Children's Home run by ROC Northwest Limited in Lancashire

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:

 The home provides a safe, secure, stable and comfortable environment for children and young people which enable them to feel safe grow and flourish, and children and young people benefit from supportive, nurturing and trusting relationships with the staff.  Most children and young people are achieving their individual education targets and maintain exceptionally high education attendance in their individual provision.  Contact with significant family and friends is actively promoted and facilitated for children and young people regularly in line with their care plans, to enable them to maintain their sense of identity and heritage.  Children and young people are enabled and supported to increase their semi-independent skills in line with their age, ability and level of understanding.  Positive and regular communication from the manager and leadership team ensure the staff are kept up to date with the progress children and young

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The children's home provision is good because:

people make, their emerging needs and the plans in place to address these.  Regular internal and external monitoring of the home, which routinely incorporates the views of children, young people, partner agencies and the staff team ensure the home continues to develop and improve.  Professionals are complimentary about the manager and staff team. They state they provide consistent care, understand children and young peoples’ needs well and keep them safe.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Physical intervention is used as a last resort by appropriately trained staff when children and young people are unable to manage their emotional responses effectively. Children and young people, and staff are debriefed following any incidents that occur however the present recording systems do not provide enough detail to be absolutely clear on what medical assistance if any has been offered, accepted or refused following the restraint.

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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

8.—(1) The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff— (i) help each child to achieve the child's education and training targets, as recorded in the child's relevant plans; (ii) support each child's learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study.

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring children and young people are supported to undertake any additional identified school work within the home environment as outlined in their education plans, such as additional French work. 07/08/2015

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records:

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relations to a child in the home, a record is made which includes- a description of any injuries to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(viii)) 07/08/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  ensure the Registered Manager has an understanding of how schools function, including the processes for administration to school, accessing where necessary the role of the Virtual School Head of address and challenge any issues of concern should a child or young person not be in receipt of their statutory right to purposeful and meaningful education. (The Guide to the Quality Standards. Page 27, paragraph 5.10)

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Information about this children's home

 This children's home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for no more than five children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, physical disabilities and learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

10/02/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Children and young people have trusting and supportive relationships with the consistent, stable and trained staff team. They report they feel confident in sharing their likes and dislikes and feel supported and encouraged to engage in their care planning. For example, some have requested specific activities, meals, holidays and changes to their free time within their care plans. These requests have been given careful consideration by the staff team, placing authority and subsequently implemented by the manager and his team.

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Good

Children and young people are fully involved in their own care planning and the running of their home. Regular Key working sessions and weekly residents meetings enable them to share their wishes and views, which are then given careful consideration prior to implementation. Children and young people report that they have developed positive relationship with members of the staff team and feel at ease to raise any issues or concerns with them should the need arise.

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Good

Children and young people are encouraged to expand their knowledge and skills by experiencing a varied and in some cases, a sustained number of community based meaningful activities. They are supported to enjoy their childhood and youth by gaining new skills and making new friends within the local area. They do this by attending weekly gym sessions, going swimming, attending trampoline clubs and being members of the local Guides. Others attend local youth groups, going to the park or going out for walks, which children and young people report they enjoy.

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Good

Staff advocate, support and facilitate contact for children and young people in line with their individual care plans. Staff have been proactive in moving contact plans on, to allow some children and young people to have unsupervised contact. Staff value children and young people’s friendships and support this contact sensitively. They ensure children and young people can attend the homes of friends for evening meals and facilitate contact with their friends within their home towns, which for some can be a considerable distance. One social worker reported, ‘They went beyond expectations when they took (Name) to have contact with her friend in Leicester which is almost a 6 hour round trip.’

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Good

The manager and staff have a good understanding of the progress children and young people have made while at the home. They are able to discuss children and young peoples’ past experiences, achievements to date and desired outcomes for the future. The manager is in the process of implementing new recording systems to capture these experiences and the progress young people make, however at this juncture it is too early to evaluate the effectiveness of this.

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Good

Partner agencies are very complimentary about the quality of care and support that is afforded to all children and young people. They attribute this to an effective management team, which supports the committed staff team to continue who drive improvements forward in behaviour and attainment for most children and young people.

