Children's Home run by Step-A-Side Company Limited in Gloucestershire

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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:

 The home provides young people with an enjoyable physical living environment, rich in resources and amenities where they feel safe and where they enjoy trusting relationships with adults who are committed to their care.  Young people benefit from a stable care staff team. This gives them consistency and helps them to feel secure. Staff are well trained, supervised and supported. Staff feel that they are competently managed and this ensures that young people receive a high level of care from able and competent practitioners.  Young people’s care planning and needs assessments are of a high quality and the home work closely with placing authorities and other professionals in carrying out these plans. Placing authority social workers describe the quality of care as “beyond what is usually expected of a home.”  Young people make good progress in their social, educational and behavioural development in relation to their starting points. This is achieved

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The children's home provision is good because:

by the home ensuring that all young people receive full time education and they give support to schools by care workers being actively involved in the classroom, and by supporting young people with their education in the home.  Young people make good progress in their emotional wellbeing and in their behaviour. The home ensures that each young person’s needs are assessed by a psychologist who sees them on a weekly basis who works closely with the staff team in providing and reviewing plans of action and support.  The home are required to ensure that key documents relating to young people’s care and education plans are available in the home, and it is recommended that the children’s guide be available in a format suitable for young people with difficulties with reading.

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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 the home has a copy of any EHC plan or statement of special educational needs in relation to the child. Specifically, to be held on the premises for staff guidance. Regulation 36 Schedule 3 (17) June 2015

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the home has a copy of any plan for the care of the child prepared by the child’s placing authority, and of the placement plan. Specifically, to be held on the premises for staff guidance. Regulation 36 Schedule 3 (19) June 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

 The children’s guide must be provided in an accessible format and explained to each child to make sure they understand it. (Paragraph 4.21 of the Quality Standards)

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home is run by a small, locally-based private company, which also operates another children’s home in the area. The company also provides domiciliary care services for young people and homes for disabled adults, which are separately regulated and inspected by the Care Quality Commission. The children’s home currently provides long-term and respite care for a maximum of five young people, who may have emotional or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/02/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness

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people living in the home are

Young people make good progress in their physical, emotional and psychological development in relation to their starting points at the time of admission to the home. This is achieved by good assessments of need, care planning and review and in the rigorous implementation of these plans. Young people’s care is individualised and is coordinated by a key worker who has a sound knowledge of a young person’s background and their assessed and ongoing needs. This knowledge is shared with all members of the staff group. The staff group is stable, experienced, well trained and supported leading to young people being well cared for by informed practitioners.

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people living in the home are

Young people enjoy living in the home and say that they have good relationships with staff members. Many of the young people have good staff relationships helping them to develop trust in adults and feelings of security in their lives. Because of the nature of their care needs the young people are supported by staff to engage in a range of educative, leisure and recreational activities which they would otherwise be unable to do alone. This includes guitar and drum lessons, horse riding, watching football and rugby matches, youth clubs and meals out. This enhances their life experience and helps them connect to the local and wider community.

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people living in the home are

The home works hard to ensure that the health, educational, social and psychological development of young people is progressed and this is achieved to a high degree. The home ensures that all young people are registered with a general practitioner, dentist and optician and that routine checks ups are carried out.

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people living in the home are

Because many of the young people’s needs are directly linked to their physical and psychological health needs the staff group have undertaken specialist training in caring for children with these particular conditions.

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people living in the home are

Staff have a good knowledge of the medication needs of individual children and the effects of these medications. The home arranges for each young person to have a weekly session with a psychologist to assist them with an understanding of their backgrounds, to help them manage their emotions, and to progress behaviourally. All of the young people attend full time education and are supported in classrooms by a member of the care staff team. All of the young people have made improvements in their educational attainment since their admission to the home. This is an exceptional achievement.

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people living in the home are

Young people enjoy living in a cottage style home in a tranquil, rural setting. The gardens are extensive and well-tended. The home is comfortable, well- maintained and decorated. Young people can personalise their bedrooms according to their own taste and each young person has a bedroom key to ensure their privacy.

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people living in the home are

There is evidence of a vast array of leisure, musical and recreation play facilities being available which are appropriate to the ages of the young people. The home has an external building which has been made into a ‘therapy room’ with specialist facilities for young people to use as a place to relax.

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people living in the home are

The service actively supports, and makes effective arrangements for, young people’s transitions when leaving the home. One placing authority social worker commented, “as R is nearing 17 he is about to move to a full time provision in Bristol. The home have made excellent transition arrangements and have produced high quality and in depth support plans for the new placement.” This helps to ensure that young people will have the best possible start in their next home.

