Children's Home run by Aspris Care Central Limited in Cambridgeshire

Good

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

p.2

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people make good progress in relation to their education, developing independence skills and in reducing negative behaviours.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people build strong relationships with staff.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 The staff and management are interested in the views of the young people.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff support young people to develop some of the independence skills that they will require when they move on from the home.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people report feeling safe in the home.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 The staff manage difficult and aggressive behaviours effectively.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Recruitment processes have not always been sufficiently robust.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 There has been insufficient challenge to placing authorities when they have not fulfilled their obligations to young people.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 There are some gaps in the training undertaken by staff.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Some records lack clarity and precision.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff consult with young people but it is not clear what action is taken as a result of that consultation.

p.3

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.

p.4

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety. The requirements are that 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) (d)) 23/10/2015

p.4

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): Ensure that where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child's needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child's needs (see regulations 5(c)). Staff should act as champions for their children, expecting nothing less than a good parent would. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 12, paragraph 2.8)

p.4

Recommendations

Ensure that children are able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

p.4

Recommendations

Ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate a child is in any way at risk of harm. The registered person should ensure that skills in safeguarding are gained, refreshed and recorded in the homes workforce plan. This relates to staff receiving training in safeguarding children with learning difficulties, and bullying. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 43, paragraph 9.12)  Ensure that information about the child is always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child with particular regard to the recording of consequences. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

p.4

Information about this children's home

This children's home is part of a large organisation operated by a private company. The children's home provides care and accommodation for up to 5 young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

p.5

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.5

Recent inspection history

10/03/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

p.5

Good

Young people have made good progress in relation to their education. A social worker said: ‘Educationally he has come on a massive amount.’ One young person is currently not receiving the educational package he should. The home is actively supporting an alternative package whilst this situation is resolved. Consequently, the home is minimising the impact whilst maintaining an ethos of educational aspiration.

p.6

Good

Young people placed in the home have made good progress in a range of other areas. An independent reviewing officer said: ‘The young person has most definitely made progress.’ A therapist said: ‘The young people have made marvellous progress compared to when they came in. They have settled. They are doing things in the community. The improvement in them has been massive.’ A young person said: ‘I have made loads of progress since I came here.’ Young people have greater opportunities and life chances than when they arrived.

p.6

Good

The young people build strong relationships with staff. They report feeling safe and state that staff are supportive and encouraging. A social worker said: ‘The staff seem to be a nurturing group; they are able to communicate on his level.’ One young person said: ‘They help me. They have a thrust; they nag and encourage me. There is nothing I could fault about the staff. When I first walked in I felt at home there. The staff are so welcoming.’ Consequently, young people are developing trust and engaging in therapeutic interventions.

p.6

Good

The staff and management are interested in the views of the young people. Regular, well attended resident’s meetings take place. The manager adds his comments to the resident’s meetings and staff feed these comments back to the young people. In addition, the manager has sought feedback from young people in other formats. However it is unclear what actions have arisen because of the feedback provided.

p.6

Good

Staff support young people to develop their independence skills. This includes budgeting and cooking. In addition, staff have supported one young person to develop his CV. Others are pursuing driving licenses. This support has contributed to young people securing interviews for jobs. Young people are developing some of the skills that they will require when they move on from the home. Judgement grade

p.6

Good

Young people reported feeling safe in the home. When asked if he felt safe a young person said, ‘100% safe. There is no bullying.’ However, there had been a period of time when this was not the case. One young person said: ‘Do I feel safe? That is a hard question. Before I didn’t. Now I do. There was another kid here and I felt a little bit worried.’ Staff work to address issues relating to bullying through ‘bully buster’ sessions. Most staff have not received training in managing bullying. As a result, staff have not had as much support as could reasonably be expected to understand bullying.

p.7

Good

The manager keeps risk assessments under regular review. The staff and young people sign them to say they have understood. This occurs on a monthly basis as well as when an activity is taking place. Young people are aware of staff expectations of them and the staff have a clear understanding of their own responsibilities and risk mitigation.

p.7

Good

No young people have gone missing from home since the last inspection. However, the nature of the service is such that this may become an issue in the future. Staff demonstrated a clear understanding of the process should a young person go missing from care, including the need to ensure access to an independent person for a return interview.

p.7

Good

There have been no physical interventions since the last inspection. The staff manage difficult and aggressive behaviours effectively. They use consequences to assist young people to take responsibility for their actions. The young people are involved in discussions about the nature of the consequence and staff are open to creative responses. However, the records of consequences lack depth and precision. They are, therefore, of limited value.

p.7

Good

Positive relationships with staff contribute to young people feeling safe. The observations of interactions between staff and young people during inspection were consistently positive. They were engaged in a variety of activities and it was evident that young people feel secure and safe in the home. Young people were able to identify people they could turn to if they needed to talk. A young person said: ‘I have been in six care homes and one foster home. This is the best one. I ran off from the other ones. I haven’t run off from this one. That’s why I know I feel safe. The staff and the company make this one different. It’s just sorted.’

p.7

Good

Asked to sum up the home in a few words a young person simply said, ‘Home’. Judgement grade

p.7

Requires improvement

A suitably qualified person manages the home. He speaks passionately and with insight about the young people. He has been in post for a short period of time. During this time an experienced manager from another home has supported him. Despite this relative inexperience, the manager has led the staff team well and managed some difficult situations effectively. However, this inexperience has manifested itself in a lack of sufficient challenge to placing authorities when they have not met expectations. As a result, one young person does not have a clear transition plan in place.

p.8

Requires improvement

The manager will be leaving the service soon to take up a new challenge. A new manager has been appointed, subject to checks, and will be supported by the mentor to the existing manger. This will ensure a degree of consistency and stability for both staff and young people.

p.8

Requires improvement

Staff report supervision to be valuable. There is a thorough induction programme, which staff say equips them well for the role. Post induction training is available for staff. However, there has been no training for a long time in relation to safeguarding disabled children, despite young people in the home having both physical and learning disabilities. Discussions with staff did not evidence a thorough understanding of the particular vulnerabilities of disabled children. Although there are plans in place for a new training course, there is currently a potential gap in knowledge.

p.8

Requires improvement

The home’s own care plans are detailed, clear and reviewed regularly. Staff compose monthly reports for young people and regularly update risk assessments. These include data that evidences the progress young people make. As a result, the service is able to demonstrate the positive impact it has, whilst also being alert to potential indications that practice is not having the desired effect.

p.8

Requires improvement

The manager has undertaken consultation activities with placing authorities and families. These demonstrate a willingness to learn from feedback in order to improve the quality of care. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and reflects the feedback provided by professionals during this inspection.

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

p.9

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

p.10

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 .

p.10

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,

p.11

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.11

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.11

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

p.11