Children's Home run by Appletree Treatment Centre Limited in Westmorland and Furness

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 high level of support to young people with very complex emotional and behavioural needs. From their starting points young people are making good progress in respect of gaining understanding of appropriate behaviour.  The staff team are stable and show a high level of commitment to the young people. They are determined to make the home a ‘real home’ for them, they offer care and warmth that allows trust to develop.  The relationships between young people and staff are a key strength of this home.  Young people are valued as individuals and encouraged and supported to develop and progress through a balance of nurture and support.  All young people attend education and are making educational progress.  Good multi agency working takes place, particularly with the local constabulary who provide support to address behaviour which has the potential for the criminalisation of young people.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The home advocates on behalf of the young people. One social worker stated ’They don’t give up, they are committed’.  Contact with key family members is promoted in a safe way, and the home is proactive in progressing that contact.  Young people are encouraged and enabled to pursue their own interests and hobbies. This includes day trips to theme parks and water parks, several sporting activities such as swimming, badminton, golf, walks, holidays in the UK and a season ticket for a rugby league team.  The home is generally maintained and decorated to a good standard which promotes its homely environment. However, some minor redecoration and repairs are required. Young people’s views are sought in relation to how the home is decorated which promotes their sense of ownership and belonging.  Young people’s behaviour is sensitively managed. Sanctions are relevant and their effectiveness is reviewed. Staff have a good understanding of the

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The children's home provision is good because:

reasons why young people may behave in certain ways.  The young people have some difficulties in getting along with each other and although a number of strategies have been implemented to improve their relationship there continues to be incidents of verbal aggression and threats which on occasion result in the use of physical intervention. Ongoing work will need to be undertaken to support the young people in getting along better and reduce the level of physical intervention in the home.  Staff receive supervision, appraisal and training which allows them to develop and progress in their roles.

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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

11: The positive relationships standard ensure each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others; specifically other young people within the home. Regulation11(2)(a)(xiii)(b)) 04/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

11: The positive relationships standard ensure each child is helped to develop and practice skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone. This specifically relates to helping young people to regulate their behaviour so that the use of physical interventions is reduced. Regulation 1(2)(a)(iv)) 04/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard ensure that the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child; specifically that bedroom furniture is not damaged, damage to walls is promptly repaired and the downstairs bath is in a good state for use. Regulation 6(c)(i)) 03/07/2015

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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

 children should be supported to understand how to build friendships with other children. They should be able to spend time with their friends in the local community, in their home area, and by having friends visit them at the home, in line with the child’s plans, age and understanding. (The Guide to the Quality Standards paragraph 8.8 page 38)

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Information about this children's home

The children’s home is part of the private organisation. It is dually registered as a school. It provides care for up to four young people of either gender, aged 13 – 18 years with emotional, social, behavioural and associated/specific learning difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

18/02/2015 CH - Interim Improved Effectiveness

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good

The young people’s experiences and progress are good. Prior to coming to this home they have been cared for within another of the provider’s homes so they benefit from a smooth transition and consistency of care. Young people enjoy close and supportive relationships with staff which enables them to feel settled and secure and to focus their energies on developing their personalities, interests and making progress across a number of areas such as their emotional and behavioural development.

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good

Transitions are carefully managed because young people are well prepared with visits before they come to live at the home. Young people moving on have spent a lengthy periods of time in the home developing independence skills and preparing for adult life. This has allowed one young person to successfully move into an adult foster placement where he is settled and doing well.

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good

Highly individualised care plans are used to form the basis of the care and support provided in the home. This individualised care means that young people feel valued and this is reflected in their generally positive attitudes.

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good

A particular strength of this home is the high quality relationships between staff and young people. One member of staff said the most important role he played was ‘Letting them know that I am always there for them.’

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good

Staff spoken to during the inspection have detailed knowledge of the needs of each young person and are clear about their roles in helping young people make progress. Staff have good knowledge of some theories underpinning the effects of trauma, loss, abuse and neglect and how these may impact on their presenting behaviours. This means that their behaviour is understood and responded to in a sensitive manner.

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good

Young people benefit from consistent and fair boundaries. Although, young people still need restrictive physical intervention at times in order to safely manage their behaviour, targets to reduce these types of interventions are in place.

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good

All young people are healthy and are supported to maintain their health. Where health needs are identified they are encouraged to see the benefits of medical assessments. Where intensive therapeutic input is required, careful arrangements are made to ensure that the correct level of support is available. Young people attend and engage in education. The home is dually registered as a school and this provides consistency across both settings. They do not have many opportunities to interact with their peers in the education setting and this is something that is a target for both young people. The use of a local farm does allow for greater opportunities for interaction. A wide range of activities are available to the young people within the home that interest them and promote development, and age appropriate social activities are provided that allow for some peer contact, although this is limited. Young people are fully consulted about the

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good

activities they wish to participate in and in making plans for holidays.

