Children's Home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Shropshire

Outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceeds the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 There are excellent relationships between staff and the young person who experiences stability and consistency in terms of care and support.  Staff are exceptionally nurturing and know and understand the young person well.  The young person feels very safe and secure in the home.  The approach to care planning is excellent and the young person is fully involved in this.  The young person’s health and well-being has improved significantly, impacting positively on her quality of life.  The young person has made considerable progress in school in comparison to previous circumstances.  The young person is learning to deal with her emotions and frustrations in a more mature and safer way.  The young person’s hobbies and interests are promoted well. Engagement in a range of interesting, character building activities is excellent.  Staff support growing independence and responsibly at a pace that is consistent to the young person’s abilities and understanding.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 The leadership and management of the home is very strong.  The working relationships and partnerships with other professionals are excellent.

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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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Information about this children's home

This children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a private company.

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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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people living in the home are

The young person is making excellent progress in comparison to her circumstances on arrival. She experiences stability and continuity of care from a small team of resilient staff who do not give up if things get difficult. An individualised, quality home environment is provided. Strong attachments are forged that consistently help achieve feelings of safety and security. The young person really enjoys living in the home and the help and opportunities staff provide to enjoy day-to-day living. The young person is able to express concerns, questions or anxieties about her well-being or circumstances. Staff are always around to help and to listen. They are reassuring and supportive as they have a detailed knowledge of the young person’s background, personality and needs.

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people living in the home are

The young person’s self-esteem and confidence is effectively promoted through a wide range of varied and focused activities both within and outside the home. Activities are fun and enjoyable but are also facilitated with purpose. They concentrate on developing social skills, relationships and how to act responsibly within the community. The young person is encouraged to choose the activities they would like to do as well as staff suggesting new things to experience. The current drive of the staff team is to build on the significant progress already made around personal and social responsibility.

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people living in the home are

The young person’s physical health and emotional well-being needs are being fully met. The staff team work in partnership with a range of health professionals and services to ensure the young person’s good health is maintained. The home’s in- house therapeutic service and agreed approaches are well integrated into daily care and support arrangements. Excellent arrangements and practices are in place to help promote and achieve a healthy lifestyle. The young person helps to cook and learns how to look after herself. This includes personal care, healthy eating, diet and exercise. This approach has resulted in the team having a very positive impact of the young person’s overall health and well-being.

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people living in the home are

The young person fully participates in the domestic life of the home and is helped to practice and learn skills that relate to being more responsible and independent. Staff provide practical coaching and support to help the young person focus on their aspirations and goals as they get older. Particular hobbies and interests are nurtured exceptionally well. They are also incorporated into weekly arrangements for free time. This encourages opportunities for the young person to make friends with people outside of the home and on her own terms.

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people living in the home are

The young person is fully supported to maintain contact with people in their lives who are important to them. This includes welcoming their friends into the house for visits. Staff pay particular attention to what young people have to say about these arrangements. This is so they have a degree of control over who, where and when they make contact.

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people living in the home are

The young person’s attendance, engagement and achievements at school have improved significantly in comparison to previous circumstances. Education and learning is given a high priority and the support provided is based on comprehensive assessments of need. Staff are well aware of the young person’s previous experiences at school, such as limited attendance, difficult relationships and poor attainment. Education programmes and timetables are developed according to individual circumstances. Staff provide lots of one-to-one support to help sustain the considerable progress already made. The manager advocates strongly on behalf of the young person in promoting the right learning arrangements. An excellent balance is achieved between the young person’s own aims and aspirations and the need to make academic progress relevant to her age appropriate key stages.

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people are helped and protected

The young person is helped and protected very well, expressing the view that she feels safe and is looked after properly. The manager and staff team confidently meet their responsibilities to keep everyone safe. They make sure that the quality of care provided is prioritised around safety and welfare matters. The young person actively benefits from the home’s well-established routines and practices that clearly recognise the need to keep everyone safe. Staff are very aware of agreed strategies and practices that successfully help to improve behaviours and relationships.

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people are helped and protected

The young person does not go missing from care or have unauthorised absences. Staff know what to do if these circumstances occur but their main focus is on working in a way that prevents these events from happening in the first place. The staff team successfully and consistently provide a home environment where the young person does not feel the need to run away.

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people are helped and protected

Staff promote and encourage a culture of trust and respect between everyone in the home. The young person is supported to take responsibility for her behaviour and more formal measures of control such as sanctions and restraint have reduced significantly over time. Staff use their relationships, skills and knowledge gained through training and experience to encourage and reinforce socially acceptable behaviour. Staff are good at listening to the young person and have been successful at reducing difficult behaviour from escalating. The young person is coached and offered alternative ways of behaving that impact less on everyone. On occasions, staff still have to deal with some very negative behaviours but continue to explore ways of helping the young person overcome her difficulties. The young person feels that staff are fair and appreciates the fact that she can earn rewards for improving her behaviour.

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people are helped and protected

Staff fully understand their roles and responsibilities to ensure the home’s environment is safely maintained. The house is physically safe and appropriately secure. The young person’s health and safety is fully supported because maintenance and protective procedures and practices are applied consistently by the team.

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leaders and managers

The registered manager has been in post for over two years and is suitably qualified and experienced. She provides visible leadership and knowledgeable support to the staff team. Together, they have a detailed knowledge of the needs of the young person and are proactive in working positively with other services as and when needed. The home is arranged and organised in a way that prioritises individual needs. This child-centred approach is evidenced by the significant progress the young person has made since arrival. Stability has been achieved for a young person who has experienced many previous placement moves. This has created many positive opportunities for the young person. Significantly, to build solid relationships with carers to help counteract longstanding attachment difficulties.

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leaders and managers

Communication within the staff team is highly effective. Regular meetings ensure that everyone is aware of what is going on in the young person’s life. Regular supervision for staff provides another opportunity for individuals to reflect on their practice and be informed. The young person’s case file is well organised, enabling staff to record daily events consistently and to find information quickly. This is very helpful for everyone, both in the delivery of a high standard of care and also in evaluating how the young person is progressing. In addition, well-established practices are in place to ensure that the young person can contribute to their plans of care. This has recently included reducing the number of staff working directly with the young person because of the very positive progress being made.

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leaders and managers

All staff have the required qualification except for one who is in the process of completing this. In addition, staff undertake regular additional training in support of their role and responsibilities. For example, regular meetings with the home’s allocated therapist helps the team gain a greater understanding of attachment disorders. This has helped the team to have a better understanding of the impact of early childhood experiences and to implement ways in which a young person can be helped to overcome their difficulties.

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leaders and managers

The registered manager has an excellent understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. The manager regularly evaluates key areas of the home’s operation. She draws together information about how well the home is operating and if the young person is making good enough progress. In addition, information is received in monthly monitoring reports that are also produced following a visit from an independent person. The young person is regularly canvased for their views about the home and their experiences of being in care. This feedback along with feedback from other sources is used to develop and shape the service for the benefit of current and future 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

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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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