Children's Home run by Consensus Support Services Limited in Suffolk

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 benefit from individual care planned to encompass their complex needs.  Attendance and engagement in education is consistently good.  There are strong working relationships with parents, teachers and external professionals.  There is a permanent core staff team providing young people with continuity of care.  The staff team are led by the manager who has a drive to improve the home and the quality of young people’s experiences.  The daily structure, communication systems, provision of resources and décor have all been improved.  The garden decking requires treatment to protect it from the elements.  Managerial monitoring lacks depth; there are two areas that have been overlooked.  The complaints procedure has not been followed through in one instance. Staff supervision is not always carried out by staff with suitable experience.  The shortfalls detailed relate to management. Priority has been given to

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The children's home provision is good because:

improving outcomes for young people. This has been achieved.

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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 ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 25/09/2015

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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. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 25/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

6. In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard the registered provider must: 2 (c) (i) Ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed as to meet the needs of each child in respect of the garden decking. 30/10/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Undertake scrutiny of the home and make best use of internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

 Support children to access relevant leisure passes and encourage them to participate in activities in the community and wider if appropriate. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 31, paragraph 6.5)

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six young people with emotional, behavioural, learning or physical difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a private company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Good

Young people have a range of learning difficulties and some have no verbal communication skills. They benefit from specialised care that is carefully tailored to their individual needs. Assessment of young people’s needs prior to admission is undertaken using a multi-disciplinary approach. The behavioural support team and staff visit young people prior to admission. This includes visiting schools, family homes and liaising with parents, teachers and social workers. This information is shared with the staff team and the home’s consultant behavioural specialist. Careful assessment and pre-admission planning ensures staff can work with young people, who make good progress. Young people require high levels of staff supervision and support. They greet staff with enthusiasm and clearly enjoy activities with them. These include; baking, using computers, walks, trips out and games in the home. Weekly activity planners

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Good

ensure that all young people benefit from experiences tailored to their interests and preferences. There is some engagement with clubs in the local community, although, this is not yet in place for all young people. All young people attend education, attendance is good and individual progress is clear. Staff have developed resources that replicate school. This builds on young people’s learning, developing their skills by utilising resources that are known to work well for them. This helps provide structure and stimulation for young people in the home and supports their school work.

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Good

Young people express their views and shape their day to day experiences. House meetings have been introduced and take place regularly. Talking boards, pictorial signs and symbols enable young people to express their views, share their concerns and communicate with staff. Soft furnishings have improved the interior décor of the house. Staff decorate young people’s bedrooms in accordance with their choices resulting in bedrooms that are colourful and personalised. Changes have also been made to the garden. However, use of the decking area is restricted because it has been covered in a temporary non-sustainable wire. Judgement grade

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Good

Staff ensure young people’s safety using comprehensive risk assessments. These provide clear strategies to protect young people from harmful behaviours. This includes provision of safe personal care, risks in the home and in the community. This enables young people to benefit from experiences and opportunities that may previously have been limited due to their disabilities. Staff work intensively with individuals to reinforce personal safety and domestic security. High levels of vulnerability and adult supervision mean that young people are not at risk of going missing or being exploited. Staff teach young people about safe internet use and practise fire evacuation with them. This ensures that young people who can be adverse to noise and change are familiar with safe evacuation. Good guidance and use of specialist expertise in the organisation help direct staff in behaviour management. This promotes consistency of approach and has been

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Good

successful in helping young people overcome barriers to school attendance. Young people do not all understand what constitutes appropriate and safe behaviours. Staff provide verbal reprimands and discussion’s following incidents as young people do not all have the ability to retain information. Physical holds are used when incidents reach agreed criteria, however, de-escalation is good and therefore use of these is minimal.

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Requires improvement

The manager has been in post since April 2015 and is undergoing registration with Ofsted. She holds a Level four in management and has long term experience of managing children’s homes and in each post maintaining a good quality care. This service has had a succession of managers who do not stay including periods without a manager. This resulted in a significant decline in the quality of care; however, the new manager has worked hard to improve this. Priority has been given to young people, improving the quality of their experiences. There are shortfalls remaining in leadership and management which are recognised by the manager. The manager is aware of the remaining shortfalls and has an action plan with clear dates to address these. New resources and appointment of staff have taken time to source. The focus on providing structure and purpose through the summer holidays has taken priority. Staff welcome the new permanent manager. Feedback in relation to the manager

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Requires improvement

from staff, social workers and parents is unreservedly good. One member of staff said:’ The home has improved significantly and changed inexplicably it really has, the young people are so much happier and we are being listened to ‘. There is clear direction and guidance for staff, morale has improved and the team are starting to work more collectively. There are still some gaps in supervision and this not always provided by those with appropriate experience and skill. This means that staff are not always challenged to reflect on their practice and approach. Feedback from parents and social workers is generally good. Staff work well with schools, health professionals and specialist services to get the right support for each young person. This has resulted in young people who have complex difficulties to settle well and develop their confidence. There has been one external complaint and while a robust investigation took place

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Requires improvement

immediately there is no recorded outcome. Therefore the complainant has not received a formal outcome. The external monitoring is rigorous and drives improvement. This is welcomed by the manager who aims to raise the standard of care and ensure that young people benefit and progress. The internal monitoring, however, is not good. Records are not all up to date, and there are identified gaps in supervisions and key worker sessions. Therefore the monitoring is not fully effective. Despite this significant improvement is recognised by all those who use the service.

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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. procedures set out in 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

regulates and inspects to 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

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Information about this inspection

Policy Team, 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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