Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in West Northamptonshire

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 enjoy positive experiences and they make good progress in several areas of their development.  Young people benefit from the warm and supportive relationships they have with very committed staff who are extremely child-focused.  The wide range of experiences and activities that young people engage in enhance the quality of their lives. They have fun. They develop confidence and enjoy improved self-esteem.  Comprehensive behaviour and risk management plans underpin safe practice.  The manager and staff work closely and effectively with family members and other professionals in order to meet young people’s needs. They actively challenge placing authorities to ensure that they receive appropriate services without delay.  The registered manager provides enthusiastic leadership. Staff share her vision to improve the quality of young people’s lives.  Some shortfalls and areas for improvement are identified as a result of this

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The children's home provision is good because:

inspection. These are in relation to staffing levels, staff training, minor inaccuracies within the statement of purpose, and in respect of improving consultation feedback for young people. These matters are not currently having an impact on the safety of young people.

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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

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must:

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Requirement Due date

2(c) ensure that the staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child

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Requirement Due date

2(d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. 23/12/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Review and amend the statement of purpose to provide absolute clarity in respect of staffing levels and programmes of training. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 14, paragraph 3.5)

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Recommendations

 Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon, with particular reference to the minutes of young people's meetings including feedback regarding young people's views and suggestions during these meetings. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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Information about this children's home

A private company operates the home. It is registered to accommodate up to two young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Good

Young people enjoy positive experiences and make good progress in a number of ways. A young person said: ‘My life is so much better and I feel happier. Living here has given me time to reflect on my life and make changes. I am now looking to the future and what career I want to pursue. Before, I did not think past tomorrow.’ Young people start to develop some insight into their life experiences and start to address their difficulties. As a result, their opportunities to reach their full potential are enhanced.

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Good

A particular strength of the home is the commitment of a dedicated staff team who are extremely child-focused. A social care professional commented: ‘I truly believe that all of the effort put in to supporting the young person and not rejecting her in the face of some extremely challenging behaviour will help her get to a place where she can begin to allow positive things to happen.’ Young people themselves speak positively about the staff. One said: ‘They are really nice. They are friendly and I know I can always speak to them. They are good listeners. They are people I know I can trust.’ Positive relationships, alongside high levels of praise, encouragement and emotional warmth, provide young people with the sense of stability and security they need and deserve.

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Good

Transitions for young people moving into the home are well managed. The most recent admission involved a thorough pre-admission impact assessment and the young person visiting the home and meeting the staff prior to moving in. A new young person said: ‘Before I moved in I came to visit and thought it was really nice. Since moving in the staff have been really kind and they have helped me settle in. It feels like home already.’ Careful planning and preparation for new placements ensure that young people have the best opportunity to settle successfully in to the home.

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Good

Staff actively promote educational achievement. For those young people who have not been in formal education for some time, the manager and staff actively challenge placing authorities to minimise delays in full time educational provisions being identified. In such circumstances, in order to understand young people’s educational functioning, the manager organises for independent assessments of educational need to be undertaken. This assists staff to provide meaningful and appropriate alternative educational experiences on an interim basis. A young person said: ‘The staff are helping me with education. We look things up on the internet and I am learning things.’ A social worker commented: ‘The staff are very supportive in engaging the young person in educational activities.’ As a result, young people became motivated to learn and they are well prepared for their transition back into formal education.

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Good

Young people have access to appropriate and individualised leisure pursuits. A young person said: ‘I get to do lots of things. I go to the skate park; I play golf, go bowling, ice-skating and football training. I have made friends in the local area and I regularly meet up with them. I do not have time to get bored as staff always make sure I am doing activities or school work.’ Young people also get involved in community activities. For example, some have participated in the ‘race for life’, and the home has hosted a McMillan coffee morning. Young people are proud of the money they have raised for charity as a result of getting involved in such events. The participation in leisure and community activities enables young people to feel an integral part of their community. It also provides them with an opportunity to have fun, socialise and stay healthy. Consequently, they develop more confidence and develop improved self-esteem.

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Good

Relationships between young people and their families improve as a result of good partnership working between staff, young people and their families. Young people are listened to and their wishes in respect of who they see and how often are respected. This allows young people’s relationships to develop at a comfortable pace and helps improve family relationships. Young people benefit greatly from this in terms of their sense of identity. It also provides an opportunity for them to have an improved support network in the longer term.

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Good

Staff respect and value young people. Young people know how to complain and are encouraged to express their views at weekly house meetings, in individual key working sessions and through monthly feedback questionnaires about the running of the home. A young person said: ‘When I had a concern, staff listened. I am happy with how things were dealt with.’ Good levels of communication and consultation are empowering for young people. It helps raise their confidence and self-esteem. Managers and staff demonstrating how young people’s views have been listened to and acted upon in house meeting minutes could improve practice further in this area. The home environment is warm and welcoming. Bedrooms are personalised in styles that reflect individual preferences. Communal areas decorated with young people artwork and choice of pictures helps young people to develop a sense of pride in the environment they have helped to create.

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Good

Social workers and family members report that young people are so much safer than they were prior to moving to this home. Young people themselves also report that they feel safe. A young person said: ‘This is a safe place to live. The staff make it safe for me.’ The positive relationships young people have with the staff creates an emotionally safe and secure environment for young people.

