Children's Home run by Mangrove Care Limited in Staffordshire

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:

 Relationships between staff and young people are good. Young people feel listened to and respected by the nurturing staff group.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The individual diversity and identity of young people is valued and promoted. They are encouraged to accept who they are; this develops confidence and positive self-esteem.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The independence skills development of young people is excellent.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people make good progress supported by a committed and skilled staff group who provide consistent care.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Contact arrangements between young people and their families are valued and promoted with relationships benefitting as a result.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The registered manager is committed, seeking continual improvement and supports the staff team.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Monitoring of the quality or care is robust and seeks to continually improve services provided by the home.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There are a few shortfalls in practice. This includes missing from care, impact assessments for new admissions and providing outside space that young people can use safely.

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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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality of care standard ensure that children living in the home have the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortable.

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Requirement Due date

(2) In particular and with reference to having an appropriate outside garden space that is in the interests of children and is safe the registered person to-

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Requirement Due date

(c) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to-

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Requirement Due date

(ii) enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. 28/08/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard ensure that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

(2) In particular and with reference to ensuring children who are persistently being absent and engaging in risky behaviours the registered person must ensure-

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Requirement Due date

(i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if 14/08/2015 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe.

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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 the registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (The guide to the Quality Standards, page 56 paragraph 11.4)

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people aged between ten and seventeen years on admission. The home is privately owned and managed. 

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

04/02/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

12/03/2014 CH - Interim Satisfactory progress

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good

Relationships between young people and staff are good, noticeable through good support, encouragement and care. The staff group and managers are diligent, show perseverance and determination to work through difficult times with young people. Young people recognise how well they have done and what they have achieved. This supports the development of a positive self-view. This in turn, leads to improved confidence and better self-esteem. A young person said, ’staff are supportive and have helped me to become more independent and I have improved my skills and this is really good’.

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good

Staff members nurture young people’s individuality. The young people are encouraged and supported to accept and value themselves and diversity more broadly. Difference is celebrated. As a result, young people have embraced their own diversity and that of others. Self-acceptance, self-esteem and confidence are developed and young people are proud of themselves.

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good

Young people are healthy. They have a good awareness of how to care for their health. They show a good understanding of healthy diets. They maintain contact with a variety of primary health care professionals. Annual health assessments are completed which help to provide advice on all aspects of physical and emotional well-being. Despite advice to the contrary, young people continue to smoke. The staff consistently ensure young people receive advice and support to decrease or stop smoking. This has met with some success with reductions in smoking noted.

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good

Independence and self-care skills of young people continue to improve. They develop skills with managing finances, shopping and cooking. The staff and managers allow young people greater levels of autonomy as their skills and confidence improves. For example, one young person recently spent a planned period living in semi-independence flat. This enabled him to gain understanding of the challenges of living alone. It also enabled staff to assess his skills and identify any gaps he may have.

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good

Young people are mostly making progress in education and employment. For some, their attendance has been poor and refused to attend education. The response from the registered manager and staff has been robust in these circumstances. Staff have promoted the importance of educational attendance through individual keyworker sessions. Meetings with the education provider and the local authority to find joint solutions have taken place. One young person, to his credit, successfully completed work experience with a national retailer. He has since applied for a full-time position and waiting to see if successful. He said, ‘that staff have helped me change significantly since being here’.

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good

All young people have appropriate and positive contact with people who are close to them. The staff and managers value relationships between the young people and their parents.

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requires improvement

The registered manager and staff understand the crucial importance of robust safeguarding policy and practice. Good quality risk assessments support staff in their efforts to keep young people safe. Risk assessments are subject to regular review, updating and encapsulate the views and actions of other agencies.

