Children's Home run by Nottingham City Council in Nottingham

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:

 Staff are experienced, skilled and dedicated. They make sure that young people are safe and that they make good progress. Progress is particularly good in education.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There is a very low turnover of staff, ensuring that young people receive stability and consistency in their placement.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people are safer because of a quick reduction in their missing from care episodes.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff work extremely hard to forge positive and trusting relationships with young people. As a result, young people start to talk to staff about their problems and accept help.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff are very well managed and supported by their manager.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Managers’ monitoring ensures that there is always a clear picture about how the home is performing against its statement of purpose.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Shortfalls have been identified in the storage and recording of controlled drugs and how restricted access to parts of the home is managed. Inclusion of risk from radicalisation in individual risk assessments is recommended.

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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 any limitation placed on a child's privacy or access to any of the home's premises, is kept under review and if necessary revised. (Regulation 21(c)(iii)) 01/08/2015

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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 that staff have the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate a child is in any way at risk of harm. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 43, paragraph 9.12)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the registered person follows the guidelines from the document ‘Managing Medicines in Care Homes’ (March 2014). (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 35, paragraph 7.17)

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Information about this children's home

The home is owned by a local authority and is registered to provide accommodation for three young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. It sets out to provide care for young people who cannot remain within their family and who have behaviours which are difficult to manage. The home is an assessment centre. It is used to establish a young person’s needs and to establish a plan for how their needs will be met in the future.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

17/03/2015 CH - Interim Sustained Effectiveness

p.5

Good

Given young people’s complex situations when they arrive at the home, often in crisis, staff ensure that they are helped to come to terms with and to understand their situation. Young people often display challenging behaviour. However, the development of trusting relationships with staff enables them to talk about their feelings and what they find difficult. Management and staff see this as pivotal to positive improvement now and in the future. Young people confirm positive relationships with staff and said, ‘they show an interest’, ‘engage a lot’, and, ‘respect me’. This shows that young people are respected and valued for their own personality.

p.6

Good

Staff work very well with other professionals. Regular consultation with mental health agencies ensures that behaviour management plans are adjusted according to behavioural patterns and trends. This helps young people to optimise progress and starts to help them to manage their own conflicts as soon as possible.

p.6

Good

The young person always remains at the centre when decisions are made about their future, or when a transition to another home is being considered. One young person was recently well supported with their transition, ensuring their good understanding about what was happening and when, reducing anxiety. Young people are praised by staff for their progress, however small. Staff always make sure that young people know that staff care about them and want them to do well at their new placement, building their self-esteem.

p.6

Good

Staff promote good health. Young people feel fully able to speak to them about their health problems and they are encouraged to accept help from other professionals. As a result, they receive the help they need. Staff clearly understand the connection between emotional well-being and behaviour. They see the whole picture and try to understand the root of the problem to ensure that young people get the right support, so that they can make good progress.

p.6

Good

The arrangements and reasons for taking prescription medication are explained fully to young people, who understand why it is important that they take it. This helps them to take responsibility for their own health in the future. The arrangements for the storage and recording of controlled drugs in the home does not fully meet the current guidance. There is no controlled drugs book and the medicine is not always stored in a double-locked cabinet. This has not had an impact on young people, who have received the correct dosage of their medication on time.

p.6

Good

All young people admitted to this home since the last inspection have made good progress with their attendance in education. Many young people have not attended education for some time, but when they come to the home, they begin to engage again. This is very positive for individuals. One young person said, ’staff know your potential’, and, ‘I am better at school here.’ Staff ensure that they manage the gradual increase in education at a pace that is right for the young person, so that they are more likely to stick to their agreement. Young people who have been out of education for some years soon have an assessment to form a baseline for further progress in the future.

p.7

Good

Young people feel safe and secure in this home. They receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. Staff are very clear about what they need to do to protect individuals from harm. Information sharing with other professionals is very good. Regular liaison ensures that appropriate professionals receive relevant information as soon as possible. This allows for effective and prompt decision making with regard to safety and protection.

p.7

Good

The nature of the home means that young people may be in crisis on their arrival, and stabilising behaviour is the priority. Staff acknowledge that it takes time for some young people to start to make progress. The emphasis is on stabilising the behaviour first, which promotes good progress in the future. Young people learn about how to improve their behaviour to make it more socially acceptable, and this progress allows for development in other areas such as education. Staff have a consistent approach and work within behaviour management plans. These are detailed and specific. They understand what needs to be done to make sure that young people can learn, allowing young people to become safer in the long term.

