Children's Home run by Choices Home for Children 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 thrive in the knowledge that their interests and endeavours will be enthusiastically supported and recognised by staff. As a result, young people make good progress relative to their individual circumstances and their time living at the home. They feel that their lives have improved since they have been here. That said, some young people need greater opportunities for independent time in the community in line with their age and care plans.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people said that they valued staff sensitivity and listening skills; being able to share a joke with staff; relationships that resembled family relationships; and staff being reliable. They feel listened to and understood by staff. There seems to be genuine warmth in young people’s relationships with staff that they really value. In contrast, some young people feel uncomfortable within the peer group in the home and this is a matter that requires closer manager and staff attention to resolve.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people report that they feel safe and cared for and are protected by pro-active practice to safeguard them. Consequently, previous risky behaviours such as substance abuse and running away have reduced significantly.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The manager provides effective leadership to the staff team and demonstrates a strong commitment to driving forward improvements in the home. Robust internal and external arrangements for monitoring practice ensure that there is good oversight of the care that is given to young people and the progress they make. However, notifications of serious events need to be made promptly to the relevant authorities to further facilitate that external scrutiny.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Relationships with partner agencies are particularly effective. They ensure that young people are protected and their needs met appropriately. This leads to improvements in the quality of care provided and in the progress of young people. That said, further work is required with placing authorities to ensure that all the young people have the opportunity to improve their life chances by access to at least 25 hours education a week.

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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

ensure that staff help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to live independently as an adult, and which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice; with specific regard to provision of free time in accordance with age, cognitive ability and future plans (Regulation 6 (2) (b) (vi) (ix)) June 20 2015

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Requirement Due date

ensure that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational progress and are helped to do so, with specific regard to provision of at least 25 hours education a week (Regulation 8 (1)) July 20 2015

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others (Regulation 11 (2) (b)) June 20 2015

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development; with specific regard to training in respect of countering bullying (Regulation 33 (4) (a)) August 20

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Requirement Due date

Notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation. (Regulation 40 (4) (a)) June 20 2015

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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 the home’s Statement of Purpose indicates how the home provides individualised care to meet the Quality Standards for the children in their care; with specific regard to clarification about rules in relation to smoking (Guide pg. 15 paragraph 3.5) ensure that the children’s guide helps children to understand what happens in the home; with specific regard to clarification about house rules in relation to smoking. (Guide pg. 24 paragraph 4.22)

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Information about this children's home

This is a private children’s home that provides care and accommodation for up to five young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, and/or physical disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

17/12/2014 CH - Interim Sustained Effectiveness

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good

Young people in the home have complex and challenging needs but this does not limit staff’s ambitions for each of them. They are nurtured as individuals with talents, strengths and capabilities that can develop over time. Young people are helped to develop their self-confidence, emotional resilience and self-esteem. They are encouraged to make sense of their past experiences, learn to manage their feelings and emotions, and devise coping strategies to promote their resilience and psychological well-being. Young people are given the skills and confidence to voice their views constructively and feel certain that they will be listened to. As a result, they make good progress in all areas of their lives.

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good

Young people benefit from living in a much more settled home environment since the last full inspection. The manager has made a conscious effort to reduce the number of short term placements. The more stable, longer term placements promote the development of stronger relationships in the home. It is through these new, positive relationships that the young people learn to trust and to develop more positive attachments. Placement stability allows for young people’s needs to identified and met, because staff working with and caring for them have the time to learn about what those needs are. As one social worker commented: ‘Staff have been marvellous with my young person. They completely meet his needs. Previously I have never been able to have even a conversation with him but in the last month I spoke with him for two hours. That’s down to the positive effect of the excellent relationships he has with staff there. He was a closed book before he went

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good

to that home – they have managed to get in. Staff have been so focussed in getting through to him. His social skills have come on massively. He’s now attending education and has aspirations for his future. He shows remorse when his behaviour is bad. These are such positive changes, such massive changes in how his behaviour used to be.’

