Children's Home run by The Place Young People’s Company in Leicestershire

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 foster nurturing, trusted and supportive relationships with children and young people. They provide a therapeutic approach, which allows children and young people to develop and thrive.  Children and young people make significant progress particularly concerning their emotional health.  Children and young people say they feel safe. They rarely engage in risk taking activities such as running away. Strong positive relationships help children and young people feel safe and secure.  The manager and staff are highly motivated and enthusiastic about providing child-centred care for children and young people. Staff have access to a good training programme which includes qualifications in the therapeutic model used by the home.  Children and young people are fully consulted about their care, future and the day-to-day running of the home.  There are some identified shortfalls that are mostly about the implementation

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The children's home provision is good because:

and management of the home’s policies and procedures. These include risk management, recruitment procedures, medication practice and completion of records. These are not widespread failures and do not significantly impact on the safety and welfare of children and young people or their progress.

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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

13. The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must:

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Requirement Due date

(1) enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children’s home that— (a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (g) demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— (ii) feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. 31/08/2015

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Requirement Due date

Make arrangements for the safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23(1)) 31/08/2015

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Requirement Due date

Ensure staff are recruited using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. (Regulation 32(1)) 31/08/2015

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(c)) 31/08/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation:  The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home is privately owned by a relatively new company who have one other home currently. The home can accommodate three children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties from the age of six to 18. The statement of purpose states that the home can accommodate young people who have experienced a range of difficulties including attachment difficulties, trauma, and loss and/or have complex needs. This is the first inspection of this home.

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Good

This therapeutic home offers children and young people the opportunity to develop and thrive in a structured but nurturing environment. They make significant progress particularly concerning their emotional health because staff are skilled and knowledgeable about the therapeutic approach the home has adopted. A parent said, ‘Since my daughter has come and joined the home she has come on leaps and bounds, they are supporting her fantastically.’

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Good

Children and young people benefit from a well-planned and implemented gradual introduction into the home. Staff implement successful, creative and sensitive plans for those who struggle to integrate into the home.

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Good

Staff are nurturing and foster strong attachments with children and young people. Consequently, there are strong, trusted relationships and children and young people say they feel able to talk to staff if they are unhappy.

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Good

Children and young people significantly contribute towards decisions made about their care, future and the day-to-day running of the home. For example, the manager completes an innovative piece of work with them to help them create their own development plan, clearly setting out how they would like to see the home move forward. The manager is currently reviewing the plan with them to look at progress and any other improvements they would like to add. Furthermore, they have significantly contributed towards the interview process and decision making for new staff.

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Good

Children and young people are currently on holiday from school. During term time, they regularly attend school or appropriate alternative provision. Staff work closely with education professionals to promote attendance and achievement.

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Good

A wide range of activities means children and young people are able to develop key skills and build on their resilience. Their interests and hobbies are keenly promoted. For example, those who enjoy horse riding and looking after animals regularly participate in horse riding activities and look after animals at the home such as ponies and chickens. They also have access to pigs and alpacas. They are encouraged to educate the ponies to help them to behave more appropriately. This helps them to empathise with the ponies and reflect on their own situation. Children and young people are encouraged to participate in imaginative play, acting out their feelings and anxieties. This helps staff to better understand them and for the children and young people to start to come to terms with trauma they have experienced. A social worker said, ‘she role plays a lot of situations, which enables her to self-reflect and give her understanding of why she does the things

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Good

The physical and emotional health of children and young people is promoted. They access relevant healthcare professionals routinely such as doctors, dentists and opticians. Staff also work closely with children’s mental health services to ensure emotional wellbeing is promoted. The handling of medication is generally safe. Staff receive training in the safe handling of medication. However, some poor practice was identified. This included continuing to store medication when it is out of date and not keeping information leaflets about medication for reference. The manager disposed of the out of date medication during the inspection. A requirement is made to ensure medication practice is as safe as possible.

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Good

Children and young people benefit from regular and positive contact with family and friends. Staff facilitate and support this important contact which helps children and young people to forge appropriate relationships with peers in the local community as well as maintain important links with family.

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Good

Practice to promote the safety of children and young people has improved since the home opened. Children and young people say they feel safe. Staff are competent in their knowledge of the home’s safeguarding procedures and implement these well.

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Good

Children and young people rarely go missing from this home. Staff follow good procedures if they go missing and work closely with the placing authority and the police. This ensures they return swiftly and are as safe as possible.

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Good

Children and young people do not smoke, take illegal substances or engage in criminal activity. There have been incidents where they have damaged the home. These incidents have been managed well, which has enabled those involved to recover from incidents quickly. All damage is quickly repaired to ensure they do not feel shame about their behaviour and the home continues to be a safe environment.

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Good

Staff have a positive approach to children and young people and use effective strategies when they are angry or frustrated. They work closely as a team and use consistent firm boundaries to support children and young people. Staff rarely use physical intervention but know how to do this safely should they need to use it. Staff prefer to talk to children and young people about what it is that is causing them to be upset. Staff have strong positive relationships with children and young people which enables them to use talking and humour effectively in most situations. Very occasionally, staff give a measure of control for poor behaviour. These are appropriate but records do not always have the child’s or young person’s view completed. Staff have required the police on a few occasions when serious incidents have occurred. However, staff have ensured children and young people are not criminalised and a therapeutic approach continues.

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Good

Children and young people have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe when they are using the internet. Staff discuss online safety with them and they complete a training course and sign a contract before being allowed internet access. Staff monitor all internet use to ensure the safety of children and young people.

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Requires Improvement

The home does not currently have a registered manager. The manager in post is in the process of applying to Ofsted to be registered. He is very experienced and appropriately qualified with a level 5 Diploma. He is supported well by the previous registered manager and other directors within the company. He has good working relationships with a variety of professionals, particularly in the area of health. This promotes positive joint working to benefit the children and young people.

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Requires Improvement

Staffing levels have fluctuated since the home opened in October and the home still has vacancies. Staff are being recruited but this means the home has a number of new staff. They have appropriate past experience, go through an intensive induction and are properly supported. This enables them to integrate quickly into the home. Staff are highly motivated and have a good understanding of the therapeutic approach the home has adopted. Practice is child-centred which enables children and young people to grow and thrive.

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Requires Improvement

An area of weakness was identified in the home’s recruitment and vetting procedures that have the potential to leave children and young people vulnerable. Required checks are undertaken; however, there is a lack of evidence to show there has been effective management scrutiny and evaluation of facts when an historical issue, which has the potential to impact on performance, is identified during the recruitment process.

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Requires Improvement

Poor risk management in the past led to a serious incident, a young person making complaints and staff leaving. The leadership team have since reviewed the incident and investigated the complaints, which has led to the implementation of new policies. However, the leadership team still need to make further improvements to risk management, lone working arrangements, and the appropriate implementation of staff disciplinary procedures to prevent this occurring again.

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Requires Improvement

The manager implements good monitoring systems that enable him to manage the home effectively. He has a good knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Development plans clearly set out actions to improve the home. A children and young people’s development plan also provides a clear pathway for improvement.

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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 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 peoplebeing

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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 children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and 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 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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