Children's Home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Telford and Wrekin

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 develop throughout their time at the home, with specific improvements in their awareness of their behaviours and society through well thought through workshops. A simple, yet effective, evaluative tool examines the outcomes of therapeutic interventions, showing additional individualised progress. The staff consistently seek, consider and respond to the views of the young people.  Educational placements are in place for all young people. Enrolment only takes place following careful consideration of both the young people’s needs alongside the ability of the placement to offer a good level of support.  Young people enjoy a good range of activities and contact arrangements form an integral part of placement planning.  Detailed records of previous safeguarding concerns show that the home works well with a range of child protection agencies. Behaviour management interventions are low, with restraints and sanctions being rare.

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The children's home provision is good because:

No incidents of young people going missing have occurred since the last inspection. Staff work well to support young people’s safety, although an improvement in the detail of admission risk assessments is necessary.  The staff team feel well supported by the management of the home. Staff receive regular supervision, appraisals and training to develop their skills and ability to support young people’s positive outcomes. Good internal monitoring systems are in place to develop the home. Reports from external monitoring is detailed and relates well to the running of the home, but is slow to be sent to Ofsted.

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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 care planning standard, in relation to assessing the impact of admission on other young people in the home to ensure that the welfare of each child is protected, the registered person must ensure

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Requirement Due date

2 (b) that arrangements are in place to—

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Requirement Due date

(ii) manage and review the placement of each child in the home. 31/10/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Make best use of information from independent monitoring (including under regulation 44) to ensure continuous improvement. Specifically, ensure that the independent person submits monthly reports promptly, to enable proactive implementation of lessons learned and to sustain good practice. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 55 paragraph 10.24)

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Information about this children's home

The home is part of a large private organisation. It offers care up to five young people primarily with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

25/03/2015 CH - Interim Improved effectiveness

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people living in the home are

Young people enjoy living at the home and make significant improvements in areas such as education, behaviour management, and the development of independence skills. The specialist nature of the home requires staff to use highly individualised interventions. Young people learn about appropriate behaviour through a high involvement of therapeutic staff and evening workshops. This leads to decreasing risks for all young people. They also develop their own workshops to increase others’ awareness of appropriate behaviour within society.

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people living in the home are

Young people enjoy positive relationships with the staff team and all are able to name adults that they can talk to if they have concerns. No complaints have been made at the home since the last inspection. Young people have a good range of activities, both within the community and at the home. For example, staff support a young person involved in a local football league team and others enjoy the cinema and trips to a local pool hall.

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people living in the home are

Contact arrangements are strong and developed from the outset of the young person’s placement. One parent stated that: ‘I’m always made to feel comfortable when I visit and kept up to date with everything that is going on.’

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people living in the home are

Staff respond to young people’s health needs well. They have strong relationships with the therapeutic team, who meet with both young people and the staff team. This helps to increase staff knowledge of the young people and generates ideas to improve outcomes. A simple and effective evaluation tool assesses therapeutic sessions to examine where additional work is necessary and show successful responses.

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people living in the home are

All young people attend regular educational placements. Decision-making relating to education involves a range of placements, ensuring that young people attend the best place to meet their needs. The organisation’s school highlighted good communication between the home and themselves: ‘We have an educational handover at the start and end of each day to keep us all up to date with what is going on.’

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people living in the home are

The home is a pleasant and homely environment. Young people’s rooms are personalised and there are photos of current residents in communal areas. This gives the home a family feel and young people a feeling of permanence. Improvements in the home’s décor forms part of the home’s development plan, especially the dining room and kitchen area. Staff listen to young people’s views consistently. Detailed, regular key working sessions and young people’s meetings include responses from the manager, demonstrating that their views are considered and acted upon. Recent improvements, led by young people, means they now have televisions in their rooms.

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people living in the home are

A detailed ‘leaving care’ pack helps to develop young people’s skills in preparation for moving on. They are able to discuss their plans for when they leave the home, where they would like to live, and the skills that they have developed for independence. This planned exit gives young people confidence in their own abilities.

