Children's Home run by Tulip Care Two Limited in Redbridge

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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Summary of findings

Quality and purpose of care:  Children enjoy living in the home and comment on the homely feel and high quality of the physical environment. They value the positive relationships with staff and feel that they are genuinely cared for. Staff have a thorough understanding of the needs of children and are able to help and support them in times of crisis.  Children benefit from structured routines and clear boundaries. They have a positive experience of group living and have a safe space to talk as a group about what is going well, what might be difficult and what they would like to do differently.  Children participate in the daily life of the home, cooking and taking turns in household chores. This teaches them life skills, helps them feel valued and to develop a sense of belonging. Children make significant and rapid progress in all areas; they do exceptionally well in education, they have excellent attendance

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Summary of findings

and are helped to achieve academic success.

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Summary of findings

 Children are healthy, they eat a balanced diet and participate in a number of sports and other activities both inside and outside of the home. Staff ensure that children receive support from health professionals and advocate strongly for them to ensure they get the most appropriate treatment.  Staff access specialist health services to help them understand the emotional and mental health needs of children. This helps ensure that the individualised care they provide is well informed and takes into account each child’s history, their strengths and areas where they may need specialist psychological intervention.  Children are supported to have contact with their families and staff work closely with parents to ensure that they are fully informed and involved in decisions relating to the care of their children.

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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

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”), at least once every 6 months (Regulation 45(1)) 15.08.2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must- supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review form within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45(4)(a)) 15.08.2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must- ensure that the individual has the appropriate experience, qualifications and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. In particular there must be a workforce development strategy in place to ensure staff have or are working towards the Level 3 Diploma for residential childcare. (Regulation 32(3)(b)) 15.09.2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees- receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. This should be formally recorded and take place at intervals outlined in the homes statement of purpose. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 15.09.2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees- have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(c)) 15.09.2015

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Requirement Due date

13. The leadership and management standard. In order to meet the leadership and management standard with particular reference to the ethos of the home the registered provider must ensure that they: (2)(a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos and delivers the outcomes, set out in the homes statement of purpose. In particular the home should ensure that; the therapeutic model of care and psychological assessments to establish base lines and measure progress, are 15.09.2015 delivered in accordance with the statement of purpose.

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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

 Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. In particular, the registered manager must review the use of restraint where it is being used regularly on a particular child, to look at ways of reducing the frequency. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately run home and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children under the category of emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home accommodates girls only.

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Information about this children's home

The home is adjoined to an independent special school registered with the Department for Education in October 2010. The school is registered for up to six pupils and is available to all girls living in the home.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

13/02/2015 Interim improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

17/12/2013 Interim Satisfactory Progress

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good

The home is situated in a quiet residential area and looks like any other home on the street. The homely feel is maintained throughout, it is furnished and equipped to a high standard and the decoration creates a warm and welcoming feel. The children like the physical space and the garden, they particularly like their rooms. One parent commented that the home has ‘everything the children need’.

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good

The home has education provision on site and this ensures that all of the children are receiving full time education. They are supported to attend provision that meets individual needs and where children can manage in mainstream school staff quickly access school places. All the children have excellent attendance, enjoy school and are making academic progress considering their starting points. Children are helped with homework and have a quiet place to study, this creates a learning environment where children are supported to aim high and reach their full potential.

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good

Staff spend time with children and actively engage them in activities both inside the home and outside in the community. They pay attention to small details to make sure each child is well cared for and each child has an individual profile, which identifies their likes and dislikes. This helps children feel special and they experience care as being warm, attentive and genuine.

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good

Children are healthy, they eat a balanced diet and have the opportunity to prepare and eat foods from different cultures. They are active, enjoy going swimming, riding bicycles and they are encouraged to follow hobbies and interests such as horse riding and athletics. If children have particular health needs staff ensure that they access specialist support. They advocate on their behalf to ensure they get the best treatment. The staff and young people have access to a clinical psychologist. Staff can use this consultant to get specialist training and knowledge to inform interventions and children can access direct support with child and adolescent mental health specialists.

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good

All children have a detailed care plan that is designed to meet their individual needs. They are regularly consulted about their experiences of being cared for and their views are included in staff annual performance appraisals. This shows that the home gives weight to the lived experience of children when developing the service. Judgement grade

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good

Children are safe and comment that they feel safe in the home and the surrounding area. They value the positive relationships that they have with staff and with each other. They generally behave very well and when they are upset staff are very good at helping them feel better by providing a safe place to talk. Children describe staff as ‘nice, friendly and kind’ one said that ‘when I feel upset, staff make me feel better’. Another child said that this was the best placement she had experienced and felt that staff took the time and effort to ‘really get to know her’. She commented that she used to be violent but that she is hardly ever angry now because ‘if I’m upset, staff know how to approach me’. Children feel safe to talk with staff and also feel that they can confide in the managers if they are worried about anything.

