Children's Home run by Oxfordshire County Council in Oxfordshire

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 management of the home is highly effective.

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The children's home provision is good because:

The management and staff have high expectations for young people.

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The children's home provision is good because:

The young people have developed strong and trusting relationships with staff who understand them and know their needs.

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The children's home provision is good because:

Young people feel staff care for them, they trust staff and say they feel safe.

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The children's home provision is good because:

When young people go missing there is an effective approach taken by staff to ensure they come home. This has resulted in a reduction in missing episodes.

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The children's home provision is good because:

The approach taken to the assessment of young people who are at risk of sexual exploitation is robust.

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The children's home provision is good because:

There are strong working relationships with other professionals and agencies.

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The children's home provision is good because:

Young people move on from the home well-prepared for and supported in their new placement.

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The children's home provision is good because:

The needs of young asylum seekers are understood and catered for well.

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The children's home provision is good because:

When considering their starting points young people are progressing in their education, training and employment or in the development of aspirations for their futures.

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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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Policies, Records, Complaints and Notifications

The registered person must ensure that—within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made. This is with specific reference to ensuring that sanctions are recorded. (Regulation 35 3 (a)) 28/08/2015

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Policies, Records, Complaints and Notifications

{an asterisk is added in the table above where Compliance = 'Y'} * These requirements are subject to statutory requirement notice.

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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

 The registered person should ensure each child’s placement plan sets out the permissions that their placing authority has delegated to the registered person. This should provide clarity on the home’s ability to give permission for school trips, sleep-overs or the child’s involvement in sporting, leisure and cultural activities. Wherever possible the home should secure the appropriate authority to support children to be involved in the same positive activities as their peers. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations 6.2, p.31)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations9.30, p.45)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that records are objective and clearly recorded; with specific reference to ensuring that keywork or monthly management meetings with young people clearly document the key issues discussed. . (Guide to the Children’s Homes 14.4, p.62)

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Information about this children's home

This local authority children's home is registered for up to six young people and it currently only admits boys. The home is registered to care for young people who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 03/02/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness 23/10/2014 CH - Full Adequate 28/01/2014 CH - Interim Satisfactory Progress 14/11/2013 CH - Full Good

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good

Young people who come to live in the home are supported well to have the best opportunity to settle in. Their needs are identified and catered for and as their needs change their care plan is adjusted accordingly. The needs of the other young people living in the home are also considered to identify if there are any areas of incompatibility and therefore if the placement is viable.

p.7

good

The solid approach to planning for young people’s care underpins all work carried out with them and young people are well supported to progress in their lives. A minor shortfall in the care planning is that there are no written agreements with social workers about what the manager has permission to authorise. For example, if a young person can visit a friend in another town. This means that young people have had to wait, sometimes long periods of time, for social workers to approve a visit to see friends.

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good

Relationships between staff and young people are a strength of this home. Young people begin to thrive because they feel staff care about them and what happens to them. A young person said, ‘staff are nice and caring, they listen and help.’ A professional stated, ‘he (young person) has relationships there that he can draw on.’

p.7

good

Young people have experienced high levels of trauma in their lives and this has impacted in their overall well-being and ability to deal with the difficulties they face. Since living in the home they have begun to develop more effective ways of dealing with the disappointments and frustrations in life. For example, they discuss with staff and each other issues arising due to differences between them that cause difficulties in their relationships and come to mutual agreements about how to deal with these.

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good

Young people’s physical health needs are catered for well. In terms of their emotional well-being young people have access to, and engage with, professionals who support them to begin to overcome past difficulties and develop coping strategies, for example, to reduce episodes of self-harm or to work through the various stages of grief following a bereavement. There has been success as well in helping a young person who has high levels of social anxiety join in with various community events and attend and achieve at college.

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good

Some young people have had time out of education, employment or training and they have begun to engage again in some of the opportunities available to them. Some have developed a better understanding about the value that a good basic education will bring to their lives and have engaged in education or training and are waiting for exam results. Others have developed a better understanding about the benefits of gaining and holding down a job; this is significant progress for them.

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good

Young people seeking asylum are well catered for. Staff understand and support them with dealing with the complexities of their situations well, both in practical and emotional terms. Staff have a high respect for their customs and enable them to practice their religious beliefs. Other young people also accept their differences and there is a level of comradeship between them, for example, some have joined in with their religious observations. There are strong links to various community resources that support young people who have arrived in England and all have engaged with services experienced in dealing with people seeking asylum. One young person has managed to gain a place in mainstream education and is doing well. One such young person said of the home, ‘it’s good, all good.’

p.8

good

Staff work hard to get young people’s views about their care and the running of the home. Regular residents’ meetings are held and these are used to good affect by young people and staff to voice views and address issues. These sessions have been useful in areas such as developing a better awareness about the impact bullying has on the person being bullied. As a result young people are more understanding and empathetic about others’ unique circumstances and differences.

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good

The staff work well with young people to help them prepare for a move out of the home. This may be a move into more independent living, a move to a family member, or a move into another residential setting. The home has bedsit accommodation to support the development of the practical skills needed to live more independently. Young people using this room learn to budget, shop and cook for themselves. While there is a single dedicated room in the building for this, all young people are well supported to develop these skills.

