Children's Home run by Platinum Services for Children (Residential Care) Ltd 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:

 Young people are welcomed into a comfortable environment where they can express their individuality and focus on their own physical and emotional needs.  Motivated and dedicated staff understand the complex and challenging issues that exist for the young people and skilfully help them to manage their emotions and behaviour.  Highly skilled and trained staff effectively support young people to engage and achieve in education and provide stimulating leisure activities, thereby developing young people’s social and life skills and self -confidence.  Staff actively help young people to recognise risks and keep themselves safe. Staff work closely with other professionals to keep young people safe.  The registered manager strongly supports the staff, providing them with good quality supervision and training and enabling them to provide young people with consistent and positive care.  There is an area for improvement with regard to the registered manager

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The children's home provision is good because:

evidencing consideration of feedback from children, parents, staff and professionals in her quality of care reviews.

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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

45: Review of quality of care The registered person must ensure the system for reviewing of the quality of care undertaken by the registered provider provides for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, parents, placing authorities and staff (regulation 45(5)) 30/10/2015

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Information about this children's home

This privately owned children’s home is registered to care for up to 2 young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is currently offering short or long-term placements to young people aged 8-18 years.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

25/02/2015 CH - Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

10/02/2012 CH - Interim Satisfactory progress

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good

Young people are happy here and feel well cared for. The home is welcoming and young person's artwork and photographs are displayed in the living rooms and hallway. Their educational needs are met and they attend education where they are achieving. Staff enthusiastically support young people’s leisure activities, which include the gym, bowling, football and swimming. Consequently, they make progress in all areas of social development, relationships, education and life skills. One young person’s social skills and confidence has developed to a point where he is involved in interviewing prospective staff members. This also indicates his level of emotional invest in the home.

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good

Young people have warm and positive relationships with staff and the registered manager who listen to them and give them sound and practical advice. One young person said that when he had asked to have some chickens and pet rats, the registered manager and staff considered his request carefully and arranged this for him. He introduced me to the 3 chickens, which were thriving and well cared for by the young people and the staff. Staff evidenced an understanding of the value of caring for animals to the young people's development and enjoyment.

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good

Young people’s identity and dignity is highly respected by staff who support them through some very challenging personal issues. Self-expression, family contact and exploring their changing identity as adolescents is all proactively supported by staff.

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good

A youth offending team worker said, ‘the staff really want to make a difference to young person. I never hear the young people complain that they feel unhappy or bored here’.

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good

A child care professional commented: ‘His care is fantastic and they are really preparing him for when he leaves...he has been transformed and is a lot more ready to move on than many other young people who are leaving care. The staff have enabled him to engage in a lot of activities including the Princes Trust’. This young person was very positive about the care he received and said he did not want to leave.

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good

Of another young person the Independent reviewing officer observed, ‘He couldn’t be better supported-they are wonderful they have worked hard with him'. He was withdrawn when he arrived and they have helped him’. Judgement grade

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good

Young people are safe and feel safe. They say they are helped to keep themselves safe and understand risk and this is evidenced in risk assessments and records of individual work with young people. Incidents of missing from care are minimal and physical intervention has not been required.

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good

Staff confidently address complex issues around safe sex and relationships. They sensitively balance the need for young people to express their individuality by, for example, the way they dress, with the need to keep themselves safe. This work has been particularly valued by one young person who says that staff have helped him to understand the need to stop wearing so much make-up when he goes out, as it was putting him at risk of verbal and physical assault in the community.

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good

Staff are highly trained in safeguarding practice and procedures. A youth offending team worker commented that he has been impressed by the way staff manage situations where young people are at risk of harm and how well they communicate with other professionals to ensure that young people are protected. Staff work closely with a wide range other professionals including police, social workers, specialist child sexual exploitation and youth offending teams in order to keep up to date with local risks and ensure that young people are safe. Work with family members ensures that contact is safe and appropriate.

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good

Internet safety is given a high priority and computer use is closely supervised. The use of technology, which flags up to staff if young people are trying to access inappropriate material, enables the young person who will shortly become independent to have some freedom within safe boundaries, whilst he learns to recognise risks and keep himself safe. Judgement grade

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good

The registered manager ensures that the service is well run and young people's needs are met. The registered manager knows the team’s strengths and areas for development.

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good

Staff work effectively together to ensure that relevant information is clearly recorded, reflecting staff's knowledge of young people, their issues and how they can work proactively with them to address problems. Staff speak with enthusiasm and knowledge about the young people.

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good

Staff feel strongly supported by the registered manager and well prepared to do their job with good, up to date and appropriate training. Staff are happy here and say that they never feel left with more responsibility than they are confidently able to manage. Regular supervision is highly valued by staff who say that they are able to openly discuss their role, development and any personal issues with the registered manager.

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good

One staff member commented that he feels,’ really helped every step of the way, you’re listened to at team meetings and any ideas are taken seriously and the registered manager is always trying to find ways to make the home run smoother’.

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good

Professionals say that the staff are very good at working together. A youth offending team worker says that he is, ‘immediately informed of any concerns regarding a young person and, ’I can't think of anything they could do better from the youth offending team point of view. A child care professional comments of the staff and registered manager,' they are fantastic, their reports are really in-depth, risk assessments are updated after any incident and we are informed the next day, they work closely with the Looked after Plan and do everything that is agreed’.

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good

The registered manager encourages her staff to be very assertive with regard to obtaining services for young people and enables them to challenge other professionals. One Independent reviewing officer said with regard to the provision of education, ‘the staff were challenging the local authority- really proactive and I take my hat off to them because they could have sat back’.

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good

The registered manager has enabled the service to move from adequate to good over the past year and in doing so has improved the overall quality of care provided to young people.

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good

Although she is in constant dialogue with young people, parents, staff and professionals, the registered manager does not always evidence this in her quality of care reviews and needs to address this in the coming months.

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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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