Children's Home run by M.J. Children’s Services Limited in Cambridgeshire

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:

 Support for young people has helped them to maintain their education and achieve academically whilst living in the home. This means that they are likely to progress towards set educational goals.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff promote contact between families and young people. Staff will travel long distances to help these contact sessions to be positive.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people have recorded in consultation that they feel safe in the home. A social worker commented that they had no concerns about the care provided.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The young people are rarely absent from the home. Staff understand the procedures to follow should this issue arise.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There is a shortfall in regard to updating the care planning records to include recent changes in assessed risk factors.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There have been shortfalls in the supervision of staff. This means there is no formal record of their practice or the support they receive.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The statement of purpose does not fully reflect the quality standards and does not provide a clear overview for young people, parents and external professionals of the care provided.

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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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard:

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality of care standard the registered provider must: 05/11/2015 (2) (iv) provide personalised care that meets each child's needs, as recorded in the child's relevant plans, taking account of the child's background.

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Requirement Due date

11: The positive relationships standard:

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationship standard the registered provider must ensure that: (2) (x) staff are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of the children. 05/11/2015

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard:

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered provider must: (2) (a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and deliver the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. 05/11/2015

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard:

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered provider must: (2) (e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child . 05/11/2015

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. A private company owns the home.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

16/03/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

13/01/2014 CH - Interim Inadequate Progress

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Good

The overall experience for young people living in this home is good. The staff have a composed approach to the young people. The atmosphere in the home reflects this and provides an environment that enables good relationships to grow. The staff work together to promote consistency of care. A staff member commented that they ‘provide a family environment for the young people’. During the evening, young people are encouraged to complete their daily tasks and prepare an evening meal together before any activities.

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Good

Support for young people has helped them to maintain and achieve academically whilst living in the home. For some, this has included work experience placements. One example is working at a local raptor centre, where their knowledge of caring for the birds has developed and their confidence has grown through being involved in displays to the public. Other young people are completing practical courses in plastering and mechanics, all of which will help towards the world of work after formal education finishes. A parent commented: ‘My child really enjoys their work experience and has learned a lot from being there.’

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Good

The staff have been particularly supportive in helping one young person to make the transition from this home to a specialist sixth form college. Currently, they are studying towards their A levels, having obtained seven GCSE’s at grade B and C. The staff worked together with additional tutors at home to help them to gain these grades by supporting with homework and revision skills.

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Good

Key work sessions take place to cover specific aspects identified in young people’s care plans, such as relationships or contact. There are good interactions between the key workers and the young people, which help them to use the key work time as positively as possible. This provides young people with a trusted adult who they can meet with regularly and discuss issues.

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Good

Staff help young people to maintain contact with health professionals, such as doctors, dentists, and opticians. Staff provide a healthy diet and support young people, who are preparing their own meals, to cook using fresh ingredients. Some young people smoke and have misused substances. Staff have put these young people in contact with services to help them reduce and eradicate using substances and smoking.

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Good

Activities and sports, such as going to the gym and bowling, are available and are encouraged. Staff discuss these at key work and resident’s meetings to help plan for these events. Staff listen to young people’s views. Recently, young people requested, planned and enjoyed trips to Blackpool and Caister-on-Sea for weekends away. Plans for further trips requested by young people, for example, to the Essex coast, are progressing.

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Good

Staff promote contact between families and young people. They will travel long distances to help these contact sessions to be positive. Recent developments are an increase in contact to overnight and weekend contact. Young people are gaining independence skills, following a successful risk assessment, in travelling home by train alone. Their relationships with families improve and their knowledge of their community increases.

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Good

Young people have recorded in consultation that they feel safe in the home. A social worker commented that they ‘had no concerns about the care provided’ and believed ‘that the home followed good safeguarding processes’.

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Good

Safe recruitment processes are in place and only checked visitors gain access to the home. This provides protection from contact from inappropriate adults in the home. Staff routinely make contact with young people who are accessing free time away from the home. This helps to ensure that young people know that staff are available to support them if they need.

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Good

This inspection has identified a shortfall in the updating of care planning records. Recent changes in assessed risk factors for the young people have not been included in to the plan. This does not provide staff with the most accurate information to enable them to competently meet young people’s current care needs. This shortfall is partially minimised by the comprehensive verbal feedback at handover between staff. Accurate recording of changes is required to enable staff to minimise risks and be clear about the progress made and to provide continuity of care for each young person.

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Good

Young people are rarely absent from the home. Staff understand the procedures to follow should this issue arise. There is a good relationship between the staff and the police and other agencies. This helps to promote good communications. Recently, staff have completed awareness training in relation to the risk factors for young people from exploitation. This has helped them to focus on identifying behaviours or incidents that may heighten this risk. Staff feel confident that, at present, there is no evidence of these high risk factors for these young people.

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Good

Since the last full inspection, there have been three incidents where staff have been required to restrain young people. The records of these restraints are appropriate. Staff and managers consider the views that the young people have shared following the restraints. They use this information to reflect on the incidents to see if other interventions may have been more suitable to manage the situation. This has led to a reduction in restraints from previous years.

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Good

Staff use sanctions, such as supervised spending and this has seen a reduction in some negative behaviours. Staff are reflecting on other methods, in particular, if a more restorative approach may improve these behaviours further and help young people to learn alternative ways to deal with situations.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager has a Level Four National Vocational Qualification in leadership and management. They have been in post since 2012 and previously worked in the home as a residential worker and a senior since 2008. There has been a recent change in the home, where a job share arrangement for the registered manager has ended and the current manager is now working full time. The job share arrangement has not been as successful as planned and this inspection has highlighted a number of shortfalls as a result.

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Requires improvement

The statement of purpose does not reflect the quality standards. This means that placing authorities and families do not have a clear picture of the services provided or how the home aims to meet the standards.

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Requires improvement

There have also been shortfalls in the supervision of staff. There has been a lack of oversight of staff practice and there is a lack of formal recording of supervision. Consequently, managers and leaders do not have a clear picture of how staff are meeting the young people’s needs or of the progress made by young people. The manager has recently become aware of this shortfall and has a plan in place to ensure that staff receive supervision and regular appraisal.

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Requires improvement

Staff have completed mandatory training courses, such as safeguarding, fire precautions, health and safety and restraint. New staff are completing inductions and the registered manager is monitoring this to ensure that the training complements the work staff are doing. This means that staff who have suitable skills are caring for young people.

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Requires improvement

The manager has a good relationship with placing authorities, who speak favourably about the home and the care provided. They say young people are progressing well. The manager provides regular updates to social workers. The registered manager is strong and direct in her response to partner agencies to ensure that they play a full part in the young people’s care plans.

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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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