Children's Home, Residential special school run by The Senad Group Limited in Derbyshire

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:

 Children and young people enjoy positive experiences and they make good progress in all areas of their development. They are provided with good quality individualised care from committed and supportive staff.  Children and young people have positive relationships with staff who know them extremely well. Staff are skilled and insightful in respect of the complex needs each child or young person has. They provide them with high levels of support, praise and encouragement alongside high levels of structure and routine.  Staff are creative in the way that they use a range of approaches to ensure that children and young people with communication and learning difficulties are fully consulted about the day-to-day running of the home, and in respect of their care planning.  Staff implement comprehensive risk management plans which help to ensure children and young people’s safety.  Rigorous monitoring and analysis of all aspects of care by a multi-disciplinary

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The children's home provision is good because:

team of professionals ensures that care plans remain effective and relevant to each child and young person.  Staff are well led by a newly appointed manager. She is very child-focused and has high aspirations for children and young people.  One shortfall has been identified as a result of this inspection. An aspect of safeguarding procedures was not consistently adhered to. The management team took immediate action to improve safeguarding practice in the home.

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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

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must:

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Requirement Due date

2(a) (vii) ensure that staff are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection procedures. 23/10/2015

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Information about this children's home

This service is part of a privately owned residential school for children and young people with learning difficulties. The service can accommodate up to 55 children and young people.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/02/2015 Interim Sustained Effectiveness

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Good

Children and young people’s experiences and overall progress are good. One professional said in respect of a young person: ‘He has developed socially, emotionally and in terms of his confidence and self-esteem. He is happy, enjoying his peers and enjoying a varied school curriculum. The progress is all around and it is a pleasure to see.’ This home enhances the quality of children’s and young people’s lives.

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Good

Children and young people enjoy positive and trusting relationships with staff who know them and understand their needs very well. Observations of staff demonstrate that they are skilled in a variety of different communication techniques and that they encourage and celebrate achievements. A young person said: ‘I am happy here and I love the staff.’ A parent said: ‘The staff are wonderful, they understand my son so well. Some have been with him throughout his time at the home and this helps him feel safe.’ The positive relationships children and young people have with a consistent team of committed staff help to provide a secure emotional base from where they can develop.

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Good

The knowledge of staff in respect of the complex individual needs of children and young people is enhanced by liaising very closely with a multi-disciplinary team of professionals who are based on site. This team regularly reviews children and young people’s progress to ensure plans remain robust and appropriate. Good collaborative working ensures that consistent approaches to care are promoted. This provides certainty for children and young people, and has a positive impact on their sense of stability and security.

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Good

Education is provided on site. All children and young people engage in individualised, full-time, packages of education that are challenging but also reflect their strengths, interests, and styles of learning. From their starting points, children and young people make good educational progress. A parent said: ‘Prior to moving here, my son had been out of school for two years. Now, he is in school, enjoying it and he is achieving to the best of his ability.’ Older young people achieve accredited awards in literacy, numeracy, information technology, and life skills. Acquiring such skills and awards provide young people with a sense of achievement. It also ensures increased opportunities in adult life.

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Good

Children and young people engage in a wide range of interesting and stimulating activities within the home and in the community that are tailored around individual choices and preferences. Activities include swimming, snow tubing, trips to the cinema, zumba classes, shopping, theme nights, llama walking, and sky diving. A parent commented: ‘My daughter does plenty of activities and she is really involved in choosing what she does.’ Such engagement enables children and young people to have fun, socialise and make a positive contribution to their community. It helps build their self-confidence and contributes to improved physical and emotional health.

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Good

Although children and young people have communication difficulties, staff continually ensure that their views remain central to all aspects of their care. Staff are creative and use a range of communication methods which reflect different communication styles and levels of understanding. House meetings, one-to-one consultations, the use of pictures and symbols, social stories, and observations are used to ascertain individual preferences in relation to the day-to-day running of the home, and in relation to care planning. Excellent communication and consultation empowers children and young people. It helps them to feel respected and valued. This helps raise their self-esteem and confidence.

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Good

Older young people are well prepared for transitions into adult life. Support provided to increase life and independence skills is effective. A parent said: ‘My son is progressing well. He has matured and he now wants to do everything for himself.’ A recently appointed transitions co-ordinator works in consultation with parents and placing authorities to help ensure that comprehensive transition plans are effective. Young people are helped to understand their transition arrangements through the use of social stories. Careful planning and preparation, as well as the post-transition support which the service provides, give young people the best opportunity to settle into their new home and feel secure in their new environment.

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Good

The home environment is warm and welcoming. Photographs of children and young people around the home serve as a reminder of good experiences and achievements. Children and young people are fully involved in choosing the furniture and décor of the home. They personalise their bedrooms in a style that reflects their preferences and needs. Such involvement helps children and young people to develop a sense of pride in the environment and it makes it feel more like a family home.

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Good

The home is a physically safe environment. Social workers and parents report that children and young people are safe living in this home. A parent said: ‘I know my son is safe as he has staff around him who know him well and who he trusts.’ In addition to positive relationships that provide children and young people with a good sense of safety, high staffing ratios and the implementation of comprehensive risk management plans help safeguard them. For example, a young person who displays self-injurious behaviour is well supported. Her risk management plan is clear. Supervision levels are high, all potentially dangerous objects have been removed from her bedroom, and staff have received specific training from therapists to ensure that they respond consistently and appropriately to threats of self-harm. As a result, this young person has been appropriately helped and protected.

