Children's Home run by White Orchid Marston Moretaine Limited in Central Bedfordshire

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:

 All children make excellent progress from the point of moving in.  The home is warm and welcoming and does not feel like a children’s home.  Children experience a smooth transition and precisely planned moves into this home.  Children enjoy living in this home and have positive relationships with all staff and managers.  An individualised approach to care is paramount in this home.  Education is key to children’s success and staff creatively introduce new learning experiences.  The home is fittingly equipped to meet children’s needs and staff encourage children to personalise all areas of it.  Robust, dependable management supports a committed and stable staff team.  All staff access a broad spectrum of training which equips them to best meet children’s needs.  Strong links exist with key professionals and family members, these underpin a comprehensive approach to children’s care.  Staff quickly attune to children’s needs and from the earliest point and

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The children's home provision is good because:

balance care and control in a non-oppressive way.  Further development is required in respect of supervision records.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure a record of supervision is kept for all staff, including the manager, up to date records for all staff should be available for inspection. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 61 paragraph 13.3)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that a record of supervision records is completed in a timely manner for all staff and that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 61, paragraph 13.4)

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care for up to six children who are identified as having additional needs. The children cared for are vulnerable and may have experienced trauma due to neglect, physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse. They may also be at risk of exploitation and may be experiencing mental health issues. The home provides a multi professional approach to therapeutic care.

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Recent inspection history

The home was registered on the 23 January 2015, this is the first inspection.

p.5

Good

Children receive consistent, predictable care with appropriate boundaries, staff also use behaviour management strategies and reward systems unique to each child. As a result, children quickly adapt and settle in this home. Care is individualised and planning is informed by the children, professionals, family members and significant people for example previous carers. Children enjoy and develop trusting relationships with staff, they invest in their care and this maximises their opportunities to succeed.

p.6

Good

Children’s wishes, feelings, and dynamic assessments of their needs are central to decision making in this home. Staff contribute to permanency planning, and actively inform the amendment of long-term care plans. Children share their views in a variety of ways and staff are strong advocates for children in respect of maximising their opportunities to achieve educationally, socially and emotionally.

p.6

Good

Staff take time to understand children’s life experiences and in consultation with the in house therapist approaches are identified to promote change in children’s responses and behaviours. One family member said, ‘They look after my son so well. It is a great experience for him. He has made real achievements since he left foster care and came here. I was really upset when I was told he was coming to a children’s home, you automatically think of Oliver Twist, this couldn’t be further from that. He is supported and encouraged really well, I never expected to see the change I have seen since he came here.’

p.6

Good

Appropriate risk is introduced into children’s daily lives; this ensures they are exposed to new situations in line with their peers’ experiences. Community links are strong and all children are engaged in activities and clubs away from the home. A social worker said, ‘I have seen a remarkable turnaround in this child since he has been in this home. It has been five months and they have achieved so much. I cannot fault them. He does so many activities, which is another achievement as he would not have been able to manage football, going out to the park, going to the shops even going to school before he came here.’

p.6

Good

Children have friendships with other children who neighbour the home and with whom they attend school and out of school activities. Children’s friends are invited for meals and to play in the home and vice versa. Staff aim to normalise children’s life experiences which affords them maximum opportunity to integrate into society along with their peers. Children are extremely happy in this home. They interact naturally with staff and each other and identify an abundance of positives about the home and the staff. The optimism children share about this home and their care translates into improved self-worth and confidence, which is intrinsically linked to the progress they make in all areas of their lives. One child said, ‘ I have started gymnastics since I have been in this home and I have learned to do a back flip, it’s great, the carers are really good, I want to go back to my own country but if I cannot then I

p.6

Outstanding

Children who were previously non-school attenders now actively engage in formal education. The manager and staff work in close conjunction with teachers, special educational needs co-ordinators. When needed staff are present during the school day to support children’s involvement in learning. One child remains out of school due to moving out of his home area, the manager has identified an appropriate school provision and is proactive in seeking priority allocation of a place. In the interim, she arranges in house tuition. This young person’s parent said, ‘they encourage him to build. The home is excellent. They do many activities including education with him. They are working with me and supporting me to get him into the right school.’

