Children's Home run by Amegreen Children’s Services in West Berkshire

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A short time has passed since the last inspection in March 2015 and young people continue to express they are happy, safe and well supported by staff. Young people continue to make significant progress in all aspects of their lives, while building appropriate relationships in and outside of the home. Records continue to show that young people do not engage in harmful or risky behaviour and never go missing. The majority of young people can demonstrate an excellent understanding of their care plan and how to achieve their goals. The views of young people are routinely obtained and incorporated into excellent care planning by staff, as overseen by the management team.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The atmosphere in the home is calm, settled and offers young people a family home environment. The home continues to be maintained to a high level providing young people with safety, space to engage with others and privacy when needed. Ample resources are available to assist staff in meeting the needs of young people. Young people continue to enjoy a wide range of individualised activities in the community, now that the weather has improved.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The management team has now put a stable staff team in place, consisting of experienced staff and new staff that have recently completed probation. The management team identified and transferred out a staff member that did not engage well with the young people in the home. Young people now benefit from having motivated, nurturing staff on shift who understand their behaviours. This is evident by the record which continues to show the home has not experienced a physical intervention for a considerable time period.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The restriction of Wi-Fi usage was previously an issue among young people. Young people felt that staff would wrongly restrict all their access to Wi-Fi, even if only one young person disregarded the rules. The staff have effectively listened to the views of young people and has provided each young person with their own Wi-Fi access code so that if a Wi-Fi restriction is used as a sanction others in the home would not be impacted. A young person said, ‘Wi-Fi used to be a big issue but is now fairly managed.’ All young people have excellent attendance at their educational provisions. The educational achievement for each young person varies, but when considering their individual starting points, all young people have made significant progress. All personal education plans for young people are up to date and some young people are completing their GSCE’s. Young people are supported by staff to challenge

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

decisions that may impact their educational progress.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are confident as they continue to learn and apply age-appropriate skills that give them a greater chance of managing their adult lives. All the young people are able to safely travel independently to school and throughout the community. Many of the young people have developed social skills and have developed positive peer relations outside of the home. Some young people have made significant progress; plans are underway to transition to a semi-independent living programme. An email from a placing social worker to the registered manager spoke ‘highly’ of staff and the impact on the young person being ready for a semi- independent programme. The young person spoke positive about their experience in the home and presented as excited about their upcoming transition.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Complaints by young people against staff are taken very seriously by the management team. If the complaint involves a potential safeguarding issue the local authority is consulted promptly and steps are taken to keep the young person safe. An example of this involved a staff member being suspended from the rota, due to a young person making a complaint against them that was initially considered a safeguarding issue. The young person withdrew their complaint and the staff member returned to work after meeting with management. When spoken to the young person said, ‘they were happy with how the complaint was handled, the staff member apologised and the apology was accepted.’ The record keeping for this incident was not easily assessable during the inspection and the staff member never received any formal written communication.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The management team was only available at the end of day during the inspection, due to attending scheduled training. The registered manager advised that the entire organisation is undergoing a consultation regarding the new regulations. It was noted that the statement of purpose remains in the process of being updated, to reflect, the new regulations that came into effect in April 2015. As a result of this inspection two requirements have been made.

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Information about this children's home

This section should outline:  SC473329  The home is privately owned.  The service can accommodate up to four young people of mixed gender with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

05/11/2014 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

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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

compile in relation to the children’s home a statement of purpose which covers matters listed in schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1)) 12/07/2015

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Requirement Due date

ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation specifically when the complaint is against an employee of the home. (Regulation 39 (3)) 12/07/2015

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Requirement Due date

{an asterisk is added in the table above where Compliance = 'Y'} * These requirements are subject to statutory requirement notice.

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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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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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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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