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good

The young people in placement rarely chose to participate in joint activities, and any time they do spend together, particularly mealtimes, can result in negative behaviours. Whilst they are encouraged to be tolerant and respectful of each other further work is needed to develop a more positive relationship between them.

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good

Contact with key family members is promoted. Staff are proactive in progressing contact where they have felt it is in the young person’s best interests and have also offered appropriate support to young people who no longer wish to have contact with some family members.

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good

Risk assessments are good. Areas of high risk are clearly identified, understood and managed. They are regularly reviewed and updated in line with individual changing needs.

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good

There has only been one missing from home incident since the last full inspection and this was for a duration of little more than an hour. The young person was located quickly and did not come to any harm. All procedures were rigorously followed and the incident was well documented.

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good

Young people are highly vulnerable in the community due to their presenting behaviours and learning needs. This is recognised with young people being well supported when out in the community. Some limited free time is allowed and this is risk managed and has not resulted in any concerns to date.

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good

One specific issue for the young people in this home is that when they become angry or upset they make sexual and physical threats to each other and to staff members. Such threats are of a serious nature and are personalised. The Registered Manager is proactive in managing these behaviours. The local police community support officer visits the home to discuss the seriousness of such threats and the potential consequences should they be reported to the police. This enables young people to understand that whilst these behaviours are dealt with internally it is not acceptable to make threats and they could be criminalised for doing so.

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good

The young people in this home thrive on routine and consistency. They are provided with clear and consistent boundaries regarding behaviour management. They are involved in understanding the consequences of their actions and there is a focus on restorative work which helps them reflect on, and take responsibility for, their behaviour. Restrictive physical interventions are used although a variety of de-escalation techniques are tried prior to this. Any incidents of physical intervention are well documented and reviewed by a manager. Young people are offered access to a health professional after any incident and are given a debrief.

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good

Although the young people are not considered to be high risk of child sexual exploitation the local police have completed a session with them about this issue which was well received. Staff are also mindful of the dangers of social media and internet use and robust systems are in place to ensure young people’s online safety. Staff have been trained in these areas.

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good

There have been no reported concerns or allegations against staff since the last inspection and staff spoken to are confident that they have good knowledge in respect of safeguarding. Staff also report that ongoing training is provided by the company which regularly includes safeguarding training.

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good

The home is led by a Registered Manager who has been in post since 2009 and who holds a level 5 management qualification. She is an experienced manager who is keen to continue to develop her staff team. The staff spoken to during the inspection are happy with the level of management support they received and feel confident that should they need additional support or guidance it will be made available to them. One staff member commented ‘The training and support are second to none’. The members of staff spoken to all reported that the children are at the centre of any decisions made both in the home and in the wider organisation.

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good

All current staff are qualified at NVQ level 3 as well as accessing a wide range of other training courses to promote their professional development. There has been a vacant night awake post for a considerable length of time and this is covered by agency and bank staff. The manager uses the same small group of staff to cover this post to ensure consistency for the young people.

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good

The staff welcome the monthly consultation with the company psychologist who helps them understand the theories underpinning work with young people and assists them to understand and support the young people as best they can.

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good

Communication between the managers and staff is reported to be very good. The team meeting minutes evidence that staff actively participate and there is a culture where suggestions are welcomed. There is also a culture of reflection with staff. A young person’s keywork session demonstrated an agenda item ‘what can I do to work better with you’. This evidences a commitment to improving practice.

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good

Young people are consulted about their care and their wishes and feelings are sought via a range of methods. The young people’s meetings are detailed and the agenda items are mainly ones that the young people have brought up. Keyworker sessions are regularly held which provide a further opportunity for young people to express themselves. The Responsible Individual takes the young people out individually for lunch twice per year to seek their views and they look forward to this and participate well.

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good

Regular monitoring of the home takes place and changes have been made to the registered manager’s monitoring reports to reflect the recommendation of the interim inspection. The reports are becoming more evaluative and less narrative and this is a process which is ongoing. The manager is keen to take on board advice from the thorough Regulation 44 visitor and is happy with the level of monitoring provided by these reports.

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good

The home maintains high quality relationships with external agencies. One social worker reported communication as a strength of the home. There is active engagement across a range of professionals to ensure that the young people’s needs are met in all areas.

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good

The home effectively challenges other services where their response is not effective. One social worker described the staff as ‘Good at pushing the local authority, good at pushing for the health care plan…they don’t give up’. The impact of this is that young people receive the support they need from all the agencies and services involved in their lives.

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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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