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people are helped and protected

Young people live within a home where they are safe and learn to keep themselves safe. Staff complete health and safety checks on a regular basis so that safety is promoted at all times. They carry out a good range of risk assessments too, although those completed at the point of young people’s admission are not thorough with regard to the conflicting needs of young people already living in the home.

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people are helped and protected

Young people state that they feel safe; staff check that their feelings at all times. A recent safeguarding incident is still ongoing. Information relating to this is available and a clear chronology shows how the registered person informed social workers and the local safeguarding board swiftly. The home has responded to concerns relating to the safety of young people by the addition of electronic monitoring and increased supervision of young people. A social worker stated that: ‘the staff responded to the safeguarding concern with professionalism, they were very proactive with moving things forwards. It was good that they were open and gave us confidence in the staff’s ability.’

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people are helped and protected

Staff are aware of how to respond should young people go missing from the home, or staff need to search their rooms. No such events have occurred since the last inspection of the home. Staff remind young people of the need to keep them informed of their whereabouts when they have free time. Links are in place with the local police to develop risk assessments regarding absence.

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people are helped and protected

Self harming incidents have decreased significantly. Risk assessments support young people and give staff direction regarding how to respond in such an event. One young person stated that: ‘I have learnt about why I used to do it, I just don’t now feel the need to do it anymore.’ Low levels of sanctions and restraints are used. Restraints records are detailed, including discussions with both staff and young people following incidents. This facilitates staff analysis about how young people can be supported further. Sanctions used have become increasingly imaginative, and more developed from previous recording practice of stating, just, ‘loss of privilege’. This helps the registered person to analyse the effectiveness of different behaviour management systems. Reward structures are basic, but young people are aware of which of their behaviours they are working at improving.

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people are helped and protected

Bullying behaviour has occurred at the home, although is rare and responded to well. Information is available, identifying bullying and how staff offer support.

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people are helped and protected

Safe recruitment procedures safeguard young people. The organisation ensures employees are appropriately vetted, showing a commitment to the safety of young people. Young people are involved in the recruitment of staff and their views about potential staff are considered.

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leaders and managers

A new manager has been in position since July 2015 and has submitted an application to register with Ofsted. They are suitably qualified and experienced, holding the registered manager’s award. They have a strong awareness of the home, the strengths and weaknesses of the team and the needs of the young people. Staff are positive about the manager and their style, stating that they are: ‘really well supported and listened to all the time.’

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leaders and managers

The management team uses a good range of monitoring tools to examine the home and the way that records are completed. External monitoring includes discussions with young people, associated professionals and parents. This gives a good assessment of the care provided. Reports are slow to be sent to Ofsted, occasionally taking over two months to be received. A development plan details improvements necessary and takes into consideration monitoring systems.

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leaders and managers

The manager challenges professionals to develop good practice and support young people. Education services and financial arrangements have improved following the manager’s intervention. Social workers and independent reviewing officers state that they work well with the staff team: ‘information from the home is more than sufficient. We have a good working relationship with the management team. They are clear about what can be achieved and how they can do it.’

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leaders and managers

The management of care planning is good. Placement plans are both pertinent and detailed, giving a clear picture of young people’s time at the home and targets for their development. Staff and young people have a strong involvement with the review process. Plans are revised in response to review outcomes, with a different colour, increasing clarity of developments.

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leaders and managers

The home’s statement of purpose clearly shows the specialist role of the home for young people at risk of sexual exploitation, and placements of young people are in line with this. The young people’s guide gives a good range of information, including basic rules and expectations of behaviour. Information relating to complaints gives young people additional opportunities to raise concerns external to the home.

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leaders and managers

Staff support structures include development planning and appraisals. Interim appraisals after six-month inductions help to develop staff, with objectives and positive discussions about their role within the home. Regular team meetings include discussions about the development of the home, effective working with young people and occasional training sessions to further develop staff skills. A good range of training courses are completed by staff and the majority of the team have qualified up to level three, with all others completing it.

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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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