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Good

Children and young people are involved, prepared and supported well to ensure a smooth and successful transition into and out of the home. They benefit from careful matching, preparation and induction into the home, which they are fully involved in. When children and young people need to be placed in an emergency the management team ensure the right level of staffing support and skills are available prior to them joining the home so they can be welcomed, cared for and supported effectively. The local police officer noted, ‘We have over the course of this year had far less need to visit than in previous years this is I believe predominantly due to a change in management style and young persons being selected to reside at the facility which is more fitting to their needs.’

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Good

The home provides a safe, clean homely environment for children and young people. Good health and safety arrangements enable staff to maintain a safe home environment for the benefit of children and young people. The home has been decorated taking into full account the preferences of the children and young people and is maintained to a good standard. There is enough space for young people to relax and play games, complete homework and socialise with friends either together or privately .

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Good

Clear recording of children and young people’s lives and progress is maintained which enables them to gain a sense of their past, present and future. Present recording systems identify their strengths, needs and vulnerabilities and the actions being taken by all to work through this. However not all records are detailed enough to be absolutely clear on what interventions if any have been offered, accepted or refused following physical inventions.

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Good

Children and young people in the home have developed stable and secure relationships with staff. Staff are warm and approachable and the relationships help promote positive behaviour. Staff support them to develop understanding and empathy towards each other and deal with areas of conflict in appropriate and acceptable ways. All children and young people get on well with each other and there are no issues of bullying behaviour within the home. The children and young people are respectful of others, well-mannered and courteous to visitors.

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Good

Behaviour is are managed effectively and achievements are celebrated and rewarded. Managers monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of behaviour management strategies that are in place, which staff routinely implement in line with young people’s individual care plans. Young people report that consequences are fair and appropriate.

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Good

Children and young people receive a good level of care by a trained and supported workforce and their safety is prioritised. The staff team have a good understanding of the whistle blowing and safeguarding procedures. These are routinely discussed within supervision and team meetings, and staff report they feel confident in implementing these should the need arise. Staff are aware of the individual needs and vulnerabilities of the children and young people and routinely implement their individual care plans and risk assessments. These assessments are regularly reviewed and updated following any significant event. Children and young people report they feel safe and protected within the home.

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Good

Children and young people receive a good level of safe care from a staff team who have been subject to robust recruitment processes. Staff undertake a rigorous application, interview, reference and disclosure check prior to commencing employment. This ensures that only those suitable to work with vulnerable children and young people do so.

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Good

Managers and staff are proactive in addressing any safeguarding issues and access information and support from the necessary agencies as soon as these needs arise. For example, staff have restricted young peoples’ independent internet access, ensured appropriate parental permissions are in situ and have sourced a specialist team to deliver training developed to tackle child sexual exploitation. These responses and actions have ensured that young people are given further information and knowledge to ensure they can become increasing safe while accessing the online world.

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Good

Children and young people are making good progress in their health, educational, social and psychological wellbeing. Most children and young people engage with generic health services and appointments are rebooked, and support offered to those who continue to refuse to attend. Children and young people who require additional support to assist them with managing their emotional well-being are supported and encouraged to attend weekly child and adolescent mental health services for their weekly sessions.

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Good

Some children and young people benefit from varied and sustained community based and school based activities. They are able to enjoy new experiences such as residential trips away with their clubs. They build and develop their existing skills, achieving awards such as trampolining for their achievements. Others, with their key workers, have taken part in charity running events and raised monies for local charities. This enables children and young people to feel part of their local community and helps them develop their confidence and self-esteem.

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Good

Basic independent living skills are promoted for all children and young people. They are supported to increase the semi-independent skills in line with their age, ability and level of understanding. Children and young people are encouraged to help around the home, keeping it and their rooms tidy. Whilst the incentivised approach to encourage the completion of these tasks has worked for some, others continue to require additional prompting to do this.

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Good

Most children and young people benefit from exceptionally high school attendance and are achieving their individual targets. They are supported by the staff to do well and their achievements are celebrated. Staff encourage and support most children and young people with their homework and facilitate extra curriculum activities in accordance with their request. However support identified within one young person’s education plan has not been translated into the homes care plan. As a result, one child has not received the additional education input to support them with their French vocabulary work within the home.