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good

Staff seek specialist support for young people for issues such as drug counselling, anger management and sexual health. Where appropriate, young people are encouraged to work with community adolescent mental health services. The manager has created a strong anti-smoking culture which has had some success in helping young people to reduce their tobacco consumption. Young people report that they get good advice and opportunities to acquire useful skills for future adulthood. As one young person confirmed: ‘Staff have helped me with learning independence skills such as cooking, opening a bank account and filling in application forms. I think the home has helped me massively. I’ve quit using cannabis, stopped absconding and staff have helped my siblings and my mum. If I wasn’t here, I don’t think I’d be on this earth. I think it’s good here as things get resolved and kids are helped.’ However, some young people need to start to

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good

have free time in the community in line with their age, cognitive ability and future plans to live independently. This is necessary to develop their resilience further and give them a chance to make mistakes with the safety net of the home in place.

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good

All the young people attend school, college or receive tutoring in the home. Records show that young people make good progress in relation to their assessed baselines at point of admission to the home. For most young people this has meant much improved motivation for, and participation in, education from their starting points. As a result, some young people have real aspirations about their futures and understand the importance of education in achieving those ambitions. For example, one young person has requested additional tutoring to help raise their predicted exam grade levels, and this is in process of being arranged. As one young person said: ‘Staff always make sure that you feel comfortable here. They respect us with what we believe in and what we want. They are flexible to make sure we get what we need. They are all about education. They are flexible but firm about making sure everyone gets the education they need.’ That said, some

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good

young people do not yet receive at least 25 hours education a week, though the manager is currently working proactively with placing authorities to try to increase their provision . Young people enjoy significantly improved contact with their families. This is facilitated by the home as necessary. It helps to ensure that young people keep in meaningful contact with significant individuals so that important attachments are maintained. The home is well maintained and provides a homely environment that contributes towards young people’s positive sense of well-being. It helps them to feel valued. Judgement grade

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good

Staff maintain a strong focus on the protection of young people which means that their safety and well-being remain central to the running of the home. Risk assessments are thorough, insightful and individualised. They reflect the diverse needs and personalities of the young people. As a consequence, young people are safe and they say that they feel safe. Evidence shows that the manager appropriately calls for review of young people’s care plans when he feels the home cannot protect them from harm. As one young person observed: ‘They keep us safe. They won’t keep you here if they feel they can’t keep you safe. I’ve stopped running away and that’s because of all the talking by staff and them helping me to really understand the risks involved.’

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good

There are effective and well-embedded working relationships with a range of safeguarding agencies. Placing social workers and police confirm this. They compliment the manager and staff on the determined approach to managing and reducing risk and in identifying and promptly responding to emerging concerns. As one social worker commented: ‘Staff are very proactive. The police and EDT are notified immediately of all my young person’s missing episodes and are regularly up-dated if any new information is discovered. I am impressed that staff do not hesitate to drive around the local area to look for her. Staff work together with other professionals and do not hesitate to liaise with other agencies such as the local child sexual exploitation team. Everyone at the home has been very vigilant when she is at home or out in the community.’

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good

The home has achieved a significant reduction in the frequency of young people going missing. Staff make good use of independent return interviews to understand the individual push-pull factors for young people, and take preventative action accordingly. Staff have got a firm grip on what sexual exploitation is and how important it is. They undertake direct work about the risks with the young people using accredited tools. They work with outside agencies to ensure that young people have access to specialist support within clear multi-agency strategic plans. As one external professional commented: ‘We have a really, really good working together arrangement. Staff have done their utmost to keep the young people safe. They adhere to the local police missing policy and are creative in trying to address risks. They face difficult issues well and try to get bespoke packages in place to meet young people’s needs.’ One measure of staff and

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good

young people’s success is that some young people previously subject of sexual exploitation now feel safe and confident enough to give talks about the risks to peers at college. Young people are respected as emerging young adults. Effective behaviour management is based on dialogue, negotiation and sensitive guidance from staff. This helps young people to work things out for themselves, make informed choices and take responsibility for their decision-making. Skilled use of de-escalation techniques allow young people the chance to remove themselves from conflict and take time out to calm down. As one young person commented: ‘I think being here has helped me be more confident to talk about things that upset me rather than just get in a state about them.’ Use of physical restraint has consequently reduced significantly. When it is used, it is proportionate to the circumstances and is carefully reviewed afterwards for learning purposes.

