Children's Home run by Physis Quantum Limited in Shropshire

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:

 Exemplary positive relationships exist between all staff and the young person.  All staff are kind, insightful, nurturing and respectful, resulting in immense security and tremendous progress for the young person.  Staff design extremely innovative and individualised recording and practice tools to suit the young person’s learning style.  The home makes a significant contribution to care planning. Staff and managers utilise positive relationships with stakeholders and other professionals very well to advocate purposefully for the young person’s future.  The young person enjoys a very active, purposeful lifestyle promoting involvement with the community and peers, resulting in huge improvements in her knowledge and understanding of society and personal relationships.  Staff demonstrate excellent insight into the impact of past experiences in causing present distress or confusion. They make excellent use of debrief

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The children's home provision is good because:

sessions with the young person. As a result, the young person is developing her own insights and strategies to manage conflict more safely.  The home manager and all staff work very well as a team: they share insights and ideas regularly and constructively; planning their work with utmost care and regard for the young person’s complex emotional and safeguarding needs.  The home manager adopts a friendly, accessible and clear leadership style. He has very high expectations of what the young person can achieve; develops and uses the talents of staff well; and ensures that all systems are well organised and understood by all staff.  Recruitment has brought together an enthusiastic, experienced and child- centred group, many of whom worked together in other homes before and share considerable professional respect for one another. However, the safest recruitment processes are not used in every case.  Visitors to the home are signed into the visitor book. However, visitors who

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The children's home provision is good because:

are part of the organisation do not complete this book. This compromises them in the event of any allegation.

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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

The registered person must maintain in the home the records listed in schedule 4; in particular reference, a record of all visitors to the home and to children, including the names of the visitors and the reasons for the visit. (Regulation 37, Schedule 4.5) 01/07/2015

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Requirement Due date

12. The protection of children standard:

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to the protection of children from the employment of unsuitable staff, the registered person must ensure that managers are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies, in particular, their safe recruitment policies. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(vii)) 01/07/2015

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately owned by a small limited company and provides care and accommodation for up to four children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Education is provided on site in the organisation’s separately registered school.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

12/02/2014 CH - Interim Satisfactory Progress

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Good

One young person has lived in the home for two years and has made excellent progress. She is thriving on the nurture and experiences provided by staff and says, ‘this is the best place I have ever lived.’ Her parents recently said, ‘her progress is brilliant and she is really maturing and turning into a young lady’.

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Good

All staff consistently show the qualities of a good parent. They listen, respect and respond to the young person in ways that fully promote her progress and development. For example, they capitalise on her liking for things to be ‘written down’ and ‘visual’. When staff write things down, they pitch it at her level of understanding. They have designed a variety of documents using a combination of photos and pictures to explain and convey the key learning points and meaning. As a result, the young person treasures and regularly refers to her life-skills folders; activity plans; daily diaries; weekly activity planners and memorabilia of events and celebrations. She prepared and presented a ‘power-point presentation’ about her life here to all those present at her last review meeting. She is equipped with lasting reminders of what she has experienced and learnt here. Overall, she is fully engaged in all aspects of life in the home and her confidence, resilience and

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Good

understanding have grown significantly. Exemplary positive relationships exist between all staff and the young person. Staff demonstrate insight, empathy, skilled communication, nurture and kindness towards the young person. Everyday life consists of doing things together; talking about important, as well as trivial things and sensitive emotional support through hugs and good touch. This all means that the young person feels exceptionally secure and readily accepts staff support and advice. She is completely confident that they help her be the best that she can be. For example, staff recently supported her to attend a citizenship course, involving a camping trip and numerous physical, emotional and intellectual challenges with peers she had not beforehand. Similarly, staff have introduced her to the world of work. She does a cleaning job in the school premises, under a proper job description, earning an

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Good

hourly rate, with options to earn a bonus. Staff have shown her how to do the work and are teaching her about the responsibilities of work and managing her own earnings. The home makes a very significant contribution to care planning. Staff and managers utilise positive relationships with stakeholders and other professionals to advocate purposefully for the young person’s immediate and longer term future. For example, they work closely with their own therapist and CAMHS to ensure a consistent approach to emotional and mental health, and to learning needs. They tailor their own practice according to the advice of these and other professionals so that the young person has the best developmental opportunities. For example, a recent CAMHS reassessment, requested by staff, has enabled the young person to reduce the medication she takes to help regulate her mood and behaviour. She feels empowered by this new choice and is carefully reviewing her own emotional

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Good

state each day in order to decide whether to have the medication or not. For the longer term, staff have arranged independent advocacy support for the young person. They also give regular and clear update reports to the local authority and host very regular meetings about the young person’s future needs as they see them developing. This helps the care planning process work to best effect, planning early and planning skilfully. The young person enjoys a very active, purposeful lifestyle promoting involvement with the community and peers. She has made huge progress in her knowledge and understanding of society and personal relationships. Staff are very aware that being alone in placement can be institutionalising. They therefore maximise her opportunities to mix with peers in school and to belong to community groups for sport and socialising. They regularly celebrate various keynote celebration days for

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Good

numerous different cultures and countries. They take every opportunity to extend her understanding of society and how she fits into it. They do this with extreme sensitivity to individual learning abilities and vulnerabilities. As a result, the young person’s horizons have broadened and her ability to mix appropriately with peers and in public has grown too.