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requires improvement

At the time of this inspection, one young person continued to go missing from care with increasing frequency. The young person is placing themselves at considerable risk of harm and potential exploitation. The registered manager has ensured they follow the missing from care procedures. This includes having regular individual keyworker sessions with the young person and increasing staffing to enable staff to follow them when they leave the home. Unfortunately, these efforts have not been successful with the frequency of missing incidents growing. This young person is not kept safe in relation to missing from care and risk of harm remains high.

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requires improvement

The staff do not tolerate bullying and any incidents are quickly dealt with. Young people feel that bullying is not a problem. They enjoy good relationships overall and show sensitivity and care toward each other. This means the atmosphere in the home is positive, caring and with a good sense of humour and fun.

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requires improvement

Good multi-agency planning ensures young people are better protected by agencies working together in a coordinated and responsive manner. Looked after children’s reviews, strategy meetings and good ongoing communication takes place and supports safeguarding practice. A social worker made the following remarks, ‘I am pleased with what the home has done to support the young person, the home keep me well informed’.

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requires improvement

Young people do have adults they can turn to if worried. Social workers, reviewing officers and advocates are available. They have access to means of communication and know how to complain and will complain if unhappy. The manager has ensured transparency and welcomes scrutiny of the service believing this supports ongoing development.

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requires improvement

The young people have become safer. Staff have guided them away from risk taking behaviours such as alcohol and drug use.

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requires improvement

The staff does not accept poor and negative behaviour displayed by young people. Sanctions and consequences are used proportionately and appropriately in response to poor behaviour. This is balanced with rewards for positive behaviour. As a consequence, young people understand what is acceptable behaviour and what is not. This will support young people as they develop and enter adulthood.

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requires improvement

Physical intervention is rare, indeed only one incident since the last inspection. The intervention was appropriate in the circumstances.

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requires improvement

The environment is homely and safe, clean and suitable furnished. Personalisation by the young people is evident throughout, and they are encouraged to express their feelings and wishes with regard the house. The outside space is not inviting for young people. The garden is overgrown with dilapidated garden furniture and decking.

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good

Young people benefit from a suitable qualified and dedicated registered manager. He is experienced, committed and knowledgeable. He holds a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare and social work qualification. He is supported well by an equally knowledgeable deputy manager. They responded promptly to requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. As a consequence, the responsible individual and registered manager undertook additional training on safeguarding children. The managers are clear about their roles, responsibilities and accountability. The staff team remains relatively settled and stable. The manager does not rely upon agency staff. Recruitment and vetting processes for new staff members are robust. Sufficient checking of past employment, references and criminal records takes place. This reduces the likelihood of young people being harmed by those in

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good

Young people benefit from care being provided by well-trained and supported staff members. Good quality supervision takes place on a regular basis supported by training for staff. There exists a development programme and this ensures the ongoing development of staff remains a key priority.

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good

Team meetings and handover meetings ensure good communication. Meetings take place on a daily basis and ensure that good coordination and communication across the staff team. There exists a mutually respectful relationship across the staff group where they share ideas, learning and development. This means a forward-looking group of staff harness each other’s strengths for the benefit of the young people who they care for.

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good

Impact assessments for new young people lack rigorous analysis in relation to the impact upon staff. For example, staff struggled to manage the demands placed upon them of a young person who persistently absconds from the home. This has required additional staffing resources to manage these demands.

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good

The registered manager ensures compliance with health and safety requirements including risk assessments and fire and evacuation procedures. The lone working risk assessment is regularly reviewed and updated.

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good

The manager uses robust quality assurance processes effectively. The independent visitor completes monthly monitoring reports. The manager also completes a report setting out an action plan for ongoing development. Information obtained from comments by other professionals and young people inform the ongoing monitoring of quality of care in the home. This demonstrates the home strives for continuous improvement, which benefits young people.

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good

The manager has recently updated the statement of purpose. This is an accurate reflection of the home and the services it provides. Young people are provided with information about the home from the comprehensive and accessible children’s guide. Young people know what to expect, how to make a complaint and have access to avenues of support.

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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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