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good

Staff are effective in encouraging each young person to think carefully about the choices they make now which will affect their quality of life. As a result, there has been an overall reduction in risk-taking behaviour such as self- harming, offending and substance abuse. As one external professional noted: ‘Staff are very determined and committed to supporting the young people with their drug and child sexual exploitation issues. They are very proactive in this. I have seen young people make real progress in the home with their substance abuse issues. Staff go out of their way to pull young people back when they de-stabilise.’

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good

All the young people understand the many forms that bullying can take and are equally clear about what to do if they have concerns. The home has a strong anti-bullying culture and young people are confident to talk with staff if they have any worries in this respect. That said, despite staff interventions, some young people continue to feel isolated and rejected by some of their peers and perceive a level of covertly negative attitudes towards them. This impacts adversely on their sense of well-being. At the point of inspection, this matter had yet to be fully addressed, though the manager planned imminently to hold a young people’s meeting to tackle the issue. Staff have clearly attempted to deal with it but are compromised by their lack of specific training in countering bullying techniques. In all other safeguarding matters, staff are well-trained, are alert to young peoples’ vulnerabilities and risks of harm, and are knowledgeable about how to

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good

implement safeguarding children procedures. Judgement grade

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good

The manager is suitably experienced and is in the process of acquiring his relevant management qualification. He provides strong, visible leadership and creates a very caring, positive culture in the home that is clearly valued by the young people. As one young person said: ‘Billy is a good manager. I trust him and can talk to him. He makes sure things get sorted out – for example he got my horse riding sorted out straight away. He does things quickly and keeps a good eye on the staff and kids. He’s on the ball. He’s always in a good mood, cheerful and has a happy face. He’s a bubbly person.’ The manager is committed to putting the needs of the young people at the heart of the service provided. As he said: ‘I try to run this house like a normal family home, have the same expectations for them as I do for my children. They need a figure like that in their lives.’ Both young people and external professionals confirm that he achieves this. As one young person

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good

commented: ‘It’s fine here, like being in a normal home. It’s nice. Billy’s alright, staff are alright and the kids are alright. It’s like a big family here.’ This reflects the aims and objectives of the home’s Statement of Purpose. Young people receive a pack which contains information relating to expectations of behaviour, their responsibilities, as well as their rights during their time in the home. However, both these documents fail to mention the new house rule about young people not being able to keep cigarettes on their person. This limits people’s understanding about what to expect at the home.

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good

The manager is constructively assertive in challenging placing authorities when their service to young people is not good enough. Overall he achieves very effective working together relationships with relevant professionals with a view to providing a holistic service to the young people. The whole staff team work together on each shift providing suitable staffing ratios and a mix of gender, culture and ethnicity that reflect those of the young people. Staff are very supportive of each other and want to improve things all the time. Performance is taken seriously. All staff receive regular supervision of a good quality which helps them to think about their practice and make improvements. This is further endorsed through annual appraisal to which young people contribute. Underperformance is tackled robustly by the manager being honest about people’s weaknesses and dealing with them early on. Quality assurance processes are robust and dig below the surface to provide

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good

meaningful evaluation of the quality of service provided and the progress young people make in respect of the plan for them. The manager has a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the service and has addressed all the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection. This demonstrates that he takes effective action in relation to audit and inspection feedback with a view to continual improvement. However, notifications have not always been sent to Ofsted as required. This prevents the regulator from assessing the home's response to serious incidents and ensuring that young people are safe.

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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

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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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