Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Herefordshire

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:

 Leadership and management is strong and effective.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people are receiving continuity and consistency of care from staff who are long-standing and know them well.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Good and effective matching is taking place.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff are effective in promoting positive behaviour.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff build trusting relationships with young people.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Quality assurance monitoring is thorough and effective.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The manager has a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There are some administrative shortfalls in relation to the statement of purpose. There are also weaknesses in fire safety training and obtaining feedback from those using the service.

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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

Compile in relation to the children's home a statement which includes a description of the accommodation offered by the home including the age range number and sex of children for whom it is intended that accommodation is to be provided (Regulation 16 (1) Schedule 13 (b)) 07/11/2015

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Requirement Due date

Ensure the system for reviewing the quality of care provided for children provides for ascertaining and considering the opinions of parents and placing authorities. (Regulation 45(2)(5)) 07/12/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

Ensure staff access facilities and resources to support training needs. This refers to staff accessing face-to-face fire marshal training. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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Information about this children's home

The home accommodates up to five young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is run by a private company. The home looks after young people between the ages of 9 and 18 years.

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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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good

Young people receive very good individualised care. This is because care planning is good and staff take time to build strong and trusting relationships with them. One young people commented,’ ‘Overall I am very happy with the home. The staff are awesome and the future is looking good for me’. Another stated, ‘I love my care home.’ Staff are fully aware of young people’s needs as placement plans are clear and frequently reviewed. They are interested and have high aspirations for them. Young people respond well to this and consequently develop in confidence and self-esteem. As a result, young people make good, and at times, excellent progress. This has been recognised by those close to and working with young people. For example, one placing social worker stated,’ ‘There has been a massive turn around in his engagement with staff and in school.’ While a parent commented , ‘He has changed so much. He is more loving and understanding

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good

towards me.’ Young people are having good experiences in the home which are of a high quality and geared to their individual needs. Staff encourage them to lead healthy lifestyles and engage in activities, such as, walking, swimming and bike riding. They spend time with young people finding interests which motivate them. For example, several young people belong to a local trampoline club. The young people living in the home are all in good health and are in full-time education, either at school or in college. Staff support young people well in their transition to independent living. They are encouraged to develop their independence skills, such as, money management and independent travel. The home also has a self-contained annexe where young people approaching adulthood can live semi-independently. This helps them to prepare for their future and manage the transition to independence. Young people who have recently left the home are successfully living independently and

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good

attending college. Young people are able to fully participate in the day-to-day decisions that affect them. Regular house meetings and key worker sessions ensure young people are able discuss the running of the home and any issues regarding their day-to-day care. Young people live in a home which is spacious and appropriate to their needs. The home is a large, listed building which the manager has tried hard to personalise and to feel warm and comfortable. Young people each have en-suite bedrooms which they can personalise to their own tastes.

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good

Young people are safe living in the home. They say they feel safe and know how to make a complaint. They feel they can talk to members of staff if they have any concerns. The manager conducts thorough impact assessments which ensures young people are appropriately placed and are matched carefully with the other young people living in the home. Individual risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure staff are fully aware of young people’s needs and areas of risk. Staff develop strong and trusting relationships which, together with clear and consistent boundaries, help ensure young people feel safe and secure. As a consequence, young people do not engage in risk-taking behaviour such as drug or alcohol misuse or go missing from the home. Comments from police have included, ‘Fantastic…whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.’ This is a particular strength of the home and demonstrates that good and effective matching is taking place. Staff

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good

attend regular safeguarding training including, child sexual exploitation and cyber bullying which ensures they are up-to-date with recent events. Staff understand young people’s behaviour well. They are good at de-escalating negative behaviour to prevent the need for police intervention and use distraction methods to avert negative behaviour. Staff promote positive behaviour. They use tick sheets to monitor and encourage positive behaviour which are linked to monitory rewards. As a result, staff do not need to restrain young people. There have been no instances of physical restraint since 2013. The organisation has a thorough selection process for all new staff working at home. This ensures that all those working with young people are safe to do so. Fire and environmental checks are regularly conducted to ensure the home environment is safe and secure. Regular fire evacuations take place which include

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good

scenarios where staff may block a particular exit. This ensures all young people and staff are fully aware how to keep themselves safe in the event of a fire. All staff receive basic online fire safety training. However, there have been occasions when there has been no members of staff on duty who have received face-to-face fire marshal training.

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good

Leadership and management is strong and effective. The registered manager is qualified and has managed the home for many years. The home is fully staffed and many of the staff team are long standing. As a result, young people are experiencing consistency and continuity of care. Staff are well supported by the manager. One member of staff stated, ‘I have never sought to move units because the manager is so supportive and very good at her job. She will do upmost to help sort a problem. She is very understanding.’ Staff feel they are now receiving adequate training to allow them to care well for the young people living in the home. They are appropriately qualified and have obtained or are in the process of completing the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare. The organisation has developed a programme of training for staff which enhances mandatory training. The manager has been proactive in ensuring her

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good

staff to attend this training. Parents and external professionals are complimentary about the home and say that the manager and staff work well in partnership with them. For example, one parent commented, ‘I always feel welcome when I come to the home.’ One placing social worker stated, ‘I couldn’t speak highly enough. Communication is fantastic.’ The manager is prepared to challenge others when needed to ensure young people’s needs are met. For example, in the past she has challenged local authorities when she feels they are not considering young people views and wishes regarding future placements. Quality assurance monitoring is thorough and evaluative. This ensures the manager has a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She constantly strives to improve her practice to achieve the best possible outcomes for young people. She has developed a behaviour analysis system which

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good

highlights young people’s patterns and trends of behaviour and further enhances her monitoring and evaluation. The manager ensures the opinions of young people inform her evaluation of how well the home is meeting their needs. The views of placing social workers and families, however, are not included. Young people’s records are clear and up-to-date. The manager ensure these contribute to the understanding of their life. For example, she has recently started a photograph evidence booklet for each young person to capture key moments of their life while at the home. The home’s statement of purpose and young people’s guide give a clear information to those using the service. The statement of purpose, however, does not clearly state the age ranges of the young people the home cares for to inform placing social workers.

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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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