Children's Home run by Physis Quantum Limited in Shropshire

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 are progressing very well emotionally and socially because male and female staff provide skilled, individualised, nurturing care like good parents.  Staff provide a safe, supportive, family lifestyle that includes regular help for young people to keep contact with their own families. As a result, young people do not want to go missing.  Young people are well safeguarded from further exploitation because the manager and staff understand, manage, support and care for them.  The therapist provides regular and highly effective direct help to young people. She also guides and supports care staff. A holistic, therapeutic approach successfully promotes young people’s well-being and progress.  Young people do particularly well with their daily routines, education, health and independence skills, given their starting points.  Staff provide each young person with an illustrated book, full of positive

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The children's home provision is good because:

messages and memories of activities and achievements. They add to this very regularly, showing young people how much staff value them.  A staff member provides invaluable help to young people and their relatives who communicate together in their home language. She also helps them to keep in touch with the culture of their country of origin.  The registered person considers the matching of young people with insight and skill so that each young person’s potential for progress is maximised.  The manager has not reported every allegation against staff to HMCI because she considered a few of them to be very minor. The manager does not make best use of monitoring and review to develop behaviour management and care practice. Deputising and contingency arrangements were not effective enough to avoid a slight dip in morale and practice when she was away.

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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

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 15/12/2015

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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

Make the best use of information from independent and internal monitoring and review, in order to proactively implement lessons learned and sustain good practice. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Ensure that everyone working at the home understands their roles and responsibilities and what they are authorised to decide on their own initiative. There should be clear lines of accountability. Each home must have clear arrangements in place to maintain effective management when the manager is absent, off duty or on leave. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 54, paragraph 10.20) Ensure that all staff are supported to be ambitious for every child in the home and to gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 52, paragraph 10.5)

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Information about this children's home

This home is run by a privately owned limited company. It offers care for up to three children and young people. There is a specialism to care for children and young people who are victims of child sexual exploitation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.5

good

Young people are making good progress because the manager and staff show consistently good skills and real commitment. Staff nurture and inspire young people. For example, both young people are achieving 100% attendance at school and are in good daily routines every day for the first time in years. They are now brave enough, with staff support, to get professional advice and treatment for their teeth, eyes and sexual health. Young people have tried new hobbies like bicycle riding, and horse riding. They are enjoying the countryside around them for the first time, as well as maintaining an appropriate interest in clothes shopping and beauty. Their practical independence skills are developing very well through the cooking, laundry and cleaning that they do with staff.

p.6

good

Staff continuously show their respect, concern, love and care to young people. Staff encourage and enthuse them, and pitch their conversations and advice with insight and sensitivity. Staff have a highly significant impact and they celebrate success and good times with young people at every opportunity. They regularly go out together for days to the beach, or to interesting places and towns. They enjoy spa treatments, moonlight walks, garden games and choosing new accessories and bedding for their rooms. Young people’s memory books are packed with photos of experiences and messages from staff about how proud they are of young people. A young person said: ‘there’s always something to do, sometimes it’s too much as staff are always willing to go out and do activities and I wasn’t used to it but I like it.’

p.6

good

Young people experience warm, positive and therapeutic relationships with both male and female staff. Young people’s social and emotional progress hinges on these good relationships and positive role models. They can now show empathy and care for one another and are able to see that they were previously exploited. This is vital if they are to be well prepared for a future that is free of exploitation. Young people are also starting to deal with the conflicting feelings they experience about being a long way away from home and with new people who keep them safe. A young person said: ‘The staff listen to me and I enjoy spending time with my favourite staff.’

p.6

good

The home’s therapist plays a central role in the evolution and maintenance of young people’s emotional progress. She says: ‘I love the ethos of the organisation and want to work only with them.’ She has quickly established effective relationships with each young person and is helping them gain understanding and control of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. She plays a vital part in the effectiveness of the staff team too. She keeps staff right up to date with where each young person is at, emotionally and psychologically. She helps staff plan their care and input to each young person. Through this, staff retain empathy for young people and confidence about their practice. For example, staff are confident to use hugs, cuddles and touch as they soothe, support, listen and advise young people. Some staff have particular skills which they use in their work with young people. A staff member speaks the home language of one young person and helps with

