Children's Home run by United Children's Services Limited in Leicester

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 make good progress in this home, especially in relation to their behaviour, education, independence skills, emotional well-being and maturity.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff work effectively with other agencies. This ensures young people continue to make good progress and stay safe.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff have good knowledge of how to keep young people safe. The incidents of young people who go missing from the home are reducing.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff have a positive approach towards managing poor behaviour. Physical intervention is rare as staff prefer to talk to young people and use humour where appropriate.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The registered manager provides strong supportive leadership. Staff are enthusiastic and committed to providing good care for young people.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There is no clear strategic plan to address the current staffing shortfalls. The company continues to try and recruit but is struggling to find the calibre of staff they require. The lack of a senior team means that the registered manager does not have the support she requires. This has led to some documentation being inaccurate, a lack of knowledge around controlled drugs, limited induction for new staff, and staff with limited residential experience undertaking key-working responsibilities and promoted to leadership roles.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Most staff in the home have been there for less than a year. This means most staff do not hold an appropriate qualification.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people do not like the regular changes in staffing.

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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

13. In order to meet the leadership and management standard, with particular reference to the recruitment and retention of staff, the registered provider must ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

(2) (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

(d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

(e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child 31/10/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The requirements are that— the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; and full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(1)(3)(b)(d)) 30/09/2015

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately owned children’s home for up to six young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties between the ages of eight to 18. The organisation also provides therapeutic support and a school. The home’s statement of purpose states that they offer places to young people who ‘will usually have experienced family separation, repeated placement breakdown, neglect, abuse and trauma. They are also likely to have been at some stage excluded from school and could have special educational needs. Displaying attachment difficulties and low self-esteem, young people may also have a confused, distorted view of life and present challenging, anti-social behaviour.’

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Good

Young people who have lived in the home for a while like it and the staff. All young people agreed that the staff are ‘alright’. Furthermore, they mostly get on well with each other. A young person said, ‘We have our ups and downs like a normal house with four teenage lads. Disagreements never last. We deal with it ourselves. Staff will diffuse if needed.’

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Good

Young people make good progress in this home, especially in relation to their behaviour, education, independence skills, emotional well-being and maturity. A drug and alcohol worker said, ‘I have seen young people make significant progress with a lot of support from staff.’

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Good

Care planning clearly identifies the range of needs of, and risks to, the young people and the work to undertake to address them. For example, bedtime routines for a young person who struggles with this are clearly set out, providing good guidance for staff to work with. Some plans are not always accurate. The registered manager says this is because she does not currently have a senior team to check them thoroughly. They are currently reviewing the care plans to make them less complicated and lengthy. The voice and views of young people are evident throughout their plans, demonstrating they contribute to decisions made about their care and future.

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Good

Young people make good progress in their education. Staff work closely with teaching staff to support young people, who have not attended school for some time, back into education. As young people settle into their placements, they begin to attend school regularly and achieve. Young people go on to complete college courses when they leave the home. They have opportunities in the home to engage in activities that interest them such as mechanics and small animal care. Staff will also encourage and facilitate participation in sport at a competitive level. Staff also show their support by cheering on young people at competitions during their own time. This demonstrates a strong commitment to the young people and pride in their achievements, like a good parent.

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Good

Young people have good health. They are registered with local dentists, opticians and doctors. They have access to in-house therapeutic support from qualified therapists to promote their emotional well-being. Furthermore, they can access mental health services if required.

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Good

Young people benefit from regular and positive contact with family and friends. Staff facilitate and support this important contact, which helps 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

Staff support young people to gain skills such as shopping, cooking, completing applications, budgeting and household chores. When young people reach 17, they are encouraged to get their provisional licence and start driving or moped lessons. They also learn maintenance, decorating and gardening skills. These skills help young people to successfully make the transition to independent living and adulthood.

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Good

Staff help young people to understand and accept difference. They creatively engage young people in activities, celebrating a broad range of religions and cultures as well as everything from International Chicken Day to gangsters and Be Nice to Each Other Day. Staff will look at whatever interests the young people being covered in the media or something they have commented on. The intention is to ensure young people are well informed and promote conversation.

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Good

Young people live in a large, comfortable home that provides good indoor and outdoor space. Bedrooms are highly personalised and young people have access to gaming consoles and the internet. Internet safety is taken seriously and staff monitor this closely. One young person keeps chickens. He took great pride in telling us all about them: their breed, colour of their eggs and how he made the coop and fencing for their run from scraps of wood. This was very impressive.

