. They are involved in fire evacuation practices so they know how to leave the home safely in the event of an emergency.

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good

The home benefits from an experienced and effective Registered Manager who demonstrates his commitment to helping young people achieve their potential. He has been in post since September 2011 and holds a relevant leadership and management qualification. The Registered Manager has strong support from an enthusiastic and committed stable staff team. He completes several shifts each month alongside his staff. Together they provide a high level of stability for young people and fully understand their needs.

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good

The home is well resourced and employs sufficient staff to ensure young people’s needs are met and they are kept safe. There is a comprehensive Statement of Purpose, which is reviewed regularly. It clearly outlines the homes aims and objectives.

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good

Staff have good knowledge and understanding of young people and are able to respond effectively to their needs. They confirm they are well supported through annual appraisals, regular supervision, good training opportunities and team meetings. This ensures they have frequent opportunity to reflect on, and develop their practice. The provider uses a research based approach to care practice. All staff receive regular training in therapeutic crisis intervention models of care to support their knowledge and understanding of this approach.

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good

Young people’s records are generally well arranged, stored securely and recording is mostly of a good standard. Some documents such as placing authority care plans, placement plans and personal education plans, are not up-to-date. This is primarily the responsibility of the placing authority and these documents are regularly chased and issues are escalated by staff and the Registered Manager with the placing authority. While the absence of this information does not prevent staff from supporting young people, it does not give them a full understanding of their care plan. In addition, information relating to incidents of missing from care, restraints and sanctions is not clearly recorded on young people’s care files. Despite this, young people are frequently engaged in discussions about their care and influence the running of the home.

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good

Significant events are notified to all relevant agencies in a timely manner, which ensures appropriate action is taken to protect young people.

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good

The home is a large spacious family home that undergoes regular maintenance and repairs. Decorating is undertaken by the staff team and plans are in place to decorate the lounge when young people are away on holiday. There has been some delay in decorating young people’s bedrooms following repair work, but this is being addressed to ensure the home remains a homely and comfortable environment for young people to live in.

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good

The Registered Manager has reviewed the location and premises risk assessment to ensure young people placed at the home continue to be safe. However, this has not included the views of other professionals who have an interest in safeguarding young people at the home. The Registered Manager is addressing this through consultation with appropriate professionals.

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good

Young people benefit from the Registered Manager and staff working collaboratively with professionals and families to provide a consistent approach to their care. A placing social worker is very positive about the home and staff. They describe the home as ‘Homely,’ and the staff as ‘Brilliant.’

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good

The Registered Manager has some effective monitoring systems in place that ensure young people enjoy a high standard of care and protection. He has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. He recognises some quality assurance and monitoring processes need to improve. He is addressing this to eliminate minor administrative errors in recording and in the reviewing of records and documents. Monthly unannounced quality assurance visits from an independent visitor and his continued use of a comprehensive development plan to identify areas for improvement, demonstrates his commitment to an improvement agenda. All the recommendations made at the last inspection have been addressed.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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