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Outstanding

Children experience planned transitions into this home. All children referred to this provision have difficulties in their current placements whether that is with family or professional carers. Prior to any move, staff and the manager spend time with young people, meet with and involve professionals, parents and previous carers in the matching process and formulate a profile of the children. As a result, children have the opportunity to prepare to move into this home and look forward to it. A social worker said, ‘staff manage transition well, the manager came to visit the child. She spent some time with him took some pictures of the home and said he could choose his room and personalise it. His key worker also visited him twice. He visited the home prior to moving in and he chose his room. The transition was very well managed. They weren’t fearful of him, he had ruled his previous placement, boundaries were set before he even got here. It was one of the most positive

p.7

Outstanding

Staff bring a variety of experience to their work and this is underpinned by solid theoretical base which they gain through in house and external training. Application of therapeutic interventions and understanding is evident throughout the care children receive in this home. The children each have comprehensive in house care plans, which staff produce. They use these alongside children’s own plan, which they name, My Care Plan, in these plans young people identify their aspirations, hopes, goals and achievements. Therapeutic planning and intervention is integral to the care each child receives, this ensures staff tailor care to meet children’s individual needs.

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Outstanding

Children live in a home where the manager and staff effectively safeguard them from harm. Staff work closely with children, professionals and significant people to identify areas of risk, children also contribute to their own risk assessments. By involving children in the preparation of risk assessments, children gain an increased understanding of their own safety and vulnerabilities. A police officer said,’ we have made visits to the home and maintained contact with the manager; we have no concerns about this home or the children in it.’

p.8

Outstanding

Staff are knowledgeable of the home’s policies and procedures, they implement them confidently and with consistency. Where children display risk taking behaviours, staff are quick to identify these and use rehearsed de-escalation techniques to ensure the child is safe at all times. Staff are trained in appropriate use of physical intervention however, in the main this is used to emotionally contain children and encourage them to feel safe not to restrict them.

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Outstanding

Children benefit from key work sessions that staff plan in advance in conjunction with the in house therapist. Staff support children to explore their behaviours and experiences in an age appropriate way. Parents and other significant people are aware of the contents of key work sessions and of the appropriate responses, they should offer their children to ensure they can continue the positive achieved in the home. This also applies to schools where the staff and therapist support teachers to deliver a consolidated approach to children’s care.

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Outstanding

The manager encourages creativity in her staff team, she recently introduced the use of sensory processes into daily practice. One child visits a Caribbean greengrocer and staff took him to a chilli farm. He now grows chillies and onions in the garden of the home. Staff bought oranges from his home island, the smell and taste of the fruit triggered thoughts and memories for him and allowed him to share life experiences with staff.

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Outstanding

Significant people to the children are welcomed in the home and staff work closely with family members some of whom have not been present in their child’s life for significant amounts of time. As a result, of the direct work with family members relationships, which have previously been assessed as problematic for children or deemed inappropriate during historic care proceedings, are reintroduced. One parent said, ‘my son gets very good care, it is homely, very good care plans, they are very good at dealing with his behaviours. I feel like I am going into my second home, it is much better than where he was before, it isn’t at all what I expected it is so much better. They always remember I’m the parent they always involve me in everything.’ Judgement grade

p.8

Good

The manager is the owner and Registered Manager of this home. She has a social work qualification and brings experience of owning, setting up and managing another provision to this home.

p.9

Good

The manager is knowledgeable of the provision. She works closely with multiple professionals and keeps this home firmly on the map and at the forefront in terms of local services. She makes every endeavour to establish and promote links in the local community this enables children to experience and enjoy activities and social events with their peers.

p.9

Good

Staff are extremely positive about working in this home. They are passionate about the care that they deliver and understand each child’s individual needs, experiences, and behaviours. Staff describe dependable support from approachable managers. They recognise the value of the supervision they receive and of the therapeutic support available in terms of their approach to each child. Staff work well together and the team has a complimentary skill base that offers children a broad spectrum of care. Staff access a wealth of training and are clear that this is a priority for the manager. They feel invested in.

p.9

Good

Meetings and reflection time for staff and the manager is in place weekly. Staff use this time to review children’s progress and discuss any practice issues or suggestions of how to improve the home and the services it provides. Staff review the manager’s weekly audits and have time to work through any areas the manager has highlighted in respect of record keeping and planning.

p.9

Good

Effective monitoring systems are in place and the manager uses these to inform practice and improve organisational and practical home related issues. Children’s views are sought using pictorial documents, questionnaires and children’s meetings. Parents and professionals are also asked to complete regular questionnaires.

p.9

Good

During visits, family members are encouraged to share their views with staff and the manager and as a result the manager successfully involves them in their child’s care. One parent said, ‘They are good at communicating, better than anywhere he has been before, staff actually care about young people. The last carer would not let us know anything and would not let us be involved. Here it is different. We hear everything first hand, the key workers are excellent and the other staff too, they care. It feels like a second home to us, we do not feel at all uncomfortable, we feel like we have known the staff for ages. We are learning from the staff and manager and that is improving our relationship with our son.’

p.9

Good

Regular supervision occurs in this home, the manager and shift leaders provide this. Some more recent supervision records were not available for inspection.

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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. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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. procedures set out in 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

regulates and inspects to 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

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Information about this inspection

Policy Team, 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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