Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Rotherham

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:

 Children and young people are making good progress in their education, health, behaviour management and social skills.  Children and young people develop self-care and independence skills in line with their age and understanding. Over time, they become more self- assured and confident with their skills.  Individualised care planning effectively addresses the needs of each child and young person.  Issues of equality and diversity are embedded in care plans and in the delivery of care. This means the unique needs of all children and young people are effectively addressed.  The knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff team are committed to provide care and support to all children and young people, regardless of complex and sometimes highly challenging behaviours.  Staff, children and young people have very positive relationships. Children and young people state that staff help, support and care for them.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Children and young people become safer because of the care, guidance, monitoring and support provided by the staff. Collaboration with a range of professionals helps staff to keep children and young people safe.  Management arrangements of this home are good. Experienced and knowledgeable senior managers support the registered manager and deputy manager in the operation of the home. This has been effective in establishing good standards in this newly registered children’s home.  Arrangements to work in partnership with a range of professionals and families are effective. Communication between agencies is good and supports care planning.  Five shortfalls have been identified. There has been a delay in ensuring education provision for one young person, supervision arrangements and physical intervention training are not in accordance with those set out in the statement of purpose, the up to date statement of purpose has not

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The children's home provision is good because:

been submitted to Ofsted, and some staff have minor gaps in child protection knowledge. These shortfalls do not impact negatively on current care provision.

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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 education standard the registered person should ensure:

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Requirement Due date

(ix) help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education and employment. 07/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

12. In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must ensure –

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Requirement Due date

(vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies, with particular regard to whistle-blowing and understanding how to access key statutory guidance. 07/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and where appropriate, revise it and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3) (a) (b)) 07/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner consistent with its statement of purpose. With particular regard to ensuring the frequency of supervisions is 07/12/2015 in accordance with those set out in the statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (5))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake continuing professional development. With specific regard to ensuring all staff have up to date physical intervention training. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)) 07/12/2015

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Information about this children's home

This registered children's home is privately owned and can accommodate up to three children and/or young people. The home may provide care and accommodation for children and/or young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.6

good

Children and young people benefit from a high standard of care delivered by a knowledgeable and experienced staff team. A social worker said: ‘I am very pleased with care provision. Despite the challenging behaviours, they remain a very committed staff team. The registered manager and staff team really invest in the care of children and young people.’ The relationships between staff and young people are respectful and positive. One young person said: ‘Staff really help me! When I am upset, I can cry in front of staff. They make me laugh when I am down. When I am angry they know how to lighten my mood.’ Consequently, staff are effective in establishing positive relationships with children and young people and helping them with complex difficulties.

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good

Care plans, placement plans, risk assessments and behaviour management plans are comprehensive, detailed and up to date. Children and young people participate in their care planning, review their own records and attend statutory reviews. They confirm that they have access to telephones, their own advocate, know how to complain and have their own children’s guide which sets out what they can expect from their care. One young person said: ‘The owners visit the home and talk with us. They ask if we want anything done differently or if we have a complaint to contact them. I know if I had a complaint, they would sort it for me.’ These combined processes enable children and young people to exercise their rights and seek external support if required.

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good

All children and young people are engaged in educational plans tailored to their needs, interests and preferences. However, there have been delays in providing a suitable educational placement for one young person. This means educational outcomes could be poorer in the long term. Currently, attendance is high and young people are enthusiastic about their studies. Staff are committed to working alongside a range of educational providers to support young people in their education. One head teacher said: ‘They have gone out of their way to make sure they get him to school. We have daily telephone updates, which mean we are aware of any issues or incidents. This means that we know how to respond to potential behaviours within school.’ Consequently, potential obstacles to school attendance and engagement are well managed.

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good

Staff support children and young people to have their health needs met. Partnership work with health care providers means that routine and specialist health needs are addressed and young people receive health care education on a range of topics such as smoking and the use of legal highs. The provider has a strong ethos about the benefits of physical and active lifestyles. Young people confirm that staff support them to keep fit and healthy.

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good

All children and young people are supported, in line with their care plans, to develop and maintain safe links with their families. Staff keep ‘alive’ the customs and practice of different family backgrounds and cultures. This enables children and young people to retain their own sense of personal and family identity. Staff understand how contact can impact on the feelings of children and young people. They work sensitively with children and young people to enable them to understand and manage their feelings and behaviours arising from contact with families. Children and young people benefit from guidance and support to develop their self- care and independence skills, in line with their age, individual needs and competence. They learn practical tasks, such as cooking, cleaning and doing their own laundry. These skills enable young people to learn about responsibility and self-care.

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good

The management and staff team demonstrate clear knowledge and understanding on a range of safeguarding issues. They have undertaken safeguarding, self-harm, child sexual exploitation, missing from care and self-harm training. The home has a comprehensive collection of policies and procedures relating to child protection issues. These are up to date and staff use them in daily childcare practice. Overall, knowledge of safeguarding issues is good; however, there are minor shortfalls in relation to whistle blowing and understanding how to access key statutory guidance. A requirement has been set to strengthen staff knowledge.