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good

Each child admitted to the home has a psychological care plan which is completed by the clinical psychologist who is employed by the home. This helps identify their strengths and any particular areas of vulnerability. It also outlines interventions and support needed to look after them in way that takes account of their past experiences. This report considers the impact of new residents on the group of children in the home and ensures that children are only admitted if it is felt that they can make progress and be cared for safely.

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good

All children make rapid progress form their starting points. They seldom go missing and if they do, this behaviour reduces and often stops completely. Children have individual risk assessments which highlight potential areas of risk and circumstances which may trigger risk taking behaviour. There are clear plans in place to increase supervision and reduce danger at these times. Where children are at risk of self-harm staff have access to expert advice and emergency support; social workers feel that they manage these risks safely.

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good

Staff hold clear and consistent boundaries and provide good structure and routines for children. Positive behaviour is recognised and rewarded and children are encouraged to contribute to the home by doing chores and working together to plan menus. Children have weekly group meetings where they get a chance to share their feelings and experiences of group living. This helps them learn to understand the impact of their behaviour on others and creates an environment where children have empathy and understanding for each other. There are very few incidents of bullying in the home and where the behaviour of one child adversely impacts on another, staff quickly intervene to provide extra supervision and support. Children are seldom sanctioned for inappropriate behaviour. Staff use calming techniques and talking therapies to encourage children to learn. Physical restraint is sometimes used, but only as a last resort and staff are trained to do this safely.

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good

Physical interventions are properly recorded and children are supported by the manager after each incident. A more thorough review system would enable management to be better able to draw lessons from these incidents of restraint and to see if there is any way to further reduce the frequency of physical intervention.

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good

Children know how to complain and any safeguarding concerns or allegations against staff are dealt with in partnership with the placing authority and in line with statutory safeguarding procedures.

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good

Children are helped to take acceptable risks in order to learn independence skills; this is safely managed and assessed. Staff have a thoughtful approach to ensuring the correct balance between children’s rights to certain freedoms, with the need to keep them safe.

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requires improvement

The manager of the home has been in post since January 2013. She has recently returned from maternity leave and was then seconded to assist with the management of another home run by the provider. This means that she has not been able to give her full attention to managing the home. She is now back full time and able to give her full attention to the role.

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requires improvement

Management monitoring of the quality of care has not been completed in line with statutory requirements. This means that the home cannot demonstrate that it is consistently learning and developing by looking at any incidents of concern or learning from feedback from children about the quality of care.

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requires improvement

Staff have not received formal supervision of a suitable frequency and annual appraisals are overdue. Very few of the staff have or are working towards a recognized qualification for residential staff. This needs to be addressed in order to maintain a stable and suitable workforce which meets statutory requirements in the future. The manger sets the bar high when recruiting staff and recruitment practices are robust. There is a thorough induction process in place to ensure that new staff are able to meet the specific needs of the children.

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requires improvement

The statement of purpose for the home describes an aspirational therapeutic model of care which aims to deliver exceptional outcomes for children. Some aspects of this model are not yet demonstrated in practice.

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requires improvement

Children say that they feel they can talk to the manager; she is visible in the home and close to practice. She advocates strongly for children within the home and with the wider network. This ensures that children have a trusted person at the head of the home to make sure their interests are at the heart of decision making. Parents feel included and involved in decision making and are very complimentary about the care provided for their children. One parent said that the staff ‘always have her child’s best interests at heart’.

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requires improvement

Staff feel supported by the manager and the staff team meet regularly to reflect on how best to meet the needs of the children. The manager leads an effective team and promotes a learning culture. Staff are supported to understand how their own feelings can impact on the work and how to manage the emotional impact of the residential support role. One staff member praised the learning culture of the team and felt he had benefitted from training sessions in which staff shared their own life experiences of growing up. He felt that this helped the team work closer together and better understand the experiences of children.

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requires improvement

The manager is well supported by the responsible individual and they both comment on how well they feel they work as a team. She receives clinical supervision on a regular basis and is very experienced in the role. They have a shared child centred vision and they are working together to reduce bureaucracy and develop more efficient recording systems so that they can better evidence the impact of direct work in producing measurable outcomes for children.

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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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