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Good

Work undertaken with children and young people in respect of all aspects of relationships, including emotional and sexual, has been effective in helping them understand how relationships work. This helps children and young people to develop respect for one another and reduces the potential for bullying in the home. It also provides them with knowledge which will help them better protect themselves in the future.

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Good

Incidents of children and young people going missing from this home are extremely rare. There has not been an incident since before the last inspection. Staff understand the high level of risk children and young people would be at as a result of their high levels of vulnerability if they were to go missing. Staff knowledge and up-to-date individualised missing from care procedures ensure that, should a child or young person go missing in the future, staff understand what actions to take to safeguard them.

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Good

Proactive behaviour management strategies and systems have a positive impact on children and young people. Trusting relationships and high levels of praise, reinforced through regular behaviour management training, have a positive effect in reducing incidents of challenging behaviours. One parent said: ‘There has been a miraculous change in my son’s behaviour since moving to the home.’ Another commented: ‘Behaviourally my son has made progress. He is now able to calm himself down after an outburst and reflect on his behaviour.’

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Good

Physical interventions are used appropriately and proportionately. Debriefs take place for staff, as well as children and young people, following any incident. The home’s dedicated behaviour management manager undertakes a thorough analysis of all incidents. He is taking a very proactive approach so that the level and frequency of physical interventions is reduced. He is working with staff teams to help them reconsider and reflect on their practice. This has been effective. A social worker said: ‘I have seen a massive change. There used to be physical interventions every day but this has significantly reduced.’ This is a testament to the developing skills of the staff team in de-escalating very challenging behaviours.

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Good

Although staff demonstrate a good understanding of the home’s safeguarding procedures, there has been one occasion when there was a delay in a safeguarding allegation being reported to the appropriate authorities. This contravened the home’s safeguarding policy. Although this shortfall did not significantly affect young people, any delay prevents immediate investigation being undertaken. It ultimately has the potential to impact on levels of safety in the home. Managers and leaders have demonstrated good insight into this shortfall and a robust action plan has been implemented in order to improve practice in this area and prevent such a mistake occurring again. The actions from this plan now needs to be embedded.

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Good

The home has seen significant changes in the management structure since the last inspection. A new manager has been in post since April 2015 and the process is almost complete for her to become the registered manager of the home. She is suitably experienced and is taking all necessary steps to complete the required manager’s qualification within the timescale set out in the Children’s Homes Regulations. In addition, a new deputy manager and a new health and safeguarding manager have also been recently appointed.

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Good

The new manager is enthusiastic, motivational, and has high aspirations for children and young people. She has been swift to identify weaknesses within the home and take action to address them. She leads by example. This approach has had a positive impact on staff morale, which had dipped earlier in the year. The staff team hold the new management team in high regard. A member of staff said: ‘I am really happy here, it is brilliant. I could not ask for better managers.’ Staff feel valued and are motivated. They share the manager’s vision of improving the lives of children and young people. As a result, a cohesive staff team ensures that children and young people are consistently well supported.

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Good

The manager is very child-focused and reflective. Complaints are taken seriously. They are swiftly and robustly investigated. Lessons are learnt and actions are taken to improve practice. For example, when a shortfall in relation to a member of staff’s handling of a particular young person was identified through a complaint, support and development plans were implemented to improve practice.

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Good

Staff undertake a comprehensive programme of training based on the needs of children and young people. Staff also have the opportunity to access external training in respect of specialist areas of need, and to attend training in areas of potential emerging needs such as radicalisation, female genital mutilation, and substance misuse. Additionally, staff have access to in-house speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, a physiotherapist and a psychotherapist to discuss children’s and young people’s specific sensory, physical, communication, and behavioural needs. Because of the good quality training and support, children and young people benefit from care that is provided by skilled staff who are well equipped to meet their complex needs. Staff development is also promoted through team meetings and regular formal supervision. Team meetings and supervision provide staff with an opportunity to reflect on their practice and the

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Good

needs of the children and young people they are caring for.

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Good

The home’s statement of purpose has been updated. It is comprehensive and provides parents and placing authorities with clear and accurate information about how young people will be helped and supported while living in the home. Individualised young people’s guides, tailored to the level of understanding of children and young people, have been developed with the help of those who are already living in the home. As a result, new residents are provided with an excellent insight into what it is like to live in the home through the eyes of other children and young people.

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Good

The home has excellent systems to monitor the progress children and young people make. Daily management briefings, regular progress meetings, and the collection of good quality data enable managers to analyse patterns and trends in behaviours. The manager is able to clearly demonstrate what progress children and young people are making. This enables care plans to be quickly adapted to meet the changing needs of young people. The use of progress books and memory boxes also enables children and young people to see the progress they are making for themselves. Quality assurance monitoring of the home, both internally and externally is effective. Positive changes already made by the new manager, alongside the further development she has planned, are indicative of a service which is striving to significantly improve the lives of children and young people.

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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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