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Good

Staff are trained in respect of safeguarding practices and work in accordance with the homes safeguarding policies. They know how to respond should a young person make a disclosure to them. They are also aware of the homes whistleblowing policy should they identify practice which could potentially place a young person at risk of harm. This as well as the managers sound knowledge and understanding of safeguarding practices significantly reduces the risk of harm to young people.

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Good

Staff implement and regularly review detailed risk management plans. This helps to keep young people as safe as possible. For example, a young person who displayed significant self-injurious behaviours was very well supported. She was closely supervised, all potentially dangerous objects were removed from her bedroom, and staff had clear guidance in respect of how to respond consistently and effectively to challenging behaviour and threats to self-harm. As a result, this young person was appropriately helped and protected.

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Good

The implementation of comprehensive and individualised missing from care risk management plans are effective in reducing the risk to young people who go missing. A police officer said: ‘The staff manage incidents well. They act appropriately and swiftly.’ As a result, young people are quickly located and welcomed back into the home. In addition, the positive relationships staff have with young people, and work undertaken with them about the dangers of going missing have been effective in significantly reducing the number of missing incidents which occur. A social worker said: ‘Before the young person moved here he was frequently absconding. Now I would say it is rare. He is engaging with the staff and responding to the work being undertaken with him.’ Consequently, young people are provided with a good level of protection in this area.

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Good

Behaviour is well managed in the home through consistent approaches and proactive strategies that engage young people in positive behaviours. A young person commented: ‘The rules here are clear. They are fair and I know where I stand. I know what the consequence is if I do not stick to my curfew. However, when I do things well I get extra money for extra activities. The rewards really work and motivate me.’

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Good

Despite some young people displaying extremely challenging and aggressive behaviours, incidents of physical intervention are low. This is a testament to the skills of the staff in de-escalating difficult situations. On the eight occasions when low-level restraints were required to safeguard either the young person or staff, debriefs with staff and the young person followed. Each incident is well recorded and analysed by the manager. This helps to ensure that practice remains effective in this area.

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Good

The company has a robust recruitment and selection procedure for new staff. They are recruited and checked appropriately. This helps to ensure that only those people who are suitable to work with young people and do not pose a risk to their safety are employed.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager is suitably experienced. She is on target to complete the required manager’s qualifications within the timescales set out in the Children’s Homes Regulations 2015.

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Requires improvement

The manager has been successful in appointing a diverse and experienced staff team since opening in June 2015, and there have been sufficient numbers of staff allocated to work each day to meet the needs of the young people living in the home. This does not however take account of unexpected events such as staff sickness. As a result of this, there have been at least two occasions when staffing levels were below what is required to ensure good quality care is maintained. Although there is no evidence that this had a negative impact on young people on these occasions, it has the potential to do so. The manager is currently recruiting a team of bank staff to address this shortfall. This is work in progress.

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Requires improvement

Since the opening of the home staff have undertaken training in key areas such as safeguarding, first aid, missing from care, child sexual exploitation, self-harm and behaviour management techniques. In addition to this, some staff have qualifications in other relevant areas, obtained from previous employment. Despite this, gaps remain for a number of staff in some of the basic mandatory areas of training. For example, some staff have not undertaken training in relation to food safety and basic health and safety. Although there is no evidence to date that this has had an impact on the welfare and safety of young people, the completion of this training by all staff is required to ensure that young people’s basic health and safety is not compromised.

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Requires improvement

The home fulfils its commitment to young people as outlined in the statement of purpose. However, some minor adjustments in relation to how the home is staffed throughout the day and night and in relation to the training staff have undertaken would ensure that parents and stakeholders have absolute clarity in respect of the service the home offers. The young people’s guide is comprehensive and provides good information about what they can expect when they move to the home.

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Requires improvement

The manager is very reflective. During a very challenging period, which resulted in staff members being assaulted and verbally abused by a young person, she and the staff team demonstrated great commitment. They continually reflected on practice and sought to find strategies that could better help and support the young person. However, when it became apparent that the young person required a more specialist placement in order to help and protect her, prompt action was taken to end the placement in her best interests. Following the end of this placement, through a team meeting, the manager and staff shared ideas and sought to learn lessons from their experiences with an aim of improving practice. Despite experiencing a very challenging period, the staff remained unwaveringly committed to improving the lives of young people.

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Requires improvement

Staff receive regular formal supervision. This is well recorded and gives staff the opportunity to reflect on their practice. Regular, good quality supervision as well as regular and productive staff meetings, ensure that practice is continually monitored. It also provides scope for further improvements in the delivery of care.

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Requires improvement

Systems to monitor the progress young people make are robust. Data collected on a weekly basis is used to monitor and evaluate patterns and trends in behaviours and the progress young people are making in the different areas of their development. Consequently, leaders and managers are able to demonstrate the impact living in the home is having on each young person.

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Requires improvement

Quality assurance monitoring, both internally and externally, is effective in identifying strengths in the home as well as weaknesses. Minor shortfalls are promptly addressed. Both systems provide for consultation with young people, parents and professionals. This ensures ongoing assessment and analysis in order to drive improvements.

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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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