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good

phone calls and visits to relatives who do not speak English. She also helps young people gain more insight and experience of the culture of their country of origin, through cooking traditional dishes and learning something of the country’s history. These skills mean that young people get really good support with their family relationships. Even when they are living a long way away, relatives feel fully involved in young people’s care plans.

p.7

good

Young people’s experience of sexual exploitation is understood well, as are their continuing needs for protection and help. The home’s exact location is carefully protected, so that only trusted professionals know its location. Risks for going missing are well understood and managed by staff. Staff are vigilant and have individualised, risk management plans that are kept under regular review and shared in advance with local police and safeguarding professionals. Above all, staff’s good quality relationships with young people are the reason for their motivation to stay here and participate in a therapeutic lifestyle. There have been no missing incidents since the home opened in April 2015. A young person said to the manager: ‘I feel safe here and I’m not ready to go from here, I want to finish my education here because I want a future.’

p.7

good

The manager matches young people together well, so that they do not increase one another’s risks. All staff are insightful about, and sensitive to, young people’s views, wishes, feelings and vulnerabilities. They understand and sympathise with the anger, frustration and confusion that young people feel, and know that this can be expressed through aggression, damage and allegations. Staff are skilled in de- escalation. They continually adapt their responses as their understanding about young people’s specific triggers increases. They debrief and discuss incidents carefully and look for practice lessons promptly. They consider the impact of individual personalities and relationships between young people and particular members of staff as they evolve. As a result, the use of physical intervention is declining. Young people do not harm themselves and do not bully one another. They frequently apologise when their behaviour has been unacceptable. Their

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good

ability to talk about their feelings; disclose what has happened in the past, and calm down safely is increasing.

p.8

good

Staff notify all incidents, disclosures and allegations to social workers and safeguarding professionals. They take all young people’s concerns and complaints seriously. Social workers are impressed with how quickly young people come to trust staff and say that communication from staff is ‘excellent’. However, the manager has not notified to Ofsted one minor allegation that the local authority designated officer (LADO) advised could be investigated internally. This had no practical impact, other than the regulator not being aware of the allegation in a timely way.

p.8

good

The manager prioritises the needs of young people with skill and commitment. She is an experienced manager with a foundation degree in therapeutic parenting and a registered manager’s award that is equivalent to the NVQ level 4 in leadership and management for children and young people’s residential care. She particularly wanted to join this organisation and work with young people who have experienced CSE. The manager feels very well supervised and supported by the organisation’s senior leadership and the therapist. She particularly values the direct involvement the registered individual has with young people: he regularly meets with them for a meal or a drink, to listen to their views. Overall, the manager feels she is part of a very effective leadership team that clearly keeps young people at the centre of all it does. Young people are drawn to the manager. One young person said: ‘I like her because she is always there when I need to talk, she supports me, maybe that’s

p.8

good

because she is old but she is nice.’ The manager models to staff what young people can achieve through positive relationships with adults. She expects all staff to make a significant contribution as a team, and as individuals. The organisation provides good training and induction to staff and the manager provides good support and supervision. The home has only been running seven months and the manager admits that she does not yet have a ‘dream team’. There was a period of sickness and some loss of morale and focus while she was away for a period. Deputising arrangements did not work well. The manager is aware that young people here require ‘something very special’ and she is working with existing staff and the deputy to provide the right supportive environment which will develop everyone’s resilience and confidence. The manager is particularly skilled in making effective matching decisions and ensuring that young people’s transition into the home works well. She ensured that

p.8

good

no young people were admitted to the new home until the staff team were ready. She is skilled at identifying how staff’s individual skill sets match individual young people’s needs. She plans rotas and key work sessions based on this, so that young people get the most from their time here. She is well organised and reviews records such as incidents, measures of control and key work sessions in a timely way. This means she has a good grasp of young people’s progress and the contribution of staff. However, she does not yet gather very clear messages for improvement from the monitoring work she does. She does not always spot exactly what practice works well and what works less well. The quality of relationships between the home, families, placing authorities and the host authority is good. This is because the manager is a warm, well-organised, good communicator, who knows young people well and is right up to date with

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good

where they are at. She is committed to advocating on young people’s behalf and is dedicated to each one of them. She makes a high quality contribution to care planning and risk management for young people. She is confident of the support of the organisation to ensure that the home achieves the aims and objectives outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. One social worker described the manager as: 'on the ball and communication is brilliant.'

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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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