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Good

Practice to promote the safety of young people is good. Staff are competent in their knowledge of the home’s safeguarding procedures and implement these well. Young people feel safe in this home. All safeguarding concerns are referred to the appropriate agencies. Effective multi-agency action is taken to ensure the safety of young people.

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Good

Staff have a positive approach to 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 young people. Staff rarely use physical intervention but know how to do this safely. Staff prefer to talk to young people about what it is that is causing them to be upset. Staff have positive relationships with young people which enables them to use talking and humour effectively in most situations. Staff give measures of control for poor behaviour. These are appropriate and often take on a restorative form of putting right what they have done wrong rather than taking something away from them. Young people say the rules and consequences of breaking the rules are fair.

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Good

Staff work closely with the youth offending service to support young people to manage their behaviour. Staff do not criminalise young people unnecessarily. A police officer said, ‘They are very supportive of prosecutions if they are required but equally try and avoid that stage if they can by dealing with a lot of incidents in house as normal parents would do.’ Young people make significant progress with regards to reducing criminal behaviour.

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Good

Some young people do take illegal substances, such as cannabis, at this home. Staff work closely with drug and alcohol workers as well as the police. The registered manager has a good understanding of the area in which the home is located and the risks posed to young people. When talking about the registered manager, a police officer said, ‘She is very switched on to the possibility that he may be being exploited by drug dealers around the area; it’s clear she knows her stuff!’

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Good

Young people who have previously persistently gone missing have greatly reduced such incidents as they settle and others have moved on. The missing from care police liaison officer said, ‘They are very proactive. They did everything within their power to safeguard him. I’ve always dealt with the manager and she is brilliant. She will put in the extra hours to resolve the issues.’ Staff follow good procedures when young people go missing and liaise with external professionals to ensure their safety.

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Requires Improvement

This home has recently re-registered with Ofsted and therefore this is the first inspection under the new registration. The registered manager provides strong and supportive leadership. She is experienced and qualified with an appropriate national vocational qualification at level 4. She is currently completing the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare. The registered manager clearly knows the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has plans in place to address shortfalls. However, there is no clear strategic plan to address the current staffing shortfalls. The company continues to try and recruit but is struggling to find the calibre of staff they require.

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Requires Improvement

The home struggles to retain staff they recruit. Currently, the home does not have a senior team to support the registered manager and most staff have been working in the home for less than a year. Despite the progress young people continue to make, they struggle with the changes in staff. A young person said, ‘I don’t like people leaving. Since I’ve been here about 30 staff have left. There are only two staff left who were here when I first came. I can’t really speak to the new staff as I don’t know them well and don’t trust them. It’s awkward.’ Furthermore, the majority of staff are not qualified as they are mostly new to the home and/or residential care. Inexperienced staff take on keyworking responsibilities for young people who are very complex, and can struggle with this.

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Requires Improvement

The induction for staff has been limited and staff are not prepared well when taking up leadership roles. Additionally, staff are asked to take on leadership roles when they have had no prior residential experience and have just passed their probation period. Nevertheless, staff say they feel well supported, are highly motivated, enthusiastic and passionate about providing good care for young people.

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Requires Improvement

The organisation does promote the professional development of staff, and training is individual to the home to ensure staff can meet the needs of young people. However, due to the summer break from schools, some new staff have not received some basic mandatory training. Furthermore, staff did not know that some medication prescribed for a young person is controlled medication. However, the management of all medication is to a high standard and generally meets the guidance around storage and safe administration of controlled drugs.

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Requires Improvement

Recruitment records do not detail discussions with referees when disciplinary action has been recorded on the reference. Although this is discussed with the applicant during the interview process, details of disciplinary action is not ascertained from the previous employer directly and recorded on the applicant’s file.

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Requires Improvement

Young people are aware of and utilise the complaints policy. Responses to complaints are prompt and thorough. Young people are kept informed of progress made throughout the complaints process.

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Requires Improvement

The registered manager and staff work effectively with external professionals. A drug and alcohol worker said they carry out drop-in sessions at the home to help the young people get to know them better. A police officer said, ‘I have always found the staff very approachable and welcoming and the house manager has stated to us that for us, it is an open house and the police are welcome any time, whether it’s to have a chat with the children or staff or even just for a coffee.’ He also said, ‘My role when I visit the home is more of a liaison officer for the children, to build links with them and the police and also build up some trust.’ Young people also have regular access to teaching and therapeutic staff that are part of the organisation. Young people make good progress because they have a network of professionals supporting them facilitated by the registered manager and care staff.

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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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