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good

There has been recent success in young people moving back to live with family members. High levels of support have been provided to strengthen relationships between young people and their family so that a move home was viable. Support has continued and success has been maintained. For young people moving onto other accommodation, such as secure accommodation, staff have prepared them emotionally so that they are able to make good use of their time there. Judgement grade

p.8

good

Young people live in a safe environment in a safe location. This promotes their safety and well-being. There is a sound approach taken to risk assessment. Young people are involved in thinking about their actions and the risks they place themselves at, and in developing plans that mitigate the risk of harm to them. Young people begin to take responsibility for their own safety in an age- and ability-appropriate way. A young person stated, ‘I’m in the safest place, staff are so caring.’

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good

An incentive scheme and restorative approaches are used to support young people to improve their behaviour. These schemes provide a firm basis for young people to modify their more disruptive or risky behaviour, for example becoming out of control when they are distressed or using drugs and alcohol to help them to feel better about life. Sessions around drug use have provided young people with the knowledge to make informed decisions about the dangers of drug use and the impact it can have on their future chances. They have begun to develop more effective coping strategies. Some young people felt there was too much reliance on supporting them to control their spending but this is aimed at giving young people the opportunity learn to make safer choices about how they use their money. A shortfall was found in the recording of issues of behaviour management that could be considered a sanction, not all incidents are recorded. There have been no

p.9

good

physical restraints since the last inspection and this demonstrates that the behaviour management strategies are effective in ensuring that issues are being dealt with before they escalate out of control.

p.9

good

Young people do go missing or absent from the home, on occasion, but the frequency of these episodes has reduced. The local authority has a specialist multi- disciplinary team that works with the staff when there are young people who are at risk of sexual exploitation. Every young person has an individual risk assessment to establish the risk of him being missing from care and being at risk of sexual exploitation. Appropriate action is taken by staff when a young person’s whereabouts is not known or they are not where they should be. There are attempts to make contact with them and their known associates and staff search for them. Young people are offered an interview with staff on their return home. However, there are no arrangements within the authority for a return home interview to be offered to a young person by an independent person. Close working relationships between staff and the police and regular visible

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good

presence of police in the home provide young people with a clear message that the police and staff work closely together and that the police are there to support them and their community.

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good

There are good arrangements for young people to learn about how to use the internet safely. Staff have worked with young people to inform them about the dangers and how to make sure they are using the internet in a safe and responsible way. All staff take responsibility for ensuring young people are safe from the dangers of using the internet.

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good

The approach to dealing with child protection concerns is effective. There is a strong safeguarding culture in the home and young people trust staff. Staff demonstrated a good understanding about how to deal with child protection issues. The links with the local authority designated officer (LADO) are strong. The LADO reported that he is used by the home appropriately to check things out if they are unsure and that he had, ‘no concerns about the home or how it deals with child protection issues.’

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good

This is a home that is well managed by an experienced and qualified manager. The manager and his deputy are competent and enthusiastic in their roles and this enthusiasm is shared by staff. A member of staff stated, ‘there is a feeling of excitement for the future and a real energy in making changes.’ Another stated the new management team, ‘have brought a new breath of life; they are doing a really good job; much different feel; staff feel empowered.’

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good

The manager has a good awareness about the strengths of the home and the areas for development. Since the last inspection he has made some improvements. These include developing a central audit tool to look at and address any trends and patterns in relation to sexual exploitation, and improving the approach to risk management. The recommendation made at the last inspection has been addressed; the effectiveness of a sanction is now being documented and monitored to establish if it had a positive impact. There is good quality monitoring of the home by an independent person, and by the manager; this helps to drive improvement. There is a strong commitment from the leadership in relation to their corporate parenting responsibilities and county councillors are regular visitors to the home.

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good

The statement of purpose is concisely written and easy to understand. It sets out the aims and objectives of the home and underpins the work in the home. There is also good quality information for young people to refer to that clearly sets out the expectations they can have from living in the home and the expectations staff have of them.

p.10

good

There is a skilled and dedicated staff team who feel well supported by the leadership and management team, and by each other. A member of staff identified that there is good ‘teamwork but also the empowerment to take ownership of your own work.’ There are sufficient qualified experienced staff to care for young people effectively. There is a strong culture of openness between staff members and a trust in each other’s ability to work as a team and support each other.

p.10

good

Staff feel well supported by the managers and cite regular good quality supervision, both formal and informal, as having a positive impact on their practice. The training opportunities for staff are good and because they are well trained they are competent and confident in their roles. A young person stated, ‘staff do a good job.’

p.10

good

Any significant events are notified to Ofsted and are updated where appropriate, so that the regulator is kept informed about issues arising in the home. Overall the care planning for young people is of a good quality but attention is needed to ensure that responsibility for making decisions about day-to- day matters is formally delegated to the manager. Case records were generally well maintained and will be useful to young people wishing to access their files. There were some minor shortfalls noted in relation to the recording of the content of some keywork sessions and the manager’s monthly monitoring meetings with young people.

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good

There are very good working relationships with other agencies and professionals. The manager and his staff are held in high regard by other professionals and agencies and there is a clear well-coordinated approach taken to caring for each young person.

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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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