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good

Staff demonstrate excellent insight into the impact of past experiences on the behaviour young people present. They clearly identify how young people’s anxieties and past experiences cause distress, confusion and resultant unsafe responses. For example, they plan carefully to protect both the young person and staff from fixations about individual members of staff. They address confused sexualised feelings and continuously model appropriate parenting styles. They make it easy for the young person to talk about her feelings to various people or to write these down. This minimises the scope for allegations and makes a significant contribution to helping the young person feel safe and secure. Staff use physical intervention on occasions as a last resort and to avoid serious harm to the young person or others. If this happens, staff and managers make good use of innovative debrief sessions to help the young person understand her

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good

distress and deal with it in safer ways. For example, one staff member helped her identify anxiety and apprehension about another staff member coming back from holiday. He showed the young person how to role play seeing the staff member after this gap in time. They practised how the greeting and initial conversation could go. The young person felt a lot less anxious and was proud that she did not lose control of her behaviour when the member of staff did come back after their holiday. Overall, staff provide and maintain a safe environment and balance the young person’s considerable safety needs with the need to develop her own understanding of how to stay safe. Outside CCTV monitors all exits to the home and bedroom alarms alert two sleeping-in staff if the young person is out of her room during the night. The remote location and the large size of the house contribute to the need for this surveillance. The young person has, on occasions

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good

left the premises in the dark and headed towards the main road in distress. Staff respond quickly and effectively, ensuring that young people are not alone and do not go missing. A ‘feeling safe’ corner in the hallway has been created, containing information about safety and containing slips and a box for the young person to post any concerns or messages. She makes regular use of this facility and is confident because the box is opened every day and her notes addressed immediately. The young person feels safe and secure despite her vulnerabilities. She occasionally makes allegations against staff, peers and others. Staff and managers follow transparent and safe procedures in response to all allegations, so that young person and staff are treated appropriately each time. They adopt safe working practices and are highly vigilant to the young person’s understanding and interpretations of their care styles. Ongoing work by all staff constantly addresses

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good

appropriate relationships and appropriate responses so that gradually the young person is gaining the ability to differentiate truth and fantasy. The local female police officer has also helped by endorsing the messages staff give about grooming, abuse, bullying and exploitation. This contributes to the young person’s improved understanding of how to stay safe. As a result, her vulnerability to exploitation in the future is minimised. All staff have been subject to required checks prior to working in the home. This helps prevent unsuitable people from working in the home. However, best recruitment practice has not been followed in every case. References do not always include one from the last employer and references are not always verified. This means some concerns known to past employers and others, might not come to light. Interviews and job offers have been made subject to checks being satisfactory. This means that any arising concerns are not addressed in the

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good

interview and fully considered before a job offer is made. Visitors to the home are signed into the visitor book. However, visitors, such as the maintenance worker, head teacher, staff coming for meetings, and the responsible individual, do not complete this book. This means that records cannot demonstrate everyone on the premises at a given time and their reasons for being there. This compromises those persons in the event of an allegation. Judgement grade

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good

The home’s manager has worked in the home since August 2014. He progressed from deputy manager to manager after a few months. He has a level five diploma in ‘leadership and management for care of young people’s services’ and for a short time was previously a Registered Manager at another children’s home in a large organisation. His fit person interview was conducted as part of this inspection, leading to a recommendation to register. The manager has made a good impact on the quality of the home. He adopts a friendly, accessible and clear leadership style and has the confidence of staff and the young person. His large, well-organised office provides a good work space for all staff where discussions, sharing and good communication about systems takes place. He ensures that all staff are well supported and have continuing chances to develop their care practice. To this end, every member of staff has a personal

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good

development plan which addresses both formal training goals, specific interest areas in care practice, and developmental responsibilities within the day to day running of the home. They also meet fortnightly as a full team to discuss their practice and the young person’s needs and progress. Together, they subject themselves openly and positively to review their practice and work out what is likely to work best in helping the young person. As a result, the young person has made outstanding progress. Systems for understanding the progress young people are making and planning for their continuing progress, are good and work well. The systems have been adapted and improved so that they use the wording and format of the new children’s homes regulations and quality standards. Staff and managers have embraced these standards keenly because they believe they capture the high quality care that they provide and offer a blueprint for sustaining best outcomes. Staff continue

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good

to familiarise themselves with these through discussion as part of fortnightly team meetings. The manager leads all staff well in securing good quality professional relationships with families, placing and host authorities, independent reviewing officers, police and health professionals. This ensures that the young person receives good, all- round support in all areas of her development. This is particularly effective in ensuring that the young person’s progress towards adulthood is well planned. For example, the manager is hosting full review meetings three, rather than six monthly, to promote prompt planning for the young person’s future. He is also ensuring that the home’s written reports utilise internal and externally provided assessments and make clear both the young person’s real progress, but also her continuing needs and vulnerabilities. The manager has a full understanding of the home’s Statement of Purpose and

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good

regularly reviews it. He carefully measures and minimises the risks posed to the young person’s best outcomes by the current vacancies in the home; the home’s large, remote location; and the presence of the organisation’s school on the site. The manager openly reconsiders these risks in the light of young people’s current behaviours; staff views and the views of the responsible individual and head teacher. This ensures that the home is continuously adapted to best meet young people’s needs and promote young people’s progress.

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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, work based 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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