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Good

Children and young people are supported to understand their thoughts and feelings and regulate their emotions and behaviours effectively. While for some this has reduced the use of physical interventions, for some this level of intervention is still required. When physical intervention is used, it is done so by appropriately trained staff as a last resort to ensure all children young people and others are kept safe. Detailed records are kept to describe the efforts taken to de-escalate the situation, the restraint used, a debrief from the staff and child or young person concerned, and are evaluated by the Registered Manager within the prescribed period. However, it is not clear within the current recording systems what medical assistance is being offered, sourced and accessed by the child or young person following the incident.

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Good

The home is managed effectively by an experienced and qualified Registered Manager who is committed to continuing his own and staff teams’ professional development. He has been registered with Ofsted since 6 December 2013 and holds the required National Vocational Qualification Level 5. To support the manager there is a competent deputy manager and two shift leaders who understand and are familiar with the everyday management of the home.

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Good

The manager keeps abreast of changes in legislation and practice and understands the recent legislative changes to the Regulations, The Guide to the Quality Standards and the changes this has incorporated into the new inspection framework which underpin his work. His knowledge and understanding is shared regularly with the staff team to ensure they continue to provide good quality care and support to all children and young people in line with the home’s reviewed Statement of Purpose.

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Good

The Statement of Purpose and Children’s Guide provide detailed information about the home’s aims and objectives. This ensures that families, placing authorities and other agencies are informed of the care and support young people can expect to receive. These documents are available and are shared with placing authorities and children and young people before and on their arrival.

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Good

The manager and staff have developed good links and work well with partner agencies, including local police, teachers, social workers, health professionals and safeguarding agencies. When additional services have been required the manager has been proactive in identifying these services. For example the manager has sought support from the specialist child sexual exploitation team to increase all children and young people’s knowledge and understanding of these issues. This support has been requested and this intervention has recently commenced. These positive working relationships with partner agencies ensure a well-planned, consistent and cohesive response to meeting children and young people’s individual needs.

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Good

The two recommendations set at the previous inspection have been adequately addressed. Consent from children and young people and placing authorities has now been obtained for the independent visitor, who undertakes the monthly Regulation 44 visits, to speak with and view the case records for all the children and young people within the home. Furthermore the manager has strengthened the safeguarding recognition, response and recordings of any injuries and allegations that are made. As a consequence safeguarding for children and young people has improved.

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Good

The manager has taken appropriate steps to address the two requirements raised at the last inspection. All staff are now either completing or enrolled on the required Level 3 National Vocational Qualification and the recording of significant incidents has been improved.

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Good

Managers have a good understanding of the strengths and developmental needs of the service. A working development plan, which is kept under review, is in place to address the shortfalls and to increase the experience and progress of the children and young people living within the home.

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Good

The home is sufficiently staffed and resourced to meet the individual needs of the children and young people it provides care for in line with the home’s Statement of Purpose. Staff are positive about working at the home and said they feel supported by the management team whom are visible and readily available to them to ensure a good level of care. This support is enhanced by training relevant to the needs of the children and young people, and regular supervision which allows them the opportunity to reflect on and develop their practice.

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Good

External and internal monitoring and feedback systems are in place to ensure the service continues to develop and improve the experience and progress for children and young people. The Registered Manager evaluates the quality of care on an on- going basis and submits the monitoring reports to Ofsted at the appropriate frequency. He the opinions of young people, their parents or relatives and the placing authorities systematically regarding the care experience and quality of care.

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Good

Records are stored safely and overall they provide a good account of young people’s plans, risks and progress. This ensures that young people’s sensitive and confidential information is protected.

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Good

The importance of education for all children and young people is valued by the manager and staff team. They ensure most children and young people receive their statutory entitlement to education. However, one of the five young people is still not receiving their statutory entitlement to meaningful and purposeful education, despite being within the home since the middle of April 2015. The manager has made attempts to rectify this by contacting the placing local authority but this has proven to be ineffective in securing an appropriate provision. The placing local authority’s Virtual School Head has not yet been requested to provide an appropriate provision for the young person but this is to be progressed.

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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

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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