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good

Since the last inspection, there has been a significant safeguarding issue, of a sexual assault in the community. The manager and staff team retained all relevant safeguarding records and demonstrated adherence to all safeguarding processes, including effective partnership work with police and safeguarding agencies. They provided appropriate care, support, monitoring and advocacy to the young person, whilst advocating that a more secure placement was required. The providers felt unable to keep this young person safe within the community setting. The providers concerns led to the young persons move to a more appropriate placement.

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good

There has been one allegation made by a young person against a member of staff since the last inspection. Senior managers implemented the safeguarding procedures and the allegation was passed to the local designated safeguarding officer. The young person later withdrew the allegation and the member of staff and young person successfully resolved any issues through a restorative meeting. The issue was handled in a timely and transparent manner and in full accordance with policy and procedure.

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good

Incidents of children and young people absent or missing from the home are low. Where this occurs, staff implement missing from care policy and protocols. This ensures prompt action and promotes the safety and wellbeing of young people. Managers contact allocated social workers and advocates to update them on such incidents to ensure ‘return interviews’ take place. This means that children and young people can talk about the reasons for going missing, which provides staff with valuable information about how to prevent further episodes.

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good

Group dynamics between children and young people have led to incidents of disruptive behaviours in the home. Some children raised concerns that they felt bullied. Staff worked with children and young people to monitor and deal with the issues. Since this time, children and young people say they have largely positive relationships, but do still occasionally argue. Behaviour risk management plans provide guidance for staff to ensure a consistent approach to known behaviours. These plans are detailed, instructive and up to date.

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good

Physical interventions are only used for the purposes of keeping children and young people safe from harm. Recent behaviours have led to staff interventions to prevent the escalation of potentially harmful situations. On one occasion, not all staff had suitable training to undertake any physical intervention. The staff members did not physically restrain the young person, but intervened to de- escalate and distract. Senior managers have since addressed this issue as a priority. However, it is imperative for all staff to have current physical intervention training to ensure the safety of staff, children and young people. Records of physical interventions are clear and demonstrate that the manager evaluates the impact and effectiveness of the intervention. This scrutiny ensures interventions are safe and appropriate.

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good

The registered manager has built effective and co-operative links with the local police service. A police officer said: ‘We have a good relationship with the home. I visit once a week, meet with the young people and have done some positive work, including helping them with anger management. Staff appear to work well with the behaviours of the children and young people.’ These positive relationships mean that children and young people develop a more positive perception of the police and benefit from learning opportunities.

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good

Recruitment procedures enable the careful selection and recruitment of staff. Robust recruitment processes and the recording and monitoring of visitors to the home ensure the protection of young people from potential harm. The health and safety of young people, staff and visitors within the home is assured through routine checks and servicing. Detailed and regularly reviewed generic and specific risk assessments cover all aspects of daily living. The provider employs their own maintenance team that ensures timely repairs and remedial work. Health and safety checks, including fire equipment are current. Regular fire drills ensure that young people and staff understand the dangers of fire and safe evacuation from the home.

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good

The manager registered has been in post since March 2015. She has substantial relevant experience of residential childcare. She has a National Vocational Qualification at Level 4 in health and social care and is currently undertaking the Level 5 Diploma. The combined knowledge and experience of the manager ensures she has the necessary skills and insight to operate a well-managed home.

p.10

good

The registered manager has robust internal quality assurance processes that identify weakness and promote improvement. Consultation with children, young people, professionals and parents are a strong aspect of service improvement. Monitoring visits by the provider’s quality assurance manager also reinforce service development and provide independence in identifying how the home needs to improve. The manager is in the process of formulating development plans to reflect proposals for continued improvement to the home. The manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home and takes action to tackle weakness and make improvements.

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good

The home has a statement of purpose and children's guide. These documents provide information to children, young people, their families, and placing authorities about the services provided by the home. However, the latest statement of purpose does not include details of the professional experience of all managers and staff and does not contain all information required under regulation. This means that prospective placing authorities and parents do not get a complete picture of the home to base decisions to enable the matching of suitable admissions.

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good

Supervision arrangements are not wholly consistent with the arrangements set out in the statement of purpose. Staff are required during their probation period to have supervision every two weeks. Records show that this is not routinely occurring. Staff report that they feel well supported within supervision, team meetings and in de-brief discussions following negative incidents. The manager has established good working relationships with multi-agency partners. Professionals are happy with good levels of communication. One social worker said, ‘the communication is excellent’ and another said, ‘communication is good, with weekly reports and updates on incidents. Partnership work is very good; I have no concerns about this home’. This means children and young people can effectively access relevant services that effectively meet their individual needs.

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good

Managers are tenacious in challenging partner agencies where children and young people are not getting a timely response to current issues. Senior managers have been proactive in resolving doubts about ‘which’ local authority has a safeguarding responsibility to the home. Similarly, where police have redirected missing from care reports to the neighbouring police authority, staff have worked hard to clarify these issues. These actions ensure effective and prompt action to all issues of concern.

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good

Managers keep organised records, which are up to date, detailed and stored securely. Children and young people can read and contribute to their records. This means they have records which provide a comprehensive understanding of their life within the home.

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good

The registered manager has systems in place to notify relevant agencies, including Ofsted, of significant events to ensure the protection of young people by multi- agency decision-making. Safeguarding professionals and social workers report good safeguarding practice.

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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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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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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