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people are helped and protected

Young people say that they feel very safe and secure in this home and that staff are actively involved in promoting their wellbeing. There are a clearly written child protection policy and procedure in place that are well known and understood by staff.

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people are helped and protected

The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) has no concerns about the home and reports good interagency safeguarding practice. A strength of the home is the way that behaviour management and educational achievement is supported by the home’s care staff who will go into school classrooms on a daily basis. This ensures that the young people are able to maintain their education with a reduced risk of classroom disruption. One placing authority social worker commented, “The home has been great in providing therapeutic support to address the young person’s behaviour management. This is in the form of a weekly appointment with a psychologist who conducts behaviour assessments and plans of action. Equally impressive is the way that staff from the home will go into the school on a daily basis to provide additional educational support. This is beyond what is usually expected of a home”.

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people are helped and protected

Individual sessional work by key workers helps young people to understand their risk assessments and their care and placement plans. The whole of the staff team demonstrate a good understanding of each young person’s individual care needs. Staff receive regular training in the use of restraint. Incidents requiring the use of physical restraint are relatively low and are reducing. These incidents are subject to proper analysis by the staff team and discussed with the young person concerned. Any sanctions applied are proportionate and appropriate.

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people are helped and protected

The home takes a careful account of the characteristics and needs of each young person to ensure that the group is well balanced.

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people are helped and protected

No young people have gone missing from the home since the time of the previous inspection and there is a protocol in place with the local police to be followed if they do. Staff effectively support young people in activities, clubs and societies in the local community. The home ensures that risks are minimalized trough active fire safety measures, effective food hygiene and environment health practices, and effective risk assessments. One parent commented, “My son enjoys the ‘therapy room’ and finds it calming. The home is very good at meeting his needs and he gets on well with staff. The home has made adaptations to the home and particularly the external fence to ensure he is kept safe. He suffers from epilepsy and the home staff are skilled in supporting his care needs in this regard.”

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people are helped and protected

There are thorough vetting and recruitment checks on all staff, and young people are involved in the staff recruitment process. There is a high level of vigilance about young people’s contact with adults who come to the home or who they may meet in the community, including school taxi and transport services. Each of the home’s vehicles has a device which speed tracks their use to ensure that the staff drive them safely. These measures help to ensure that young people are kept safe. Judgement grade

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leaders and managers

There is consistent and strong leadership in the home. The registered manager has been in post for four years and this provides consistency for young people, other professionals, and staff. The registered manager is appropriately qualified and has many years work experience in residential work with children and young people. All staff members have an appropriate qualification in working with children and young people and several staff are supported by the organisation in undertaking higher level awards. This helps to ensure that young people are cared for by a competent and able staff group.

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leaders and managers

New staff receive a comprehensive induction programme. Staff receive regular training in all of the core, and specialist areas of work which impact on the care of young people. The management ensure that staff receive regular supervision and team meeting support, and there are staff hand over meetings between working shifts. These measures help to ensure that young people’s needs and their ongoing progress is well understood by each member of the staff team.

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leaders and managers

The aims and objectives of the home are clearly and accurately spelt out in its statement of purpose. Young people are provided with information about the home and their care in a children’s guide. Both of these documents are comprehensive in content and regularly reviewed and updated. Staff go through the children’s guide with individual young people upon admission. This ensures that young people are kept well informed about the care provided. However, the guide is not currently available in a format that would support young people with reading difficulties and this may mean that such young people would not have information about the home readily available.

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leaders and managers

Placing authorities comment favourably on the high levels of communication they receive from the home, and the high standard of care planning and preparation for review meetings and meetings to plan young people’s education. Young people’s care plans and the home’s placement plans are detailed, up to date and well ordered. However, one young person’s care plan and another young person’s education plan were not readily available having been archived at the organisation’s head office. This may mean that staff do not have immediate access to important documentation about young people and this could result in errors of assessment of need.

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leaders and managers

Internal and external managerial monitoring of the function of the home is rigorous. Monthly visit reports conducted by independent visitors are comprehensive and recommendations made therein are swiftly acted upon. Reviews of the quality of care are conducted in consultation with young people and all stakeholders.

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leaders and managers

Young people have the opportunity to comment on their care at weekly meetings with key workers, their review meetings and in meetings with their placing social workers. The reviews of the quality of care clearly identify children’s achievements or setbacks and outline areas of necessary service development. The manager has used areas of research into children’s behaviour management to improve the level of service provided. The home keeps the regulatory body informed of any matters that need to be notified by regulation and responds quickly to improve areas of service provision that these notifications identify. No requirements or recommendations were made at the previous inspection by the regulatory body.

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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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