p.7

Good

Some young people’s behaviour has been very complex and there have been times where instances of difficult behaviour have been very regular. Despite this, the staff approach is always positive. They work well with the police, youth offending teams and think about restorative justice approaches, rather than criminalising young people, wherever they can. A police officer commented, ‘I think staff have managed the challenges quite well.’

p.7

Good

Physical intervention is a very last resort in this home and there has only been one instance of this since the last inspection, despite young people’s challenging behaviour. This event was appropriate and the intervention was conducted to protect individuals. The young person was debriefed afterwards and was fully able to comment on staff practice in this event to promote their further learning.

p.8

Good

There has been one incident in the home, involving restricted access to the kitchen, which led to the escalation of a behavioural incident. Staff were very clear that the restricted access needed to happen in order to manage the behaviour at the time. This was only a small part of a very complex incident, and the young person’s risk assessment contained detail about this measure. However, if young people are unclear about the reasons for restricted access to parts of the home, there is the potential for situations to escalate in the future.

p.8

Good

Young people have had no episodes of going missing from care since the last inspection. This is very positive for some, who experienced this very regularly before they came to this home. When young people are absent, staff raise their concerns with the police and other professionals where necessary. This enables all agencies to respond to protect young people’s safety.

p.8

Good

Staff are not risk adverse. This enables young people to lead a normal life and develop independence skills for their future. Actions to be taken are clear, and as a result, staff understand how to protect young people. Risk assessments cover a range of issues such as self-harm, e-safety, missing from care, and violent and aggressive behaviour. Managers and staff have considered how to protect young people from radicalisation and they understand the risks. However, such risks have not been fully considered on an individual basis in the otherwise comprehensive risk assessment process.

p.8

Good

Managers are excited and enthusiastic about a new and revised risk assessment approach where they can monitor progress on safety through individual interviews with young people. The idea is that young people work together with staff and bring more of their own ideas to reduce risks further. This will help young people to understand their own safety and learn how to protect themselves. Judgement grade

p.8

Good

The registered manager has been in post since 2013. He holds the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Management, which is well suited to his role in the home. Young people, staff and other professionals are all very positive about his leadership. One young person said, ‘he cares about us.’ Senior staff also support the manager in his role. They are very child focused, enthusiastic and help to drive forward positive change and improvement. One professional stated, ‘the senior and his team are amazing.’

p.9

Good

Admissions to the home are well considered through a robust individual and group impact assessment, and the registered manager is not afraid to refuse referrals, if he feels that there will be any detriment to young people. However, despite this, in April, the mix of young people led to an increase in the frequency of significant behavioural incidents. Managers took effective and prompt action. They listened carefully to what young people said. They also ensured that young people’s best interests were fully considered at the earliest opportunity, before appropriate placement decisions were made. During this period, managers listened to staff and responded to the situation by increasing staffing levels. Staff supervise young people well and notice any instances of behaviour at a very early stage which enables them to keep young people safe.

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Good

There has been no turnover of staff since the last inspection, showing that staff are well established in their role. As a result, young people get to know the staff quickly because of a consistent continuity of care. Staff are well managed through high quality support. Managers regularly meet with them to discuss their practice and any problems or concerns. One member of staff said: ‘Support is really good, we have frequent supervision.’ Young people feel fully able to have their say about staff performance and regularly fill out questionnaires about individual staff members. Managers use these in supervision to help staff to reflect and make further adjustments to their practice. Staff regularly update their skills and knowledge through a well-organised training package, which includes training in different forms to suit individual learning styles. This includes staff meetings, team days and more formal external and internal training. As a result, staff are fully able

p.9

Good

to meet young people’s individual needs.

p.9

Good

The one recommendation made at the last inspection is met. There have been improvements to recording in the home, which now provides a clear account of young people’s progress and difficulties. The statement of purpose is regularly reviewed to ensure that it accurately sets out the home’s intentions regarding how young people’s needs will be met. The document remains appropriate and the home cares for young people in line with the document.

p.9

Good

The management team is well aware of how the home is performing through its own robust monitoring systems. Equally, managers know that there are areas for development and fully accept that they need to work to ensure that all the new Quality Standards and Regulations are fully met.

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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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